Page 61 of Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure
“They said five years.” She turned away. “I didn’t know what to do. I had no money to pay rent, and I feared they would arrest me.”
“I’m very sorry for you,” Ellie said. “You have found yourself in a difficult position. My advice would be to give up the baby to be adopted and then get yourself a good honest job, start a new life here on the Côte d’Azur.”
“Yes,” Yvette said. “Perhaps you are right. Perhaps it is the best thing to do.” But she didn’t sound convinced.
“Do you love him, this Pierre?”
“Oh yes,” Yvette said. “And I’m sure he loves me, too. That is why he took such risks for us to be together.”
Ellie’s brain was racing. Could they keep Yvette and her child until Pierre was released and the little family could be together? That would be the kind thing to do, but five years ... That was a long time. And Yvette hadn’t exactly endeared herself to any of them. She didn’t do her share of the work. She didn’t make an effort to learn English or improve her own reading and writing skills. She was, in short, not an asset to their little community. But on the other hand, could they really turn her out with a young child?
Ellie confided these fears to Dora. “She’s not our responsibility,” Dora said. “You were kind enough to take her in, but you don’t owe her anything more.” And yet Ellie did feel responsible. But Yvette could not stay with them forever. She had to get on with her life, and that certainly meant giving up the baby.When it’s born I’ll go into Marseille and find a convent that helps to adopt babies,she thought.
In the meantime there was plenty to keep her busy. With the better weather English visitors had arrived to stay at the pension: a Colonel Rutherford, formerly of the army in India, two single ladies—Miss Barnes and Miss Furness, former schoolteachers—and a mother and daughter, the Cartwrights. They were all so stereotypical of what one would expect that Ellie tried not to smile when she met them. They talked about the threat of war, of Mr Chamberlain cleverly making peace with that monster Hitler.
“Of course he’d never have the gumption to tackle us,” the colonel said. “He knows what a thumping they got in the last war.”
They also complained about French food and lack of good tea—“We always bring our own, my dear, but they never boil the water properly”—and talked about the weather. The colonel seemed to take an instant shine to Ellie. At first she found this amusing, then, when he tried to seek out her company, annoying. The doctor’s wife invited them all to musical evenings where Miss Cartwright sang badly while Ellie played the piano. As she observed them, she felt glad that she had left England behind.So much pettiness,she thought, and remembered so many similar and boring conversations.
The English visitors ate dinner at Henri’s bar. Henri complained about them as Ellie practiced making a tarte tatin with him one day. “It’s always no garlic. No onions. No spices. And couldn’t we have a nice steak and kidney pie instead.”
Ellie laughed. “I could return the favour and teach you how to make a nice steak and kidney pie,” she said. “Or better still, I’ll make one for you. You’ve been very kind to me.”
“That would be something, wouldn’t it?” He laughed. “I’d like to see their faces when we put it in front of them.”
“All right,” Ellie said. “You acquire the steak and kidneys, and I’ll make it.”
Chapter 25
The supplies came on the next delivery from Marseille. Ellie put on an apron and got to work. She was just putting the finishing touches to a big steak and kidney pie, her hands floury, when Henri came into the kitchen. “There is a man here who is looking for you,” he said.
“A man?”
“English, I think.”
“Not the colonel?” she asked warily.
“No. Not him. Young.”
Ellie brushed off the worst of the flour and stepped outside, blinking in the bright sunlight.
“Mum?”
Ellie started at the word, squinted, and her son Colin came into focus. “Colin? Is it really you?”
She rushed forward, arms open to embrace him. He stood there, awkwardly, as she flung her arms around him. She stepped back laughing. “I’m sorry. I’m getting flour on you.” She brushed his jacket front. “What on earth are you doing here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“I’m home on leave,” he said. “Dad told me you’d gone on holiday to France, and he was rather worried that he hadn’t heard from you in a long while.”
“And why would he be worried?” Ellie asked. “I’m not his responsibility in any way. I’m no longer his wife.”
“All the same, I think he still cares about you,” Colin said. “He was concerned when you didn’t come home. He’s worried about a war starting and you being trapped in France.”
Ellie looked around, noticing Henri watching them with interest.
“Let’s sit down and have a cup of coffee, shall we?” she said. She switched to French. “Henri, this is my son, visiting me from England.”
“Your son? Welcome, monsieur.”
