“With Reuben you have to prove yourself,” he’d reply reluctantly. “It’s either black or white. There are no gray areas with Reuben. You have to understand that.” He’d pat her shoulder awkwardly and she’d smile—and immediately he’d feel a sense of disloyalty to Reuben.
“Just concentrate on putting one foot ahead of the other,” he said to her now. “It’s only another kilometer or so. I know a shortcut. Do you want to take it?”
“Not on your damn life,” she said, teeth chattering.
“I had chilblains, so did Reuben. It’s not pleasant. At least take my scarf.”
“No. I’m not going to get chilblains. If I did, your friend would say I got them on purpose to ruin Christmas for everyone. I’ll be fine, Daniel.”
When she slogged into the courtyard of the château, Bebe thought she was one step away from death. All she wanted was to get upstairs and crawl into bed. It would take hours to get warm. Maybe she’d never be warm again. But instead of running ahead she looked Reuben square in the eye and asked, “Do you need me to help carry the greenery inside?”
Reuben was about to say yes until he saw the look on Daniel’s face. “No, you did your share. Go inside and get warm. Later you can help string the garlands and decorate the tree.”
Mickey felt herself swoon at the look on Bebe’s face—unbelieving, then relieved, and finally transformed by a warm, wonderful smile. She was beautiful, all rosy cheeks and windblown hair.
An hour later Bebe was submerged in a tub of hot water. Nothing in her life had ever felt as good as the warmth that caressed every inch of her flesh.
Daniel sat on his bed, patiently waiting his turn in the bathroom. He toyed with the idea of knocking on Bebe’s door and…saying what? That Reuben was…Again he felt at a loss. What exactly was Reuben? Possessive, protective? Would Bebe understand that? Probably not; he wasn’t even sure he understood what he was thinking. He pictured Bebe in her room crying her eyes out. And here he sat, caught in the middle.
Bebe needed some kind of support, but how was it going to look to Reuben if he took sides? Reuben, he knew, would consider it a betrayal on his part if he got too close to the girl. Before Bebe’s arrival, the three of them had agreed that she was to be his companion and study along with him while Mickey and Reuben were busy with the wineries. Now, it seemed, that was changing.
Be Bebe’s friend but don’t get involved? Bullshit! If today was any indication of what things were going to be like, he would have to get involved. Out there in the snow he’d felt like crying for the girl. If he’d had his way, he would have slung her over his shoulder and carried her back.
She was certainly plucky, she’d proved it again today. In some ways she reminded him of Jake. How many times Jake had admonished him. Don’t let them see you cry, don’t ever let them see you cry—if you do, you’re lost. The words brought back memories—and, as usual, the one that stayed with him was the one he wished to forget….
It was autumn, and all the leaves were like burnished gold, and the pumpkins were ripe in the field behind the orphanage. Jake had taken him by the hand and said they would snitch a little pumpkin for Bennie and Stevie, two five-year-olds who slept next to them in the dormitory. Daniel hated the idea of snitching but knew the little boys would love the pumpkin. They were halfway across the dry field when they saw an injured sparrow. They forgot about the pumpkin then, and it wasn’t until later that Daniel ran back and grabbed the first one he saw, a tall, spindly one that was lopsided and without a stem. Stevie and Bennie never noticed.
Jake had big hands, bigger than his own, and they’d been so gentle with the tiny sparrow. “He can’t fly. And if he can’t fly, he can’t be free,” Jake said with ten-year-old logic. “That makes him like us. We aren’t free either.” They tried everything to patch up the little bird, but his wing was so tiny and they didn’t have a knife to whittle a splint. They fed him crumbs soaked in milk for two days, and when they returned on the third day, the sparrow was lying on its side, its legs straight in the air. It was the first time he and Jake had seen death. He remembered crying, long and hard. Jake hadn’t cried, but his eyes were wet. “We have to bury him,” Jake said, “or some wild animal will eat the body.” So they scooped out a hole in the ground with their bare hands and covered the bird with leaves before piling the dirt on top of it. He’d kept right on crying, not caring what Jake said about not letting anyone see. At last Jake had put his arm around him, and they’d walked back to the orphanage together. Jake cared, but Jake was tough.
