He spent a lot of his time trying to interview prominent people and chasing around the city after politicians. It was a small price to pay for such a comfortable assignment. He hoped Andrew Stevenson didn’t find him another war too soon.
The waiter refilled his cup, and he sat back with a contented smile on his face. Suddenly he jerked upright, his gaze riveted on the girl walking on the other side of the street.
Kate Freeman?
He surged to his feet, threw some francs on to the table and ran across the road after the girl. Was it her? If she’d had a camera bag on her shoulder, he wouldn’t have doubted it. If it was her, then she had obviously been shopping, because she was carrying packages and laughing with the petite woman beside her.
He followed, almost sure it was Kate. No one had hair that black, or such long shapely legs. He remembered those attributes very clearly from the first time he’d met her.
He saw them stop at a café further along the street, to be greeted by a middle-aged man and a young boy. He wished she would turn round so he could see her face …
At that moment she did just that and looked straight at him. It was her!
‘Hello, Kate.’ He walked forward, and she shook hands with him politely, not looking very enthusiastic about meeting him again. A little thing like that didn’t bother him, though. He was so pleased to see her, and besides, he encountered that attitude every day in his work. ‘Are you on holiday?’
‘Yes, I’m staying with friends.’
The other three people were eyeing him with interest as she introduced him.
‘This is Jon Devlin,’ she told them. ‘He’s a war correspondent with the newspaper I worked on for a few months.’
‘The one that kicked you out?’ the boy asked, ducking quickly as she turned on him.
‘Unfortunately I kicked myself out.’ Then she smiled at Jon. ‘These are my friends, Maria and André Riniou and their son, Jacques.’
Jon shook hands with them. The boy was slightly younger than her, and his arm was around her shoulder in a possessive way.
The man smiled. ‘We were just about to have lunch – will you join us, Jon?’
‘Thank you.’ He didn’t feel like eating, but he was curious about Kate’s relationship with this young man, so he agreed readily. Maria obviously didn’t speak much English. But his French was adequate for the occasion.
Jacques pulled two more chairs over to the table. ‘Shall I take all those parcels back to the hotel?’ he asked his mother.
‘No, just pile them on a spare chair for the moment.’
‘Be careful with that one, Sam,’ Kate said, as he put one on the top of the heap, causing it to wobble. ‘It’s delicate.’
Maria took it from her husband and placed it carefully under the chair. ‘Sit down everyone, we are hungry after all that shopping.’
‘I should think you are.’ Sam raised his eyebrows. ‘I hope you’ve finished for the day.’
‘Well, almost.’ Kate burst into laughter. ‘Don’t look like that, Sam. We promised we’d only take one day to go round the shops.’
Jon was puzzled. ‘Why does Kate call you Sam when she introduced you as André?’
‘Confusing, isn’t it?’ Jacques said. ‘All Kate’s family call him Sam because that’s what they knew him as during the war. It was his code name.’
‘Really?’ Jon thought this was getting more interesting by the minute. As a reporter he had an inquisitive nature.
‘Yes.’ Jacques continued, ignoring the warning look from his father: ‘The only one who ever knew what he really did was Kate’s Aunt Annie. They worked together through most of the war, and that’s how we know the Freeman family.’
Jon was about to ask more questions when Maria stopped him. ‘And what are you doing in Paris, Mr Devlin?’
‘I’ve recently returned from Algeria, and I’m working from here for a while.’
‘Ah, there is great trouble out there.’ Maria shook her head sadly. ‘One would have thought that the last war would have cured the world of fighting. However, it seems not.’
‘If we all stopped fighting and learned to live in peace, this planet would become a Garden of Eden.’ Jon grimaced. ‘But then I would be out of a job.’
‘I shouldn’t think there’s any danger of that for a long time to come.’ Sam studied him thoughtfully. ‘You have the reputation of a man who goes into places others are afraid of.’
‘I go after a story that needs telling and the best way to do that is to be in amongst the fighting groups.’
