Mathieu looked at her before saying stonily, ‘You are here to look after the twins. It’s not really for you to decide whether you go or not. I could insist you accompany us or return to the UK.’
‘I do look after the twins – when they are not at school, I organise their lives,’ Nanette said, taking a deep breath. ‘I’ve actually seen more of them than you have in the last few weeks – you’re always dashing off somewhere or other for “business”. You certainly weren’t around for Pierre’s after-school football match, or Olivia’s music exam,’ she added crossly. ‘Olivia has already told me how much they are both looking forward to having you to themselves on Monday.’ She paused, before adding slowly, ‘Mathieu, if you don’t think I’m doing enough for the twins, you can always take over the job yourself. I’d be quite happy to go home – I came for Vanessa and the twins’ sake, not yours. Personally, I had no intention of ever returning to Monaco.’ Nanette looked him straight in the eyes before concluding, ‘I’m not sure how Vanessa would react to you sending me home though.’ And then she turned and left him standing there.
12
‘You sure you won’t change your mind and come with us?’ Mathieu asked, before he and the twins left for their day out in the country. ‘It will be quiet here on your own all day.’
The outing hadn’t been mentioned since their argument a few days before and Nanette was relieved that Mathieu had allowed the subject to drop. This morning, he seemed to have forgotten his earlier accusations and was happy to be going with the twins on his own after all.
Nanette shook her head. ‘Quite sure, thanks. Besides, I won’t be on my own all day – I’m meeting Jean-Claude later. Enjoy yourselves.’
She was just closing the door behind them when Mathieu called out, ‘Nanette, there’s a package for you in my office. I’m sorry I forgot to tell you yesterday when it came. It’s on my desk.’
Nanette recognised Patsy’s handwriting on the large envelope. Taking a paperknife out of the desk tidy, she carefully slit open the envelope.
Replacing the paperknife, a crumpled piece of paper beside the wastepaper basket caught her attention. Picking it up, she saw it was a detailed map of the Amazon, clearly torn out of an atlas.
The twins were hoping to follow Vanessa and Ralph’s progress, so there was nothing unusual in Mathieu having a map of the trip – in fact, there was a large-scale one pinned to the wall – but this one had some of the place names circled in red and haphazardly linked with numbers written against them.
Puzzled, Nanette tried to work out what they could possibly represent, before deciding that it was probably a piece of scrap paper that Mathieu had been doodling on and thrown at the wastepaper basket, where he’d obviously intended it to go.
Going to her own room, Nanette carefully pulled out the contents of the envelope. A short note from Patsy was sellotaped around a sealed brown official envelope. Pensively, Nanette placed both in the drawer of her dressing table. Even without opening it, she knew exactly what the official envelope contained. Pushing the drawer closed, she went through to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.
Because it was a fête day, Florence had the day off and for the first time since she’d arrived, Nanette was completely alone in the apartment. Coffee cup in hand, she wandered around, enjoying the solitude.
Pausing outside Mathieu’s closed bedroom door, she realised she’d only ever had glimpses of that particular room – the door was always closed. Curiously, and smothering her guilty feelings, Nanette turned the handle, only to find the door was locked.
Nanette mused, as she sipped her coffee, was Mathieu just keen on privacy, or simply wanted to keep the twins from messing up his room? Or did he have something to hide in there?
Deep in thought, she returned to Mathieu’s temporary office. The computer was switched off. The desk, apart from the desk tidy, was empty. Not even a diary. The filing cabinet was locked. The only discordant thing in the room was the crumpled atlas page in the wastepaper basket. She retrieved it and, smoothing it out, wandered back into the sitting room. Maybe it was only a piece of waste paper, but somehow she had a feeling it was more than that. Perhaps she’d show it to Jean-Claude later and see if he had any ideas.
Standing by the sitting-room window, she glanced out at the harbour and froze as she saw a figure sitting at a table on the stern deck of Pole Position. Even from her viewpoint nine floors up, she had no difficulty in recognising Zac – or the man he was now standing up to welcome on board – the Russian, Boris.
Hoping she was shielded from view by the tall lemon tree in its pot on the balcony, Nanette watched as the two men were served coffee by a stewardess, before Boris handed Zac what looked like a large packet.
Ten minutes later, both men stood up, shook hands and Boris took his leave of Zac, making his way slowly along the gangway back to a large black car waiting for him on the harbour road.
On board Pole Position, Nanette could see Zac punching a number into his mobile phone before holding it up to his ear, and moving his head so that it was obvious he was looking directly up at the apartment.
Nanette stepped slowly away from the window. Had he seen her after all? Realised she’d been watching him and Boris?
The shrill buzz of the apartment doorbell made her jump and she hurried to open it.
‘Bonjour, Nanette. Happy May Day.’ Jean-Claude lightly kissed her on both cheeks before handing her a pot of lilies of the valley.
‘Thank you, JC,’ Nanette said, surprised. She’d forgotten all about the tradition of giving the highly scented flowers on the first of May as a sign of friendship – and love.
‘You look a little flustered,’ Jean-Claude said, looking at her anxiously. ‘Nothing wrong, is there?’
‘Zac is in town. I’ve just been watching him and his friend, Boris, meeting on Pole Position,’ she explained.
‘Is this Boris still there? I would be interested in seeing what he looks like,’ Jean-Claude said, walking out quickly on to the balcony.
‘No. He left a few minutes ago. Zac is still on board.’
Joining him out on the balcony, Nanette could see Zac now in the cockpit, gesticulating at one of his crew. As they watched, Zac turned and glanced upwards, raising his hand in greeting as he saw Jean-Claude and Nanette standing on the balcony.
Rather than acknowledge him, Nanette turned and went back into the sitting room.
‘I thought we’d have lunch at the Automobile Club,’ Jean-Claude said, following her. ‘Or anywhere you like,’ he added quickly, seeing the look on her face.
‘It’s just that with Zac in town,’ Nanette apologised, ‘I know it’s his favourite place for lunch and I’m not quite ready to meet him socially yet. Could we go somewhere else, please?’
‘Why don’t we walk up to Saint Nicholas Square?’ Jean-Claude said, unfazed at her request. ‘It’s a bit touristy, but, on the plus side, I doubt that Zac will venture up that way on a fête day.’
Nanette looked at him gratefully. ‘I’ll just get my bag.’
To Nanette’s relief, and by mutual unspoken agreement, they left the apartment block by the quieter exit on to a back street so she didn’t have to set foot on the quay with the possibility of bumping into Zac.