Bebe was like Jake, Daniel decided, tough on the outside, where it counted, and soft on the inside. He made up his mind to be Bebe’s friend the way Jake had been his friend. If his friendship got in the way of his feelings for Reuben, he’d figure something out—but not until he had to.
As he trotted down the hall for his turn in the bathroom, Daniel felt about 110 years old.
When Bebe finally came downstairs hours later, she felt weak as a newborn kitten and wanted only to sleep. But she wouldn’t give Reuben Tarz the satisfaction of lacing into her again. She’d force her eyes to stay open, eat dinner, and help with the garlands. One way or another, she’d get through the evening in grand style.
And she did. Dinner that evening was actually one of the more pleasant meals she’d attended since her arrival at the château. Reuben seemed to be particularly polite and hospitable; when he addressed her directly she was so surprised she almost fell off her chair. She could feel herself flush, and she stammered like a little girl trying to please, knowing she was making a bad job of it. Reuben looked amused until he noticed Daniel glowering across the table. Then, for his friend’s sake, he did his best to stifle the dislike he felt for Bebe.
“Mickey, why don’t we wait till tomorrow to hang the garlands? I think we’re all tired this evening. That cold air was brutal. If Daniel’s eyes feel anything like mine, we should be resting with compresses.”
“I think tomorrow will be fine. Let’s schedule our decorating for midafternoon so Bebe and I can shop in the village.” Mickey smiled warmly around the table, knowing everyone would be in agreement. The trip to the fields in the biting cold had done her in, too. “Tonight there will be hot chocolate instead of coffee, and then we’ll retire. I think we’ve all earned a good night’s rest.”
Bebe was so relieved she wouldn’t have to struggle through the evening, she almost cried. She looked up to find Reuben staring at her directly. Flustered, she knocked over her wineglass, and in her attempt to mop it up she spilled her water. This time the tears erupted. “It’s your fault,” she screamed at Reuben. “If you wouldn’t stare at me like that, I wouldn’t have spilled the wine. You’re so damn spooky, you scare me!” She pushed back her chair and ran up the stairs, with Daniel right behind her.
“Chéri, were you staring at the child?” Mickey asked softly.
“I guess I was, but I wasn’t seeing her, if you know what I mean. I think she’s overtired. Aren’t young girls usually nervous and irritable every so often?”
Mickey laughed, a rueful sound that did not go unnoticed by Reuben. “I suppose so, but it’s been a long time since I was a young girl. I’m sure tomorrow will be better for all of us. Bebe is excited about our shopping trip. She said she has something special she wants to get Daniel. So special, she said, his eyes will light up with happiness. What do you think it could be?”
A small stab of jealousy flashed through Reuben. Bebe was going to get his friend something that would make his eyes light with happiness. Only a book could do that. He chuckled inwardly. He was getting a pocket watch for Daniel, a real Swiss timepiece with his initials and the date engraved by a friend of Mickey’s. What could that spoiled brat give Daniel that would be better than his own gift? It had to be a book. After you read a book, you either memorized it or you forgot it. A timepiece was forever.
Reuben forced his mind back to the present. “I thought you said you were finished with shopping,” he teased.
; Mickey leaned back in her chair. “One is never done. Please, you must give me a clue to the present you and Daniel got me. I have never seen such secrecy. Just one little hint?”
“Nope. You give me a hint about mine,” Reuben countered playfully.
“Absolutely not. It wouldn’t be a surprise then. Anyway, you shouldn’t be getting a present—you’re Jewish,” Mickey said, smiling.
“Ah, penalized for being what I am. I’m nothing, Mickey. I don’t even know if I believe in God.”
“Of course you do. You told me long ago, you prayed to Him for Daniel, so you do believe. Don’t ever say that, chéri, for He might punish you.”
Reuben didn’t like the direction the conversation was turning in. “What would I have to give, to promise, to get you to rub or even tickle my back?” His eyes were hot and smoldering as he leaned across the table.
“Give? Promise? Such unadulterated nonsense. Simply ask me.” Mickey could feel the heat starting to build within her.
