Darkest Longings (10 page)

to stay in Lorvoire. But she would never tell them to Celine,

she would never tell anyone. She was too ashamed even to

voice them to herself.

When Monique had left, Celine sat quietly thinking over

their conversation. She had a feeling that Monique had only

skimmed the surface of her resentment of Claudine, but

what really lay at the root of it she couldn’t be sure. Perhaps,

as she said, she was just deeply concerned to protect her

brothers from another catastrophe like the one with

Hortense. Claudine knew nothing about Hortense, of

course, and Beavis had forbidden Celine to tell her. And she

herself, Celine reflected, did not know exactly what had

happened on that fateful night. Only Francois and Lucien

knew; and perhaps their father. And Hortense, she thought,

with a shiver.

Well, she shrugged, getting up from the sofa, there was

really no point in worrying any further. It seemed as if

Claudine was determined to marry Francois, and nothing

would dissuade her - probably not even his brother Lucien.

As the shiny red Lagonda skidded to a halt on the gravel

outside the Chateau de Lorvoire, Claudine was laughing so

hard she almost lost control of the car. Solange had been

singing heartily the whole way; then, on entering the drive

she had torn off her hat, hauled herself to her feet, and was

now giving a splendid rendition of an old and extremely

bawdy music-hall song, clutching the windscreen and

jerking her head from side to side as the wind stood her

greying tufts of hair on end. Claudine was hooting on the

horn to keep her company, and so intent were they upon the

climax of their performance that neither of them noticed the

young man come out of the chateau and circle round behind

the car, looking it over with marked appreciation and

smiling at the din coming from within. It wasn’t until he

came to stand beside Solange, hands on hips and head tilted

humorously to one side, that they both saw him - whereupon

Solange abandoned her song to a screech of joy and

threw herself into his arms.

‘Lucien!’ she cried, and laughing, her younger son

scooped her out of the car and set her down in front of him.

Then, to Claudine’s delight, Solange hooked him round the

waist and started to quick-step him round the forecourt. As

she watched them enjoying themselves so naturally,

Claudine’s heart was full. How hard it was to believe that

Francois belonged to the same family!

At last Lucien twirled his mother to a halt, and slipping an

arm around her shoulders, turned back to the car. As they

came towards her Claudine’s heart gave an involuntary leap,

and for a fleeting moment she felt as though she were in a

dream where faces change beyond belief, reality turns into

fantasy. It was as though Francois was approaching her,

mocking her, letting her see how handsome he could be if

only his eyes were blue and his smile was as ready and

sincere as his brother’s.

She blinked, trying to clear her vision, then found herself

placing her hand in Lucien’s as he said, ‘Captain Lucien de

Lorvoire at your service, mademoiselle?

The twinkle in his eyes was so infectious that Claudine

felt the laughter spring to her own as she made a curtsey to

his bow. ‘Delighted to make your acquaintance, Monsieur

Capitaine.’

They both turned to Solange, who was bobbing excitedly

up and down beside them. ‘Do you know who this is,

Lucien?’ she cried. ‘Can you guess?’

Lucien frowned thoughtfully, then casting a sidelong

glance at Claudine, he said, ‘I imagine, unless I am greatly

mistaken, that this is none other than Mademoiselle

Rafferty.’

‘Yes!’ Solange clapped her hands together delightedly.

‘And isn’t she beautiful? And she drives like a maniac,

Lucien, just like you. Oh, it was such fun, and if Papa will

allow it I think I shall go again.’

‘If it makes you happy, Maman, then I am sure Papa will

allow it. But don’t you think that perhaps you’ve had enough

for today?’

As Solange’s face fell, Claudine had to fight the impulse

to hug her. ‘You could be right,’ Solange sighed. ‘All right, I

shall leave you two to get to know one another. Such a

shame you’re not in uniform, Lucien. He looks so dashing

in his uniform, you know.’ Then, leaning towards Lucien,

she whispered, ‘If you’re feeling exceptionally brave, cheri, you should ask Claudine to take you for a spin, but I warn you, she’s a better driver than you.’ And before he could

answer she tripped lightly up the steps and disappeared

inside the chateau.

