The Scrivener's Tale

by Fiona McIntosh

  He straightened from where he’d been staring into the mirror at his unshaven face and resolved to demand answers from Loup on the next full moon, which was just a few days away.

  TWO

  Gabe strolled to the bookshop carrying his box of cakes and enjoying the winter sunlight. Catherine gave a small squeal and rushed over to hug him as he entered the shop.

  ‘Happy birthday!’ And not worrying too much about what customers might think, she yelled out to the rest of the staff: ‘Gabe’s in, sing everyone!’

  It was tradition. Birthday wishes floated down from the recesses of the shop via the narrow, twisting corridor created by the tall bookshelves, and from the winding staircase that led to the creaking floorboards of the upstairs section. Even the customers joined in the singing.

  In spite of his normally reticent manner, Gabe participated in the fun, grinning and even conducting the song. He noted again that the fresh new mood of wanting to bring about change was fuelling his good humour. He put the giveaway bag with its box of treats on the crowded counter.

  ‘Tell me you have macarons,’ Cat pleaded.

  Gabe pushed the Pierre Hermé box into her hands. ‘To the staffroom with you.’ Then he smiled at the customers patiently waiting. ‘Sorry for all this.’ They all made the sounds and gestures of people not in a hurry.

  Even so, the next hour moved by so fast that he realised when he looked up to check the time that he hadn’t even taken his jacket off.

  An American student working as a casual sidled up with a small stack of fantasy novels — a complete series and in the original covers, Gabe noticed, impressed. He anticipated that an English-speaking student on his or her gap year was bound to snaffle the three books in a blink. Usually there were odd volumes, two and three perhaps the most irritating combination for shoppers.

  ‘Put a good price on those. Sell only as a set,’ he warned.

  Dan nodded. ‘I haven’t read these — I’m half-inclined to buy them myself but I don’t have the money immediately.’

  Gabe gave the youngster a sympathetic glance. ‘And they’ll be gone before payday,’ he agreed, quietly glad because Dan was always spending his wage before he earned it.

  ‘Monsieur Reynard came in,’ Dan continued. ‘He left a message.’

  ‘About his book. I know,’ Gabe replied, not looking up from the note he was making in the Reserves book. ‘I haven’t found it yet. But I am searching.’

  Dan frowned. ‘No, he didn’t mention a book. He said he’d call in later.’

  Catherine came up behind them. ‘Did Dan tell you that Reynard is looking for you?’

  Dan gave her a soft look of exasperation. ‘I was just telling him.’

  ‘And did you tell Reynard that it’s Gabe’s birthday?’ she asked with only a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

  ‘No,’ Dan replied, but his expression said, Why would I?

  ‘Good,’ Gabe said between them. ‘I’m —’

  ‘Lucky I did, then,’ Catherine said dryly and smiled sweetly.

  ‘Oh, Cat, why would you do that?’

  ‘Because he’s your friend, Gabe. He should know. After all —’

  ‘He’s not a friend, he’s a customer and we have to keep some sort of —’

  ‘Bonjour, Monsieur Reynard,’ Dan said and Gabe swung around.

  ‘Ah, you’re here,’ the man said, approaching the counter. He was tall with the bulky girth of one who enjoys his food, but was surprisingly light on his feet. His hair looked as though it was spun from steel and he wore it in a tight queue. Cat often mused how long Monsieur Reynard’s hair was, while Dan considered it cool in an old man. Gabe privately admired it because Reynard wore his hair in that manner without any pretension, as though it was the most natural way for a man of his mature years to do so. To Gabe he looked like a character from a medieval novel and behaved as a jolly connoisseur of the good life — wine, food, travel, books. He had money to spend on his pursuits but Gabe sensed that behind the gregarious personality hid an intense, highly intelligent individual.

  ‘Bonjour, Gabriel, and I believe felicitations are in order.’

  Gabe slipped back into his French again. ‘Thank you, Monsieur Reynard. How are you?’

  ‘Please call me René. I am well, as you see,’ the man replied, beaming at him while tapping his rotund belly. ‘I insist you join me for a birthday drink,’ he said, ensuring everyone in the shop heard his invitation.

  ‘I can’t, I have to —’

  Reynard gave a tutting noise. ‘Please. You have never failed to find the book I want and that sort of dedication is hard to find. I insist, let me buy you a birthday drink.’