‘I agree that is often the only way to find out what is really going on.’ Sam smiled. ‘You have a more peaceful assignment at the moment.’
‘Paris, yes.’ Jon had almost forgotten his hangover in talking to this interesting man. He had the feeling there was a great deal more to him than you saw on the surface. He turned to Kate and said jokingly, ‘Don’t tell the Chief I’m enjoying myself, or he’ll soon find me another trouble spot to visit.’
‘I won’t tell anyone I’ve met you,’ she said, the corners of her mouth slanting upwards.
He looked deep into her eyes and was relieved to see her less withdrawn. The first time he’d met her there had been coldness in those glorious dark eyes. There was more warmth there now. She had inherited her mother’s beauty, but he’d doubted that she had the same strength of character. Now he knew he’d been wrong. Kate Freeman had a lot of inner strength; he could almost feel it, and see it in her steady gaze.
‘Have you seen Eddie lately?’ he asked, and watched her expression soften. The change was so marked that he felt it go right through him, almost robbing him of breath.
‘Yes, I took him home to have Sunday lunch with my parents and brother. Dad and James played football with him, and Mum filled him up with her suet pudding and treacle. He said he’d had a luverly day.’ She chuckled softly at the memory.
‘Give him and the rest of the boys my love when you see them, and please tell them that I’ll take them all out when I can get home.’
‘I will.’ She gazed into space for a moment. ‘We have a house in Wales and I did think of taking the boys there, but they haven’t finished school for the summer yet, and it is a long way.’
‘What, all of them?’ Jon looked horrified. ‘They’d wreck the place. How big is this house anyway?’
‘A modest size,’ Sam told him. ‘But it was a haven during the war and always full. Everyone was welcome.’
‘And there’s a lovely cottage in the grounds.’ Maria gave her husband a loving glance. ‘We were married there.’
Sam slipped his arm around his wife’s shoulder. ‘They have been our dear friends ever since.’
‘You were all there during the war?’ Jon asked.
‘No.’ A brief moment of anger flashed across Sam’s face, then it was gone. After I found Jacques and managed to get him out of France, Rose looked after him for me and I visited when I could. The war was almost over before I found Maria. Again Kate’s family came to our aid. We all have so much to thank them for – they are a caring family.’
‘You sound as if you had a rough time.’ Jon looked at them with respect. He knew that after the war there had been thousands of displaced people, and the task of reuniting families had been enormous. Many had never found their loved ones.
‘We did,’ Maria agreed, ‘but many were not as fortunate as us. We survived and are together.’ Her expression was compassionate as she gazed at Jon. ‘Don’t be too eager to throw your life away for a story, young man. It is too precious.’
‘I’ll try to remember that the next time someone’s shooting at me.’
That made everyone laugh, and Sam stood up. ‘It has been a pleasure meeting you, Jon. Any friend of Kate’s is welcome at our table. Now, if you will excuse us, Maria must rest before they set out on the second half of their shopping trip.’
Jacques dragged Kate out of her chair. ‘Come on, let’s go for a trip on the river while the old ones sleep.’
‘Just a minute, what about all these parcels?’ Maria scolded her son for wanting to dash off. ‘You’re not going to leave your ancient parents to carry them all, are you?’
‘I’ll help you.’ Jon picked up the heaviest of the parcels.
‘Thanks.’ Jacques shook hands with him. ‘It was good to meet you.’
Kate only had time to smile at him before she was towed away by the young man.
Sam watched them with a rueful expression on his face. ‘He still treats her like the small girl he met during the war.’
‘Do you think she’ll be your daughter-in-law one day?’ Jon asked in amusement, watching the two running across the road.
‘Good heavens!’ Sam tipped his head back and laughed. ‘A lovely idea, but I doubt it. They are more like brother and sister.’
For some strange reason Jon was quite pleased with that piece of information.
The hotel where Sam and Maria were staying was only ten minutes away, and, while they made their way up to their room, Jon told them about the help Rose had given him with the children’s home.
