She put her arms around him. ‘It is, isn’t it? A start, I mean.’ She kissed him lightly. Dear Henry. It had never occurred to her, till now, how safe and secure she felt with him. Suddenly she wanted very much to kiss him again. But instinct told her that this had to be taken slowly and gently. ‘Why don’t we do this again? I mean, you could come round another time and—’
‘Stop being such a giver. My place next time. I’ll do the cooking. OK?’
She smiled. ‘OK.’
When Leo arrived in Nice a hire car was waiting for him, and Felicity had texted the name of the hotel he was booked into. He took the motorway route, and twenty minutes later he was turning into the car park of the hotel on the harbour front. He parked the car and walked to the Cours Massena. The town had a dead feeling, only a handful of bars and restaurants open, the rest closed for the winter. As the apartment building came into view, he gazed up anxiously at the windows of the third floor, but could see no lights on. He felt a little sick inside. Perhaps his hunch had been wrong. He should have let Jacqueline call the police when she wanted to. Perhaps he had wasted valuable hours.
He let himself in and hurried upstairs and unlocked the door. The apartment was empty, but to his unspeakable relief, a canvas overnight bag sat on the floor, next to a sleeping bag. He went through to the kitchen and found an opened bag of pasta, a jar of pesto, and unwashed dishes and a pan in the sink. Leo took his mobile from his pocket and rang Jacqueline.
‘She’s here.’
‘Oh, thank God! Can I speak to her?’
‘I mean, her things are here. She’s not. She must have gone out somewhere. But the good thing is, you can stop worrying.’
‘I’m so relieved! But I still need to know what’s going on, why she left!’
‘I know, I know. So do I. I’ll talk to her, and tomorrow I’ll get her to call you. OK?’
‘OK.’ There was a pause. ‘And thank you, Leo.’
‘It’s what any father would do.’
When he had hung up, Leo paced around the apartment. She could be in any one of the bars and clubs he had passed. The sensible thing would be to wait till she got back. But the place was still unfurnished, with not even a chair to sit in. Besides, his instincts told him that if she was troubled – and he believed she was – she wasn’t looking for the company of other young people. He asked himself what he would do in her shoes, alone, here, trying to make sense of some problem. He left the apartment, walked up the quiet midnight streets to the castle, and along the deserted sweep of the ramparts that looked out over the port.
After he had gone a little way, he saw a solitary figure sitting on the ramparts wall. It had to be her. As he came closer, she turned at the sound of his feet on the cobbles.
‘Hello,’ he said. ‘I thought I might find you here.’
‘Leo!’
‘You’ve got everyone very worried back home.’ He swung himself onto the wall and sat next to her, digging his hands deep in his overcoat pockets. She was wearing a thick jacket, but she looked cold. He put an arm around her, and she leant into his shoulder and began to cry.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said through her tears. ‘I didn’t mean to worry anyone. I’ve just been so frightened and miserable, I didn’t know what to do.’
‘Hey, hey. No need to be frightened. Is this to do with what happened on Saturday?’
She took her head from his shoulder and stared at him, sniffing. ‘How do you know about that?’
‘I spoke to Anthony. And just so you know – the police weren’t called.’
‘Really?’ She looked visibly relieved.
‘I gather some money changed hands, and the whole thing is being hushed up.’
She buried her face in her hands. ‘Oh, God. I don’t know whether that’s good or bad. Good for me, I suppose.’
‘Look,’ said Leo, ‘what do you say we go somewhere and talk about this?’ She nodded, wiping her eyes. ‘I’m booked into a hotel down on the harbour. You might as well stay there tonight, too. That sleeping bag at the flat doesn’t exactly look comfy. Come on.’
They walked down the deserted street to the harbour, and along the quay to the hotel.
‘How did you know I was here?’ asked Gabrielle.
‘Just a hunch. I asked myself where I would go, what I would do, if I was afraid and wanted to hide somewhere.’
They checked into the hotel, and went through to the bar, which was deserted, but still open. ‘Sit down, and I’ll get us both a drink, and see if we can rustle up some food. I haven’t eaten all day. Have you got any cash?’