Chapter 10
10
PARIS 1961
Allegra and Elizabeth sat at the table at Etienne’s whilst he made them all something to eat. It was around nine o’clock in the evening and there was still no word from Luc.
‘I just want to know he’s alright,’ said Elizabeth.
‘I’m sure it will all be fine,’ said Allegra, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. Her friend looked pale and tired.
Etienne joined them at the table, putting an omelette in front of each of them. ‘He’ll be back soon. When he does, how about we get out of Paris this weekend?’
Elizabeth sighed. ‘I definitely need to get away.’
Paris had been a whirlwind since Allegra had met Elizabeth, then Etienne. Weekends had been spent exploring the city’s parks and flea markets during the day and pretty much every jazz club in the 14th arrondissement at night. The idea of leaving Paris hadn’t even occurred to her. ‘Where would we go?’
‘We could go down for the party we have at home to celebrate the end of the harvest. It’s this weekend,’ said Etienne.
Elizabeth’s eyes widened. ‘You mean go to your parents’ house?’
‘Yes, why not? We can take the night train from here and be in Cannes by the morning.’
‘Assuming Luc’s not still in prison,’ said Elizabeth quietly.
Etienne filled a small tumbler with white wine and passed it to Elizabeth. ‘Betty, he’s not in prison. He’s at the police station and they’ll have to release him soon. He hasn’t done anything wrong.’ His voice was calm and reassuring. He poured another glass and passed it to Allegra. ‘Come on, it’ll be fun. And don’t forget Monday is a public holiday so we could have a few days and then be back in Paris in time for class on Tuesday.’
Allegra looked at Elizabeth hopefully. ‘What do you think?’
Elizabeth was about to speak when there was a knock at the front door downstairs.
‘I’ll go,’ said Etienne.
Elizabeth and Allegra listened as first one set of footsteps went down the stairs, then soft voices and two sets came back up. The door to the apartment swung open and Etienne came back into the room.
‘Look who I found downstairs.’ He pointed at Luc, standing behind him.
‘Did I miss much?’ said Luc, a broad grin on his face.
‘Luc!’ Elizabeth jumped up and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest. ‘You bloody idiot!’ she said, her voice muffled by his thick coat.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Luc. ‘I didn’t mean for you to worry.’
‘Are you okay? What did the police say?’ said Allegra.
Luc shrugged. ‘Nothing much. We just had to wait until they let us go. The protest was peaceful so they couldn’t charge us with anything.’
‘What did you do to your head?’ Elizabeth reached out to touch the side of his face by his hairline, a spot of dried blood just visible.
Luc brushed her hand away gently. ‘I must’ve just knocked it. I’m not sure.’
‘Can you please stop doing this? You could get seriously hurt one day.’ Elizabeth looked at him with pleading eyes.
Luc shook his head. ‘I wish I could but until they stop the war, we can’t give up.’
A short silence followed.
Etienne handed Luc a tumbler of wine and topped up the remaining glasses. ‘We were talking just before you got back and we’ve had an idea.’
‘ You’ve had an idea,’ said Elizabeth, before taking a sip.
‘Okay, fine.’ Etienne rolled his eyes at her. ‘I’ve had an idea.’ He sat back down at the table next to Allegra. ‘How about we get out of Paris and go to my parents’ house this weekend?’
‘The Domaine?’ Luc’s eyes lit up, despite the dark circles underneath them. ‘I think that’s a very good plan.’
Etienne glanced at the clock. ‘Hey, you know what? The train leaves in an hour and a half.’
‘Then why don’t we just go tonight?’ said Luc.
‘Because my parents would kill me,’ said Elizabeth, laughing.
‘And I’ve got a test tomorrow,’ added Allegra, then instantly felt a little foolish.
Luc rolled his eyes.
‘I tried,’ said Etienne, laughing. ‘I’ll go to the station tomorrow lunchtime and see if I can book us a sleeping carriage together.’
‘Together?’ Allegra realised she’d said the words out loud, much to her horror.
‘There are six beds in the carriage so we might have to share but it’ll be quite comfortable. The motion of the train sends you to sleep, and you wake up in time to see the Mediterranean through the window,’ said Etienne. ‘It’s the best way to get there. If we drive, we’d barely have a day before we’d have to leave again for Paris.’
