to go around the other way. As he strode over to berate the soldiers at the road block, Claire realised who he was. The uniform was new, but she recognised his blonde hair and broad shoulders. She glanced around, wondering if she could walk away unnoticed while he was giving the soldiers a dressing down, but it was too late – he’d recognised her too. She felt his eyes upon her and when she turned to face him, a look of amusement played about the thin line of his lips.
‘Good evening, Ernst,’ she said calmly, as she held out her papers for the sentries to check, trying to stop her hand from shaking as she did so.
‘Claire!’ he exclaimed. ‘What an unexpected pleasure seeing you here.’ He turned to the pair of soldiers and barked some commands at them in German, then drew Claire to one side. He reached out his hand, attempting to take hers, but she merely gave him her identity card, pretending not to have understood the gesture.
He glanced at the piece of paper in his hand which bore her photograph, then back at her. ‘It’s been a while,’ he said. The smile slowly faded from his face as she refused to smile back at him. ‘You didn’t reply to my invitations to meet for dinner, after we’d bumped into each other so unexpectedly at the museum that day.’
‘No,’ she replied evenly. ‘After seeing you with your wife and your son, they weren’t invitations I felt like accepting.’
He frowned, irritated now. ‘But Claire, surely you knew what your position was? What did you expect? We had fun, you and I. You certainly didn’t object to the nice things I gave you – the stockings and the perfume. And you didn’t seem to mind drinking champagne and having fine dinners bought for you at the best restaurants in Paris.’ His eyes were cold and hard, and glinted like steel.
She met his gaze steadily. ‘If I’d known you were married, I never would have accepted those things from you.’
She held out her hand for her identity document, attempting to bring the encounter to an end and be on her way, but he held it just out of her reach and smiled again, relishing his power.
‘Not so fast, mademoiselle, I think I need to ask you a few questions. What brings you to this part of the city tonight?’
She held up her attaché case. ‘A music lesson. I have singing classes sometimes.’
‘Permit me,’ he said, with exaggerated politeness, taking the leather case from her and opening it. ‘Ah, you have hidden talents I see,’ he observed, fanning out the sheet music. ‘Hidden from me, anyway. You never mentioned that you sang, on all those evenings we spent together.’
She continued to meet his gaze levelly. ‘No, it’s something I’ve only recently taken up. I have more time to spare in the evenings these days.’
He shoved the sheets of paper back into the case and handed it back to her. Then he held out her identity card but, just as she reached to take it, he whisked it away again, amusing himself as a cat does with a mouse, she thought.
‘So who are you keeping company with now then? Apart from your singing teacher who lives all the way across town from the Rue Cardinale?’
She was silent, but continued to hold out her hand for her ID document.
‘Those two other seamstresses, I suppose.’ He grinned. ‘The ones who were with you in the museum that day? I never did think they were a very good influence on you, you know, Claire. Perhaps you should be a little more discerning in the company you keep.’ His piercing blue eyes swept over her, and seemed to linger on the scuffed attaché case.
She tried to force herself to stay calm, keeping her voice level. ‘I could say the same to you, Ernst.’ She gave him a cool, appraising look that took in his black uniform from the silver braid on his cap to the polished toecaps of his boots. ‘I suppose all this is something to do with your new role, is it?’ She gestured towards the buses.
He laughed. ‘No, not at all. We leave such everyday duties as rubbish disposal to the French. I have far more important people to track down.’
Her gorge rose as she realised what he was saying, and she fought to swallow her nausea. As her anger surged, overflowing, she blurted out, ‘You are despicable.’ She was shaking all over