The Paris Affair

52 Julia

52

Julia

September, 2002 – Bonn

The next morning, Julia went downstairs to check on Christoph. She left Daniel poring over her notebooks. She opened the music-room door. Christoph lay on the sofa, his eyes open.

‘How are you feeling?’

Christoph winced as he tried to sit up. ‘I’ve had better days.’

‘You look warm.’ She touched his forehead. It was hot. ‘I might need to call the doctor.’

‘Fuss and nonsense,’ he said, waving away her concern.

Footsteps thundered down the stairs. Daniel came in, holding the recipe book and Julia’s notes in his hand. He looked elated.

‘I’ve got it,’ he said. ‘Sylvie became Lisette Munier, and then, in 1962, she married Jacques and opened the restaurant in Nice? So, if we can’t find Sylvie, at least we might be able to locate Jacques.’

Christoph stared at him. ‘What do you mean?’

Daniel kneeled next to Christoph. ‘I want to find her for you. I know what you did for me, Papa. I’m sorry I never understood.’

Christoph cupped Daniel’s face. ‘Oh, Daniel, I should have told you more often how much I loved you. You and your mother were like a team, both of you against me. I retreated. Words were never my strong point and I just didn’t know what to say because I felt so ashamed. I shouldn’t have done that. I should have been more open with you, especially as you got older.’

‘I think I understand things better now, that’s why I want to help …’ Daniel pointed to the notebook.

‘But I’ve given up hope of finding her.’

‘I don’t think you should,’ Daniel said. ‘You let her go for me, all those years ago, and now, if there’s a chance we can find her, I want to try.’

Tears welled in Christoph’s eyes. Julia knew how much Daniel’s words meant to him.

‘You’d really do that for me?’ he said, clasping Daniel’s hand. ‘But what about your plans for the farm?’

‘They’re not important. Finding Sylvie is. I’ve been puzzling it out all morning. Can you remember Jacques’ surname?’

‘It’s such a jumble. I remember the attic storerooms …’ Christoph closed his eyes. His breathing slowed. ‘Jacques was crouched in a corner. I asked him his name, but he wouldn’t tell me, not at first, and then later …’

‘What?’ Daniel whispered.

Christoph’s eyes flashed open. ‘Of course. The morning star. It seemed so incongruous up there in the blackness. Morgenstern. Jacques Morgenstern.’

Daniel clutched Julia’s hand. ‘That’s it. Come on. Let’s try and find him, and hopefully Sylvie too.’

Julia sat with Daniel on the stairs, the phone cradled in his hand. The search for Jacques had only taken a few clicks on the PC in Daniel’s room. It was a distinctive name. The list narrowed further to just one name when they searched for the restaurant in Nice.

‘You ring,’ Julia said.

‘No, it has to be you. You started this by finding the recipe book. Besides, you can speak French better than I can.’

Before Julia could reply, Daniel dialled the number and handed her the phone. While it was ringing, Julia recalled the pictures on the website. Restaurant L’étoile du Matin, overlooking the white-capped Mediterranean Sea.

Someone picked up.

‘ Bonjour ,’ a gruff male voice said. ‘Jacques speaking.’

It was him, the man from the attic, the man Sylvie had married.

‘ Bonjour , my name is Julia,’ she said, her stomach in knots at the thought of how close they might be to finding Sylvie. ‘I wondered if you could help me. I’m looking for someone called Lisette, or perhaps Sylvie.’

The line went silent. ‘I haven’t heard those names for a while,’ the man said.

‘I’m ringing on behalf of someone called Christoph Baumann. I believe you met him in Paris, a long time ago.’

Daniel bent near the receiver to listen.

‘Is Christoph still alive?’ Jacques said.

‘He’s very old. And I’m afraid that he’s very unwell. He doesn’t have much time left. He’d like to contact Lisette, or Sylvie as he knew her, before it’s too late to say goodbye.’