“I’m asking.”
“It sounds like a demand to me.”
Reuben laughed. “Will you please rub and tickle my back?”
“But of course! We’ll tickle each other’s fancies!” Instantly Mickey became aware of the smoldering fires deep within his eyes, of the sudden tightening of the cords in his neck. The sensation of touching became overpowering. She imagined she could feel his smooth skin and rippling muscles beneath her fingertips. She hungered to run her hands through that thick mane of black hair, to hear him moan his delight. And then, when he would turn over to take her in his arms, her lips would graze the flat of his belly and the hairs that pointed downward….
He knew her little joke even before she uttered the words. It was a cue, a perfect little opening to their lovemaking. He adored her when she writhed and stretched like a cat beneath his touch. Even this moment his fingers ached to touch her, to run the length of her body, to bring her pleasure.
They both forgot the chocolate and climbed the staircase to the bedroom. Neither of them was aware that just a few feet away from them, Bebe lay exhausted on her bed, sobbing her heart out to Daniel.
“I want to go home, Daniel. I hate it here! No, that’s not true, I like it here. I like Mickey and I like you. It’s Reuben who’s making me miserable! Why, Daniel, why? Why does he treat me like he does?” Her golden hair was a tumble, her lower lip pouting to hold back tears, her delicate chin trembling.
Daniel shrugged, his puzzlement evident. “Bebe, why did you scream like that at the table? All you did was spill the wine. It wasn’t a catastrophe. If I’d been sitting in Reuben’s chair, I’d have been looking at you, too. You shouldn’t take offense so easily.”
Playing devil’s advocate didn’t come easily to Daniel, and he was uncomfortable with it. “It’s not good for you to keep thinking that Reuben hates you. Don’t play games to get your own way, Bebe. It won’t work here.” Then a bolt of lightning hit him. “You aren’t…you don’t…what I mean is, you don’t find yourself attracted to Reuben, do you?”
Bebe bolted upright, her golden hair tumbling to below her shoulders. “Where did you get such a stupid idea? I may be young, but I know about the birds and the bees. They’re sleeping together, you know it and so do I. I have eyes and ears, and what’s going on is…is…decadent. In America everyone thinks all Frenchwomen are whores, even my father.”
“Are you referring to Mickey?” Daniel challenged.
“No…yes…Oh, I don’t know. She’s so religious and saintly, giving money to the church and doing all kinds of good things for the poor, and then she takes a man half her age to bed. What does that tell you?” There were shards of ice in Bebe’s eyes, a sharp bitterness in her voice.
“You’re jealous of Mickey!” Daniel accused her.
“I am not!” Bebe retorted angrily.
“Yes, I believe you are,” Daniel mused. “I believe you want Reuben for yourself. You like Mickey, you may even love her, but she has something you want. You want Reuben. Admit it. Once you do, you’ll feel better. It’ll be our secret.” Daniel didn’t know where this insight was coming from, but even as he spoke, it all began to fall into place. “I’ll never tell,” he assured Bebe. “And you’ll have me to talk to. I think you need a friend, Bebe, a friend you can be honest with.”
“Daniel, I don’t want to talk—”
Daniel ignored her protest with a wave of his hand. “There’s no room for you in their relationship. You have to accept it. You can’t continue to cause friction. I can see through you, Bebe. You keep acting up, causing scene after scene, hoping Mickey will come to your defense, and that will drive a wedge between her and Reuben. It won’t work, and you’ll be the one who’s hurt in the end.”
“Don’t be so smug.” Bebe began crying again, huge tears rolling down her cheeks. “So what if it’s true, and I’m not saying it is, so what? Who cares?”
Suddenly she threw herself at Daniel, bursting into racking sobs. He’d never been this close to a girl before, and he didn’t know what to do with his hands. Bebe was hugging him tightly, sobbing on his shoulder. Almost of its own volition, one of Daniel’s arms surrounded her and the other stroked her golden head. Strange, wonderful feelings washed through him, but a stranger feeling warned him that he shouldn’t take advantage of the situation.