  Cat caught Gabe’s eye and winked. She’d always teased him that Reynard was probably looking for more than mere friendly conversation.

  ‘Besides,’ Reynard continued, ‘there’s something I need to talk to you about. It’s personal, Gabriel.’

  Gabe refused to look at Cat now. He hesitated, feeling trapped.

  ‘Listen, we’ll make it special. Come to the Café de la Paix this evening.’

  ‘At Opéra?’

  ‘Too far?’ Reynard offered, feigning sympathy. Then he grinned. ‘You can’t live your life entirely in half a square kilometre of Paris, Gabriel. Take a walk after work and join me at one of the city’s gloriously grand cafés and live a little.’

  He remembered his plan that today was the first day of his new approach to life. ‘I can be there at seven.’

  ‘Parfait!’ Reynard said, tapping the counter. He added in English, ‘See you there.’

  Gabe gave a small groan as the man disappeared from sight, moving across the road to where all the artists and riverside sellers had set up their kiosks along the walls of the Seine. ‘I really shouldn’t.’

  ‘Why?’ Cat demanded.

  Gabe winced. ‘He’s a customer and —’

  ‘And so handsome too … in a senior sort of way.’

  Gabe glared at her. ‘No, I mean it,’ she giggled. ‘Really. He’s always so charming and he seems so worldly.’

  ‘So otherworldly more like,’ Dan added. They both turned to him and he shrugged self-consciously.

  ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Gabe asked.

  ‘There’s something about him, isn’t there? Or is it just me?’ Gabe shook his head with a look of puzzlement. ‘You’re kidding, right? You don’t find his eyes a little too searching? It’s as though he has an agenda. Or am I just too suspicious?’

  Cat looked suddenly thoughtful. ‘I know what Dan means. Reynard does seem to stare at you quite intently, Gabe.’

  ‘Well, I’ve never noticed.’

  She gave him a friendly soft punch. ‘That’s because you’re a writer and you all stare intensely at people like that.’ She widened her eyes dramatically. ‘Either that,’ she said airily, ‘or our hunch is right and Reynard fancies you madly.’

  Dan snorted a laugh.

  ‘You two are on something. Now, I have work to do, and you have cakes to eat,’ he said, ‘and as I’m the most senior member of staff and the only full-timer here, I’m pulling rank.’

  The day flew by. Suddenly it was six and black outside. Christmas lights had started to appear and Gabe was convinced each year they were going up earlier — to encourage the Christmas trade probably. Chestnuts were being roasted as Gabe strolled along the embankment and the bars were already full of cold people and warm laughter.

  It wasn’t that Gabe didn’t like Reynard. He’d known him long enough. They’d met on a train and it was Reynard who’d suggested he try and secure a job at the bookshop once he’d learned that Gabe was hoping to write a novel. ‘I know the people there. I can introduce you,’ he’d said and, true to his word, Reynard had made the right introductions and a job for Gabe had been forthcoming after just three weeks in the city.

  Reynard was hard to judge, not just in age, but in many respects.

  Soon he approached the frenzy that was L’Opéra, with all of its inter
secting boulevards and crazy traffic circling the palatial Opéra Garnier. He rounded the corner and looked for Reynard down the famously long terrace of the café. People — quite a few more tourists than he’d expected — were braving the cold at outside tables in an effort to capture the high Parisian café society of a bygone era when people drank absinthe and the hotel welcomed future kings and famous artists. He moved on, deeper into the café, toward the entrance to the hotel area.

  Gabe saw Reynard stand as he emerged into the magnificent atrium-like lobby of the hotel known as Le Grand. He’d never walked through here previously and it was a delightful surprise to see the belle époque evoked so dramatically. It was as though Charles Garnier had decided to fling every design element he could at it, from Corinthian cornices to stucco columns and gaudy gilding.

  ‘Gabriel,’ Reynard beamed, ‘welcome to the 9th arrondissement. I know you never venture far.’

  ‘I’m addressing that,’ Gabe replied in a sardonic tone.

  ‘Isn’t it beautiful?’ Reynard said, gesturing around him.

  Gabe nodded. ‘Thank you for inviting me.’