‘I have no idea where she is,’ Jacques said. ‘I’m sorry. I haven’t seen her since 1989, when we got divorced. I wanted to give her half of everything we owned, but she wouldn’t accept a thing. Just took her bag, a few clothes and left.’

‘Do you know where she went?’

‘England, I think, but I can’t be sure.’

‘Do you have an address, a contact number?’ Surely he had to know something.

‘ Non ,’ Jacques said, his voice tinged with sadness. ‘You’ll never find her. I tried to, but it was impossible. I think she changed her name again.’

Julia clutched the receiver. ‘But we must find her. We’re desperate. Time’s running out.’

Jacques sighed. ‘Before she left, she told me she wanted to become the person she’d been before the war. As you know, Sylvie was her cover name. Lisette was her code name. She said that her birth name, her real name, had been buried the moment she set foot on French soil. She said that maybe our divorce was a chance to go back to being that person.’

‘And did she tell you her real name?’

‘No, she didn’t,’ he said sadly. ‘She disappeared. Became her old self, maybe. At any rate, I’m afraid I never heard from her again.’

‘I see.’ Julia said. Her heart sank.

‘I’m sorry I can’t help you more,’ Jacques said. ‘Please give my love to Christoph. He saved my life. I’ve never forgotten it.’

‘Of course,’ Julia said. ‘And thank you.’

Daniel sighed as she replaced the receiver. ‘So, she’s eluded us again,’ he said.

Julia nodded. ‘It’s like we’re chasing someone who’s always just out of reach.’

‘We could go to England, search the SOE records if they’re available. Maybe we could find her that way.’

‘We could,’ Julia said, glancing at the door of the music room, ‘but we can’t leave Christoph. He doesn’t have long. We might have to accept that we’ve done all we can.’

Julia went upstairs with Daniel to tell Christoph the news from Jacques. His fever had grown worse. He was delirious, slipping in and out of consciousness, his head burning up. Thoughts of Jacques and Sylvie were forgotten. There was no question of leaving him now. The search for Sylvie really had come to an end.

The next day, Julia sat by Christoph’s bedside. He muttered under his breath, his eyes closed. Julia mopped his brow with a wet flannel. His temperature had been caused by a urine infection, the doctor said, and his body, weakened by cancer, was struggling to fight it. Daniel had gone to get some medication from the pharmacy.

Julia picked up the recipe book from the bedside table. How could a love like that simply have vanished? Sylvie’s false identities made it impossible to trace her. Julia sighed. It all hinged on a name.

She looked back over each recipe. Sylvie’s food had been more than something to fill the belly. Each dish had conjured a memory for Christoph.

The last recipe was for madeleines. Julia took a closer look at the title. That was strange. The ‘s’ in Madeleines had been underlined in pencil. She flicked back over the other recipes. In every title, one of the letters had been underlined. Some of the underlining had faded, but now that she looked carefully, she could see an indent where the line had been.

Could it be that the letters stood for something?

Julia copied out the recipes in order, with the underlined letters.

Fis c hkotlett

Crème Br? l ée

Sauerbr a ten

Schweinsoh r en

Pot a ge Fontanges

Canard à la Rouennai s e

Brath a hnchen

Fonds d’Articha u ts Farcis

Muschel n

Eintopf mit Bohnen un d Kartoffeln

Filets de Maqu e reaux à la Flamande

Citron P r essé avec Lavande

Madeleine s au Citron

Her hand moved frantically across the page. It was like a game of Hangman. Letter by letter, recipe by recipe, appearing like a ghost from the past as she wrote down the underlined letters in order, a name emerged. Julia sat back and stared.

Clara Saunders.

Could this be her? The real woman behind the recipes. Had the answer been here all the time, hidden in the recipe book? Julia glanced at the dedication. For Christoph, our recipes. I hope one day they lead you back to me . It had to be her.

Julia glanced at Christoph. He’d slipped into a fitful sleep. She didn’t want to get his hopes up. Nor Daniel’s. She’d do this last part alone. That way, no one would know if it failed. If Clara Saunders was still alive, Julia had to find her.