It occurred to him that he was mopping up after Reuben. Reuben had created this problem with Bebe, for whatever reason, and here he was trying to make things right. Was this a harbinger of things to come?
It never occurred to him that Bebe Rosen would and could use him to get to Reuben. He totally forgot that she had grown up among actresses; blinded by her soft arms around him, he wasn’t focusing on the fact that she was capable of playing a role and giving an excellent performance.
“Daniel, I don’t know what I would have done without you these past weeks,” Bebe said, sniffling. “You’ve been so good to me. You’re always there when I need someone. I wish I had a friend like you in California. All my other friends are fake and racy. The gossip columns say I’m just like them, but I’m not. I do like to have a good time, but I’ve been…a good girl. Do you know what I mean?” Her voice held a childish, innocent note. “C’mere,” she whispered, drawing him close. “I’m still a virgin. Bad girls aren’t virgins, are they? Don’t blush, Daniel, we’re friends, and friends can talk about anything. Are you a virgin, too? I’ll bet you are. You don’t have the same look in your eyes that Reuben has.”
“Reuben’s older….” Daniel wished his neck didn’t feel so hot; he knew his face was scarlet. It felt the way it did when he was running a fever.
They sat together far into the night, sharing secrets and confidences while Reuben and Mickey made love again and again.
It was still dark, with hours to go before dawn, when Bebe finally fell asleep, her hand curled sweetly under her cheek. Daniel kissed her brow, lightly breathing in her warm, clean scent. For a moment he felt almost light-headed. When he became aware of a thread of heat flowing through his body, he quickly left the room.
Under the covers in his own bed, in the darkness, he reached out for sleep with both arms, welcoming it like a long-lost friend.
Chapter Ten
The following morning at the breakfast table Bebe watched the glances exchanged between Reuben and Mickey. Daniel was acutely aware of Bebe’s interest and felt the skin on the back of his neck crawl.
“Dress warmly, chérie,” Mickey advised Bebe. “It is quite cold out, and even the little village shops are drafty.”
Mickey was dressed in a tailored gray wool dress and knee-high black leather boots. Already waiting on the chair in the foyer was her Russian sable coat and elbow-length gloves. Her long dark hair would be pulled beneath the matching head-swathing cloche of the same sable.
A few minutes after the dishes were cleared, Bebe and Mickey left in the Citroën for the village. They went from shop to shop, with gaily wrapped bundles and sly expressions on their faces. They purchase
d the standard Christmas gifts: warm mufflers, gloves, socks, and sweaters; books, some of them rare, others popular fiction from America; hand-engraved bookmarks for each of the books was a last-minute gift idea.
In the tea shop, Mickey double-checked her list, then sat back with a satisfied sigh. “Now we can have lunch, chérie. Hot soup and crusty bread with melted butter. It sounds delicious, no?”
“Yes, I’m starved,” Bebe agreed. “Tell me, Aunt Mickey, what did you get for Reuben and Daniel, or is it a secret?”
“Only from Reuben and Daniel. I have a pocket watch for Reuben, which I did not actually purchase. It was my father’s, the one thing he left me when he died. I have had the crystal replaced, and the jeweler polished and engraved it for me. It is a beautiful timepiece, and very, very old. Over one hundred years I would suspect. For Daniel, a set of law books. As always, I wonder after the fact if I bought the proper gifts. What do you think?”
Bebe fought with herself not to say something sarcastic. She knew Reuben would love the timepiece simply because it came from Mickey. Who wouldn’t be impressed to receive a gift that meant so much to the giver? And, of course, Daniel would be in heaven with his own set of law books.
Mickey’s eyes sparkled when she paid the check. “Now, chérie, we will drive down the road to see about your gift for Daniel. I know you’ve been waiting all morning for just this moment.”
Bebe giggled. “Yes, I have, but we can’t take it today. Oh, Aunt Mickey, are you certain it’s all right? You don’t mind?”
“Of course not. If it will make Daniel happy, then it will be a most welcome addition to the household. I’m so pleased that you want to give Daniel something special; he is a very special person. I know that if I ever needed him, say when I am old and gray and sitting in a rocking chair, he would come and do what he could for me. That is the kind of person he is.”
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