lots of room elsewhere, yes?’
Jenny could quite easily have slapped that face. No, not slapped, she’d bunch her hand first and hope to knock out a couple of teeth.
Calm, Jenny.
She took a breath. ‘The thing is, that’s their choice. I’m not having you throw out people you don’t want around you and moving in those you do.’ Despite her best intentions, she could hear anger creeping into her voice. ‘I’m not having that, do you understand?’
He smiled. ‘The thing is, Jennifer, you are losing them.’
‘What?’
‘These people. They need a spiritual direction, a guide. They are lost and frightened.’
‘What? They’re not frightened! Look, I came here, I led my family and others here because it’s safe. No one’s bloody well frightened here.’
‘Yes, you did that. You made them safe, and trust me when I say God is grateful for all you have done for—’
‘Oh, for fuck’s sake, cut that crap!’ she snapped. ‘Don’t give me the God thing, because I just don’t buy it.’
‘I am sorry,’ he sighed. Silent for a moment, his eyes studied her intently. ‘The truth is they need more than this. More than safety, more than food. They need purpose.’
‘They have a purpose!’
‘No, what they have is just existence. They eat, they drink, they sleep. That is all. No one can live on that for ever. I have seen other people on my travels, Jennifer. Other communities like yours . . . maybe not so large. People who did not allow God in.’ He shook his head sadly. ‘Eventually, they wither and die.’
She thought she saw the glint of a tear on one of his cheeks and wondered if he was so deluded that it was actually genuine.
‘If it was my choice,’ he continued, ‘perhaps God should have come and spoken to you, not me. After all, it was you worked so hard to create this safe haven, in fairness it should be you that leads the people. But I am afraid this is how it is, God chose me.’
‘God spoke to you, huh?’
He ignored her. ‘Your people are beginning to understand this place is . . . is special. That it fits into a grander plan.’
‘Right. Which is what?’
‘The crash, the end of the oil age, the wars, the riots, the starvation, ten years of darkness - it was all part of God’s scheme. To clear away the old and start again.’
She laughed. ‘Valérie, you know and I know that’s bullshit. Shall I tell you what I think?’
He spread his hands. ‘Please.’
‘I think you came on to these rigs and you saw an opportunity. You saw a safe and isolated environment. You saw that we could feed ourselves indefinitely, and that there aren’t a lot of other men, are there? Not a lot of competition? You’ve seen a lot of vulnerable women looking for something more . . . you’ve seen all that and decided to make the most of it.’
He shook his head. ‘You have me wrong, Jennifer.’
‘I think I’ve got you just about right. I don’t fucking trust you!’
‘Trust?’ He smiled. ‘If you want someone not to trust I have heard things about your Walter that concern me.’
That threw her. She wasn’t expecting that. ‘What?’
‘Walter,’ he said again.
‘What’s—What about Walter?’
‘He has always been very close to you, yes?’
‘Since I first met him,’ she replied. ‘Not that it’s any of your business.’
‘Close to you . . . close to your daughter. Close to Hannah.’
Jenny angrily snatched a cushion in one hand, wondering what she was going to do with it. Throw it at him?
‘What? What’s Hannah got to do with anything?!’
‘You remember the day she was missing?’ continued Valérie. ‘You remember he did not want anyone to search that generator room, yes?’
All of a sudden she could see where he was going with that. ‘Don’t you dare say another fucking word! Don’t you even think of trying that with me. Do you hear?’
Jenny dropped the cushion and took several steps towards the door, before turning to face him. ‘Walter’s a bloody good man. I’ve relied on him for years! He’s done so much for us. Don’t try and—’
‘Jennifer, I am telling you what people are thinking. That is all.’
‘I came here to discuss these evictions! And that, Valérie, is stopping right now!’
He said nothing.
‘And the mealtimes will be sat according to work groups. Do you understand!’ she added. ‘We are not splitting this place up into your kingdom and mine!’
He shrugged. ‘It’s too late.’
She turned for the doorway.
‘Jennifer,’ Valérie called out after her.
She stopped in