Laughing, Lucien turned back to Claudine. ‘She’s

incorrigible,’ he said.

‘I think she’s adorable,’ Claudine smiled, as she met his

clear blue eyes. They looked at each other for several

moments, openly assessing one another and both amused by the frankness they were displaying, until, rubbing his hands together in a businesslike manner, Lucien turned to the car.

‘So, how about that spin?’

Claudine inclined her head, and waving her hand

towards the passenger seat, pulled open the driver’s door. ‘I

warn you, this is not for the fainthearted.’

‘Then do your worst, mademoiselle,’ he said, jumping in.

‘Are you ready?’ she called, as she revved the engine and

slid it into gear.

‘Go!’ he shouted in English.

And with a spin of the wheel and a screech of tyres, she

swung the car round and sped off down the drive, leaving a

cloud of dust billowing in their wake.

‘Where would you like to go?’ she yelled, as they squealed

out of the drive onto the forest road.

‘Surprise me.’

Claudine tossed him a look, then pressed her foot hard to

the floor and headed full speed through the trees towards

the village of Lorvoire.

‘You’re crazy,’ he shouted, as they all but took off going

over a humpback bridge.

‘Had enough?’

‘Never!’

Laughing, she turned her eyes back to the road - and just in

the nick of time, for they had suddenly swallowed the distance

between the bridge and a lumbering tractor. Claudine steered

the car up the bank, round the tractor, across the road again

and into a ditch, where they came to an unceremonious halt.

‘And Maman thinks you’re a better driver than me!’

Lucien declared, rubbing his forehead where it had

bumped the windscreen.

Claudine was laughing so hard that for a moment she

couldn’t speak. ‘But I am,’ she finally spluttered. ‘If you’d

been driving I’ll bet you’d have braked.’

‘Damn right I would,’ he said, getting out of the car to

inspect it for damage. He slapped his hand on the bonnet as

if to give it the all-clear, then turned to wave down the old

man who was chugging up in his tractor. Claudine, who was

just beginning to get out of the car, took one look at the

farmer’s outraged face and decided that it would be wise to

leave the explaining to Lucien.

‘Oh no you don’t!’ Lucien said, pulling her out from

behind him. But just as she was assuming her most winsome

smile and bracing herself for the wrath to come, the old man

suddenly seemed to surrender.

‘Monsieur le Capitaine,’ he muttered, clutching the beret

from his balding head. ‘I didn’t realize it was you in the car.

Pardon me for saying so, monsieur, but you could have been

killed, driving like that.’

‘My sentiments exactly, Thomas,’ Lucien told him

heartily. ‘It would appear that mademoiselle’s tutor has not

adequately schooled her in the art of braking, don’t you

agree? But you may rest assured, Thomas, I shall see to it

personally that she does no further damage to our ditches.’

Thomas leaned conspiratorially towards him. ‘I don’t

think they should ever have let women behind the wheel

myself, monsieur. They don’t have what it takes to control a

machine like that. No wits.’

‘None at all,’ Lucien agreed solemnly.

Unable to stop herself, Claudine gave a snort of indignation,

which brought such an imperious arch to old

Thomas’s brows that Lucien had to turn away before the old

man realized he was laughing.

‘Incidently, Thomas,’ he went on, once he had himself

back under control, ‘before you do the decent tiling and get

us out of this mess, I think I’d better do you the honour of a

formal introduction. Thomas Crouy, meet Mademoiselle

Claudine Rafferty, possibly the future Comtesse de

Lorvoire.’