‘Is the train expensive?’ Elizabeth wondered.
‘Not if you go in the cheap carriage. It’s hardly Le Train Bleu – not that I’d know, I’ve never been on it – but it still gets you there,’ said Luc.
‘What’s the Train Bleu?’ asked Allegra.
‘The Blue Train runs from Paris to the Riviera but it’s a little more luxurious. It’s got a dining car and bar and is apparently the most beautiful way to travel. Maybe one day…’ said Etienne wistfully.
‘I’ve seen a painting of The Blue Train by Van Gogh. I saw it today,’ said Allegra.
Etienne turned to her. ‘You did?’
‘Yes, at the Rodin Museum.’
‘You went to a museum today?’ said Elizabeth, her surprise obvious.
Allegra laughed. ‘I know, I don’t even know who I am any more. Yes, I went today. And I saw painting of a blue train going over an aqueduct. I wondered what it was and now I know. I went to see The Kiss .’
‘You went to see The Kiss ?’ A smile played on Etienne’s lips.
‘I did.’ She nodded, trying – and failing – to look serious.
‘By yourself.’
‘By myself.’
‘And?’ said Luc, intrigued.
‘Okay, so I know I said I didn’t get sculpture before, but this was different.’ Allegra felt her cheeks redden. ‘It’s almost indecent.’
Etienne laughed. ‘See? You loved it!’
Allegra knew she was blushing. ‘Some of his paintings are rather… graphic.’
‘He was fascinated with the body, especially the mystery of the female form,’ said Etienne.
‘They were very sensual.’ Allegra met Etienne’s gaze.
The room fell silent for just a moment before Elizabeth coughed gently, reminding Etienne and Allegra they had company. ‘That’s a plan then. My parents won’t mind if I say I’m going with you, Allegra.’
‘I guess you won’t be mentioning me,’ said Luc teasingly to Elizabeth.
She took his hand. ‘I’m sorry, you know I can’t. They wouldn’t let me go if they knew.’
Allegra looked at her watch. ‘I should be getting back. I’ve still got to do some work.’
‘I’ll walk you back,’ said Etienne, standing up. ‘You two can let yourselves out; I’ll take my key.’
As they walked back along the quiet streets, Etienne told Allegra tales of all the rich and famous people from the past who’d travelled on the Blue Train, from Charlie Chaplin to Coco Chanel. When they reached her door, they stood facing each other, the glow of a streetlamp above casting them in a soft ray of light. For a moment, Allegra thought he was going to kiss her but instead, he simply took her hands and held them in his.
‘Until tomorrow,’ he said.
Allegra had never wanted to be kissed so much in her life; her body charged with an energy she’d never known. But something stopped her from reaching up to find his lips. She knew that once they kissed, there would be no going back – for her at least. It was infuriating and intoxicating all at the same time.
‘Until tomorrow,’ echoed Allegra before slipping inside the door.
* * *
The following day had passed slowly for Allegra. Having crammed until gone midnight for her test the following day, she had struggled to focus on the questions in front of her. The minute the bell had gone at the end of the lesson, she ran all the way back to her room, threw some clothes in a small holdall ready to meet Elizabeth at the bookshop as agreed. Etienne and Luc had said they would put together some food for them to take on the train and would meet them at the station at six o’clock that evening, having collected the tickets beforehand.
As she made her way across the Jardin de Luxembourg, she smiled to herself as she walked past the replica of the Statue of Liberty and left the park via the exit near the Medici fountain. This had become one of her favourite corners in all the gardens. The air was crisp and the Paris sky streaked with orange clouds as the sun made its way below the horizon.
Elizabeth was chatting to George, the owner of the bookshop, sitting on the old wooden bench just outside the door when Allegra arrived. She grinned when she spied her American friend. ‘Look what George has just shown me,’ said Elizabeth. She held out a book for Allegra to see. ‘It’s about artists in the Riviera. Picasso, Matisse, Renoir… they’re all in here.’
Allegra took the book and opened it on a page showing a painting of two white birds on a balcony, an island, palm trees and the deep blue sea beyond.