‘Ah, you went to the right person,’ Sam told him. ‘If you want something done quickly, then Rose is the person to contact.’
Jon changed the subject. ‘I’ve read what happened to Kate. It must have been terrible for her. She looks happy enough, but is that just a front? Do you think she’ll be all right?’
‘Yes, she’ll come through it okay.’ Sam sounded confident.
Jon helped them to their room with the parcels. He noticed Maria only carried a couple of very light ones and appeared rather tired. She clearly needed to rest, so he turned to leave.
‘We shall be here for the next two days,’ Sam told him, ‘so if you have time, would you have dinner here with us tomorrow?’
‘Thank you, I’d like that.’ He was delighted with the invitation.
‘Seven o’clock suit you?’
‘That’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.’
It was more than two hours later when Kate and Jacques returned to the hotel, sagging under the weight of their purchases. They went straight to his parents’ room, giggling like a couple of kids. It was impossible to open the door, so Jacques knocked with the toe of his shoe.
‘What the blazes have you got there?’ Sam exclaimed as two piles of parcels walked in.
Kate peered around the side of her stack and grinned. ‘We’ve been shopping.’
Maria was now viewing the strange apparitions, with only the legs visible. ‘We can see that. Come on, drop them on the bed and show us what you’ve bought.’
The top parcel was unwrapped and Jacques held up an orang-utan on strings.
‘Puppets!’ Sam quickly counted the boxes. ‘You’ve bought twelve large puppets?’
Kate pulled out a cat with huge eyes and began to make it dance. The monkey joined in as Kate and Jacques sang – very out of tune.
Sam and Maria were roaring with laughter at their antics.
‘What on earth do you need those for?’ Maria managed to compose herself enough to speak.
Kate stroked the cat and made it roll its eyes and shiver in excitement. ‘They’re for the boys at Wilkins House. There are twelve of them living there, so I had to get one for each of them. Do you think they’ll like them?’
‘They will love them,’ Sam assured her. ‘It will make them very happy.’
‘How are you going to get them home?’ Maria asked. ‘You already have as much luggage as you can carry.’
Kate’s eyes opened wide. ‘Oh, dear, I was so excited about finding them that I never gave that a thought.’
‘Ah, Kate,’ Sam’s look was full of affection. ‘You’ve never done anything without first giving it careful consideration, and it’s wonderful to see you act so spontaneously.’
She sat on the edge of the bed, the animal on her knee, and bounced it, deep in thought. ‘You’re right. I’ve always known what I wanted to do with my life, so sure it would go the way I’d planned. I know now that things don’t happen like that. Life is unpredictable, like my job, for instance. For years I had one aim, and that was to work for the World Explorer. It didn’t work out, and I can see that it wasn’t the right place for me.’
‘Have you decided where your right place is?’ Maria asked.
‘No.’ Kate put the puppet back in the box. ‘Since the kidnapping and that horrible trial, I’ve stopped planning. I’ll concentrate on my photography and the shop and see where life leads me.’
‘Wonderful philosophy!’ Jacques exclaimed. ‘That’s just what I intend to do. It will make life more exciting.’
Maria gave a sigh of resignation as she listened to her son. ‘Finish your education first.’
‘I’ll contain myself until then.’ He grinned. ‘Now, that still leaves the problem of how Kate carries all these parcels.’
‘Hmm.’ Sam surveyed the huge amount of boxes. ‘We’ll stack everything in the car and I’ll come back with you.’
‘Oh, Sam, I can’t let you do that. I should have thought before I went mad and bought the puppets. I never even considered it, all I could think about was how much the boys would love them.’
‘I will drive you home; it’s all settled.’
Kate knew from the firmness in his voice that it would be useless to argue, and really it was the only solution.
‘Are you two ladies going shopping again?’ Sam raised an eyebrow in query.
‘Would you mind, Kate?’ Maria asked. ‘I don’t get to Paris very often, and there are still one or two things I’d like to buy.’
‘I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.’ She stood up. ‘Would you help me to my room with these parcels, Jacques?’