He was looking at Claudine, waiting for her confirmation,

but Claudine was watching Thomas, whose confusion was

so apparent that she rushed forward to clasp his hand

between hers, apologizing for being such a hazard on the

roads, lamenting the shame of having so few wits, and

promising to take more care in the future …

‘That was a rotten thing to do,’ she told Lucien, as ten

minutes later they waved Thomas goodbye and drove off at

a respectable pace.

‘I know,’ he confessed, ‘but he can be such a pompous old

cake at times. And better he finds out now who you are than

later. Imagine how he would feel then?’

She threw him a quick glance, then flattened the

accelerator and sent the car shooting off down the road into

the open countryside.

A few minutes later, halfway up a hill, he yelled for her to stop, and with a screeching of brakes she pulled into the roadside. ‘Over the brink of that hill are the de Lorvoire

vineyards,’ Lucien said, ‘and below them, at the heart of the

valley, is the Vienne and the village. It’s a view you shouldn’t

miss, so we’ll walk from here.’

‘As you like,’ she murmured, but instead of getting out of the car she closed her eyes, stretched her arms above her head and inhaled the fresh country air. Then, allowing her

head to fall back against the seat, she sat quietly watching

the tiny patches of white cloud as they drifted across the sky.

‘What are you thinking?’ Lucien asked, watching her with

amusement and not a little fascination.

As she turned to smile at him she was pleasantly struck by

how relaxed she felt in his company, as if she had known him

for ten years rather than ten minutes. ‘I’m not sure I’m

thinking anything,’ she said softly.

He nodded. ‘Mm, as Thomas said, no wits.’ And he

started to walk on up the hill, his hands buried in the pockets

of his corduroy trousers and the silk back of his waistcoat

billowing in the breeze.

Claudine smiled. Effortless charm, dark good looks and

ready humour - Lucien really was very attractive! It might

be quite hard to resist him, if it wasn’t for the fact that…

She stopped smiling, and got out of the car.

‘So,’ he said, falling into step with her as she joined him,

‘how are you finding it all?’

‘If by that you mean Lorvoire, would it be too sentimental

to say I’m in grave danger of losing my heart?’

‘But you haven’t seen it yet. At least, not the village.’

‘I’ve seen it from the top of the hill over there.’ She pointed to where she and Francois had stood a week ago.

‘One of the best views,’ he admitted. ‘Who told you about

it?’

She smiled as she remembered how she had come to be

there. ‘As a matter of fact, I found it for myself. I was in a

mind to escape your brother at the time.’

He grinned. ‘And did you succeed?’

Claudine thought about that for a moment, then said,

‘No, but I’d be lying if I said he came after me with passion

beating in his heart.’

Lucien gave a shout of laughter. ‘So how did you find my

brother?’ he said.

‘Rather sore that he lost the toss of the coin,’ she

answered, gazing nonchalantly about her.

Lucien came to an abrupt halt. ‘He told you about that?’

‘Not in so many words,’ she answered, turning back to

look at him. ‘But that is what happened, isn’t it? Two

confirmed bachelors tossed a coin to decide which of them

must make the ultimate sacrifice?’

As they stared at one another, the corner of Lucien’s

mouth curved in a sheepish grin. ‘I can see there’s no point

in lying,’ he said.

‘None whatsoever,’ she agreed happily.

They started to walk on, keeping in single file as Thomas

rolled past in his tractor. ‘Has Francois asked you to marry

him yet?’ Lucien asked bluntly, as he caught her up.

‘No. Did you think he would on our first meeting?’

‘As a matter of fact, I did. Whenever Francois has

something unpleasant to do, he usually gets it over with as

quickly as possible. And I could have phrased that a little

more tactfully, couldn’t I?’

Claudine laughed. ‘Never mind. Besides, it suggests he

might have found the prospect a little less unpleasant than

you imagined!’

Knowing precisely what Francois’ first impression of her

had been, Lucien passed no comment. Instead he asked,

‘What about you? Have you decided what your answer will

be when he does get around to asking?’

‘Oh yes. I will marry him. And he’ll ask me the very next