Paris Love Match - By Nigel Blackwell Page 0,12
minute he was talking to his mother and the next he was being shot at. Now he was on TV. It would be only a matter of minutes before the BBC relayed the images, and then his mum, dad, friends, everyone would know it was him. He let go of the pole and wiped his palms on his jeans.
The train slowed with a lurch as they entered a station, and there was a push for the doors. They allowed themselves to be swept out and up the escalators with the crowd, with Sidney gripping his wrist tight the whole time.
They emerged into a fine drizzle. Sidney held her free hand over her head. “Great, this is going to ruin my hair.”
“Who the hell cares?” Piers said. “We’ve been shot at, watched a man die, been threatened by god knows who, and you’re worried about your stupid hair?”
She glowered at him. “And they say old school British charm is dead.”
“No, I meant . . .”
Sidney walked down the street. “I know what you meant. You said it. My hair is stupid. Come on. I haven’t got time to teach you manners. We’ve got to move.”
Piers rushed to catch up. “Look, I meant after all we’ve been through, your hair is the least of our concerns.”
“Least of your concerns, maybe. But me? I don’t want to look like some tramp if they get my picture.”
He grabbed her hand and stopped her. “Get your picture? Get your picture! This isn’t a bloody game!”
Her expression hardened and she spoke through clenched teeth. “Keep your voice down.”
“Keep my voice down? Keep my voice down?” He felt his anger flash through his veins, and forced himself to take a deep breath. “All right, all right. We need to find somewhere quiet, safe.”
“Wow. No one can say your education was wasted. If you’d shut up and follow, I was on my way to somewhere safe.”
She wriggled out of Piers’ grip and walked on down the street. He rushed to keep up.
“I thought we were going to your highly trusted friend’s, the one you met in a bar last week.”
Sidney smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. “Well obviously that idea lost its appeal when the police turned up.”
Piers ground his teeth and kept silent.
She took several turns and crossed numerous roads until they arrived at a large building with grand steps and tall columns outside.
“This is it?” he said. “This is your idea of somewhere quiet?”
She scowled at him. “Of course it’s bloody quiet; no one ever goes here.”
“It’s a library. Libraries are quiet so people can concentrate. We can’t walk in there and start talking without everyone noticing.”
“Trust me,” she said, and walked into the building.
They took a narrow set of stairs that wound up to the third floor. She threaded her way through the long rows of shelves to an alcove in the corner.
A statue of a mythical male creature stood on a dark wood plinth. Piers couldn’t help but notice the creature was very well endowed.
Sidney elbowed him in the ribs. “It’s Greek. They used to exaggerate things.”
“You’ve been here before?”
Sidney beckoned him behind the statue. There was a half height door in the wall with a plaque that said “Enfants Seulement.” His eyes grew wide as she opened the door and ducked inside. He followed her into a small room.
Sidney flipped on the light, a single bulb dangling from a wire in the center of the ceiling. The walls were lined with books and posters. He saw images of Tintin, Asterix, and Jules Verne’s sea creatures. In the middle of the room were two comfortable chairs and a coffee table. Small clouds of dust took flight as they sat down.
She leaned back and massaged her neck. “I used to come here with my parents when we were on vacation. Told them I sat here and read all day.” She winked. “Actually, I used to stare at the statue a lot.” Her grin faded. “I made a lot of friends in this room. Teenagers. We used to run around Paris. I found out how to ride the Métro for free, and places where you could pick up food, and … well, then my father wouldn’t bring me back because of the group I’d fallen in with. He didn’t want me to grow up with a bad crowd.”
“Well I’m glad to see his efforts weren’t wasted.”
Sidney screwed up her face. “Huh?”
“Never mind.”
Concern evaporated from her face. “Anyway, we’ll be safe here.”
“That’s a relative