  ‘Pleasure. I have an ulterior motive, though, let me be honest,’ he said with a mischievous grin. Gabe wished he hadn’t said that. ‘But first,’ his host continued, ‘what are you drinking? Order something special. It is your birthday, after all.’

  ‘Absinthe would be fun if it wasn’t illegal.’

  Reynard laughed. ‘You can have a pastis, which is similar, without the wormwood. But aniseed is so de rigueur now. Perhaps I might make a suggestion?’

  ‘Go ahead,’ Gabe said. ‘I’m no expert.’

  ‘Good, I shall order then.’ He signalled to the waiter, who arrived quietly at his side.

  ‘Sir?’

  ‘Two kir royales.’ The man nodded and Reynard turned back to Gabe. ‘Ever tasted one?’ Gabe gave a small shake of his head. ‘Ah, then this will be the treat I’d hoped. Kir is made with crème de cassis. The blackcurrant liqueur is then traditionally mixed with a white burgundy called Aligoté. But here they serve only the kir royale, which is the liqueur topped up with champagne brut. A deliciously sparkling way to kick off your birthday celebrations.’

  The waiter arrived with two flutes fizzing with purple liquid and the thinnest curl of lemon peel twisting in the drinks.

  ‘Salut, Gabriel. Bon anniversaire,’ Reynard said, gesturing at one of the glasses.

  ‘Merci. A la vôtre,’ Gabe replied — to your health — and clinked his glass against Reynard’s. He sipped and allowed himself to be transported for a moment or two on the deep sweet berry effervescence of this prized apéritif. ‘Delicious. Thank you.’

  ‘My pleasure. It’s the least I can do for your hours of work on my behalf.’

  ‘It’s my job. I enjoy searching for rare books and, even more, finding them. You said there was a favour. Is it another book to find?’

  ‘Er, no, Gabriel.’ Reynard put his glass down and became thoughtful, all amusement dying in his dark grey-blue eyes. ‘It’s an entirely different sort of task. One I’m loath to ask you about but yet I must.’

  Gabe frowned. It sounded ominous.

  ‘I gather you were … are … a clinical psychologist.’

  The kir royale turned sour in Gabe’s throat. He put his glass down. At nearly 25 euros for a single flute, it seemed poor manners not to greedily savour each sip, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to swallow.

  He slowly looked up at Reynard. ‘How did you come by this information? No-one at work knows anything about my life before I came to Paris.’

  ‘Forgive me,’ Reynard said, his voice low and gentle. ‘I’ve looked into your background. The internet is very helpful.’

  Gabe blinked with consternation. ‘I’ve taken my mother’s surname.’

  ‘I know,’ is all that Reynard said in response. He too put his glass down. ‘Please, don’t become defensive, I —’

  ‘What are you doing looking into my past?’ Gabe knew he sounded annoyed but Reynard’s audacity made him feel momentarily breathless, its intensity bringing with it the smell of charred metal and blood. He had to swallow his instant nausea.

  ‘Let me explain. This has everything to do with your past but in the most positive of ways.’ His host gestured at the flute of bubbling cassis. ‘Why don’t you drink it before it loses its joie de vivre?’

  ‘Why don’t you explain what you want of me first?’

  ‘All right,’ Reynard said, in a voice heavy with a calming tone, all geniality gone from his expression. ‘Do you know what I do for a living?’

  Gabe shook his head. ‘I don’t do searches on my clients.’

  ‘Touché,’ Reynard said evenly. ‘I am a physician.’

  He hadn’t expected that but betrayed no surprise. ‘And?’

  ‘And I have come across a patient that I normally would not see but no-one else is able to help. I think you can.’

  ‘I don’t practise any longer … perhaps you’d noticed?’

  Reynard smiled sadly as if to admonish him that this was not a subject to jest about. ‘She is willing herself to death. I think she might succeed if we can’t help her soon.’

  ‘Presumably she’s been seen by capable doctors such as yourself, and if they can’t —’

  ‘Gabriel. She’s a young woman who believes she is being hunted by something sinister … something she believes is very dangerous.’

  ‘That something being …?’

  Reynard shrugged. ‘Does it matter? She could be afraid of that glass of kir royale. You of all people know how powerful irrational fears can be. If she believes it —’

  ‘Then it is so,’ Gabe finished for him.

  Reynard gave a nod.

  ‘Why did you search for my background in the first place?’