‘I want you both to buy yourselves a special dress. We’re entertaining a gentleman for dinner tomorrow,’ Sam said.
‘Who’s that?’ Kate asked.
‘Jon Devlin.’
24
After knocking on Sam and Maria’s room, Kate walked in. Jacques was already there and when he saw her he let out a whistle of appreciation.
‘Wow! You look fabulous.’
The deep amber dress suited her to perfection, emphasizing her dark looks in a dramatic way. The neckline was cut away in a heart shape, exposing her flawless skin; the long sleeves were moulded to her arms and ended in a row of tiny gold and amber buttons at the wrist. She sketched Jacques a curtsy, making the delicate material flow around her ankles.
‘That’s beautiful,’ Maria sighed. ‘It looks even better than it did in the shop.’
‘And so does yours.’ Kate walked around Maria, inspecting her from every angle. The outfit she’d chosen was royal-blue with straight lines and a short jacket to cover her bare arms, if she felt the need for it. Both gowns had been wildly expensive and shouted Parisian chic.
Kate smiled at Sam. ‘Doesn’t she look stunning?’
‘I can’t argue with that. However, I’m about to have a row with you. Maria tells me that you insisted on paying for both of these lavish gowns.’
Ah, she’d thought this might happen. He was going to object.
‘I can’t let you do that.’ Sam reached in his pocket.
‘You can hold it right there!’ she ordered, standing to her full height and placing her hands on her hips. ‘I wanted Maria to have that dress; it’s my way of saying thanks to both of you, and it won’t do you any good to argue.’
Jacques gave a yelp and shot to the other side of the room, his eyes wide in mock terror. ‘You can’t win, Papa. That isn’t Kate standing there, it’s Auntie Rose, and no one argues with her!’
They were all shaking with laughter now, but Kate managed to keep her expression stern. ‘Am I going to have trouble with you, Group Captain Riniou?’
There were howls of laughter coming from Jacques. Now she’s turned into Auntie Annie. I’ve heard her talk to you just like that.’
Sam raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘I don’t stand a chance.’
&
nbsp; ‘Accept defeat graciously, my dear,’ Maria told him, ‘or you’ll have the whole Freeman family after you in the shape of Kate.’
‘Thank you for buying Maria the dress,’ he said meekly, kissing her on both cheeks. Then he whispered, ‘Don’t you ever believe you’re not made of the same stuff as Rose and Annie.’
Jacques sidled back and looked at her cautiously. ‘Is my Kate back now?’
‘I’m not sure I want the old Kate back. I think I like the new one much better.’
‘Bravo!’ she heard Sam murmur under his breath.
They were in a happy mood as they went downstairs to meet Jon. Kate was just beginning to realize how much she had changed over the last few months, and she did prefer the new Kate Freeman.
Jon was waiting for them in the bar, and Kate’s step faltered when she saw him. He was wearing a dark charcoal-grey suit and a subdued tie in grey with delicate splashes of maroon on it. He was certainly an impressive man. He stood up and smiled when he saw them, his startling green eyes resting on her with obvious appreciation.
Kate felt her heart rate increase. Before they’d even met she’d had a mental picture of him, but he was nothing like she’d imagined, and the last couple of times they’d seen each other she’d been too traumatized to take much notice of him. Now she did study him and what she saw made her uneasy. He was six feet or more, long legs and strong build. Her mind flashed back to Derek Howard, knowing that if Jon Devlin ever turned nasty, she wouldn’t stand a chance against him either. She despised herself for her suspicions, but he was a tough man and she would do well to keep her distance.
After greeting each other, they stayed in the bar for a drink before the meal. The conversation flowed easily between the men, and Kate’s mind drifted. It was then she realized that the only young men she trusted now were Jacques and Pete, and it was in their company she relaxed. That came as a shock, and she told herself off for being so stupid. Not all powerful men were violent or rapists! Her own father was an example of that truth – six foot four, strong, but so kind and gentle.
A Time of Peace Page 22