  His companion sipped from his flute. ‘Strictly, I didn’t. I was researching who we could talk to, casting my net wider through Europe and then into Britain. Your name came up with a different surname but the photo was clearly you. I checked more and discovered you were not only an eminent practitioner but realised you were my bookshop friend here in Paris.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m sorry that you are not practising still.’

  ‘I’m sure you can work out that my life took a radical turn.’

  Reynard had the grace to look uncomfortable. ‘I am sorry for you.’

  ‘I closed my clinical practice and don’t want to return to it … not even for your troubled woman.’

  ‘I struggle to call her a woman, Gabriel. She’s still almost a child … certainly childlike. If you would only —’

  ‘No, Monsieur Reynard. Please don’t ask this of me.’

  ‘I must. You were so good at this and too within my reach to ignore. I fear we will lose her.’

  ‘So you’ve said. I know nothing about her. And frankly I don’t want to.’

  ‘That’s heartless. You clearly had a gift with young people. She needs that gift of your therapy.’

  Gabe shook his head firmly. ‘Make sure she has around-the-clock supervision and nothing can harm her.’

  Reynard put his glass down, slightly harder than Gabe thought necessary. ‘It’s not physical. It’s emotional and I can’t get into her mind and reassure her. She is desperate enough that she could choke herself on her own tongue.’

  ‘Then drug her!’ Gabe growled. ‘You’re the physician.’

  They stared at each other for a couple of angry moments, neither backing down.

  It was Gabe, perhaps in the spirit of change, who broke the tension. ‘Monsieur Reynard, I don’t want to be a psychologist anymore. I haven’t for years and I’ve no desire to dabble. The combination of lack of motivation and rusty skills simply puts your youngster into more danger.’ He picked up the glass and drained the contents. ‘Now, that was lovely and I appreciate the treat, but I’m meeting some friends for dinner,’ he lied. ‘You’ll have to excuse me.’ He pulled his satchel back onto his shoulder, reaching for his scarf.

 
Reynard’s countenance changed in the blink of an eye. He smiled. ‘I almost forgot. I have something for you.’ He reached behind him and pulled out a gift-wrapped box.

  Gabe was astonished. ‘I can’t —’

  ‘You can. It’s my thank you for the tireless, unpaid and mostly unheralded work you’ve put in on my behalf.’

  ‘As I said earlier, I do this job because I enjoy it,’ he replied, still not taking the long, narrow box.

  ‘Even so, you do it well enough that I’d like to thank you with this gift. Your knack for language, your understanding of the older worlds, your knowledge of myth and mystery are a rare talent. It’s in recognition of your efforts. Happy birthday.’

  ‘Well … thank you. I’m flattered.’

  ‘Have you begun your manuscript?’

  Gabe took a deep breath. He didn’t like to talk about it with anyone, although his writing ambition was not the secret that his past had been. ‘Yes, very early stages.’

  ‘What’s it about?’ At Gabe’s surprised glance, he apologised. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry, but what I meant is, what’s the theme of your story?’

  Gabe looked thoughtful. ‘Fear … I think.’

  ‘Fear of what?’

  He shrugged. ‘The unknown.’

  ‘Intriguing,’ Reynard remarked. He nodded at the object in Gabe’s hand. ‘Well? Aren’t you going to open it?’

  Gabe looked at the gift. ‘All right.’

  The ribbon was clearly satin the way it untied and easily slipped out of its knots. Beneath the wrapping was a dark navy, almost black, box; it was shallow, but solid. It reeked of quality and a high price tag.

  ‘I hope you like it,’ Reynard added, and drained his flute of its purplish contents. ‘I had the box made for it.’

  Gabe lifted the lid carefully. Lying on navy satin was a pure white feather. He opened his mouth in pleasurable astonishment. ‘It’s exquisite.’ He meant it. He fell instantly in love with the feather, his mind immediately recalling its symbolic meanings: spiritual evolution, the nearness to heavenly beings, the rising soul. Native Americans felt it put them closer to the power of wind and air — it was a sign of bravery. The Celts believed feathers helped them to understand celestial beings. The Ancient Egyptian goddess of justice would weigh the hearts of the newly dead against a feather. He knew the more contemporary symbolism of a feather was free movement … innocence, even. All of this occurred to him in a heartbeat.