‘This is one of Picasso’s paintings of Cannes,’ said George, tapping the page. ‘It’s one of my favourites. Have you been before?’
Both women shook their heads. ‘Never,’ they said in unison.
‘Well then, you are in for a treat. It’s one of the most beautiful places on earth. Not quite as beautiful as Paris, of course. Safe travels.’
Elizabeth reached for Allegra’s arm. ‘Come on, we’d better get going. We’re meeting them in half an hour.’ She turned to George. ‘See you next week!’
‘Bye, George, see you soon,’ said Allegra, waving as Elizabeth dragged her off.
They set off over the bridge towards the station, chatting excitedly about the weekend ahead.
‘Were your parents alright about you coming away?’ asked Allegra.
‘As soon as I said it was with you and Etienne, they agreed,’ said Elizabeth. ‘They’ve never been to the south, so they were really excited for me. I guess you haven’t had a chance to tell yours?’
‘No, but I’ll tell them all about it when I next write.’ Allegra had been writing home each week since she’d arrived, as requested by her mother. In return, she’d not heard from them once. Not one letter or phone call. Allegra couldn’t bring herself to tell her friend for fear of Elizabeth taking pity, which would no doubt make Allegra cry. ‘I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to hear about it,’ she said, hoping the slight waver in her voice would go unnoticed.
‘There’s the station,’ said Elizabeth. ‘It always reminds me of Big Ben.’
Allegra looked up to see a huge clocktower ahead, the stone arches of the building adding a certain grandeur.
They walked into the hustle and bustle of the station, the sound of the gathering crowds reverberating against the steel and glass of the vast hall. A grand staircase swept up one side. ‘That’s the Blue Train restaurant,’ said Elizabeth. ‘If we were rich, we’d be dining in there before getting on our train. I told Luc we’d meet them at the bottom of the stairs.’
Etienne and Luc were already waiting, a huge basket covered with a red cloth at Etienne’s feet, two baguettes poking out of the side.
‘They’ve just called our train,’ said Luc.
‘We were worried you wouldn’t make it.’ Etienne looked at Allegra, clearly relieved.
‘Well then, let’s go!’ Elizabeth kissed Luc firmly on the mouth, then looked around. ‘Which platform are we?’
‘Over there,’ said Etienne. ‘Platform H.’
They made their way over to the waiting train, Etienne showing their tickets to the train guard before they all got on. They walked down the carriage to find their couchette in second class, a small cabin with six bunks. They placed their bags on their bunks, Etienne and Luc taking the slightly larger bottom ones at Elizabeth and Allegra’s insistence. Eventually the train left the station. Much to their relief, no other passengers had joined them in their little cabin and they opened the windows to watch Paris pass by as they left the city and headed south.
The train picnic was a triumph, Etienne having secured a feast from the restaurant below his apartment including fresh goats’ cheese from Chavignol, some aged Comté, plenty of coarse paté with some piquant cornichons on the side and a whole block of still-cold butter. There were plump tomatoes, which Elizabeth cut into thick slices before drizzling them with olive oil and sprinkling them with salt, using an old folded-over newspaper as a makeshift platter. Luc had bought some Normandy cider, something Allegra had never tried. The earthy, bitter-sweet flavours took some getting used to but by the time she finished her second glass, Allegra declared she’d never tasted anything so delicious in her life. After they’d cleared their picnic, the four of them settled down to a few games of cards on the floor of their cabin. The gentle rocking and rhythmic sound of the train was soothing and as they rattled through the night, their destination was almost forgotten.
* * *
Allegra woke under the thin sheet on her bunk still clothed. She sat up, the bright light of the morning sun streaming in through a gap at the bottom of the blind. Her head felt heavy. She remembered the cider, the taste of apples still in her mouth. Groggily, she slipped her legs out from the bunk and climbed down the wooden ladder on to the floor. The others were all still fast asleep as far as she could make out. Deciding she needed to go and find a bathroom so she could splash her face with water, she put on her shoes and stepped out of the couchette and into the corridor, closing the door gently behind her.
The view from the window of the train took her breath away. A bright, cloudless sky sat above a patchwork of yellow stone houses topped with terracotta roofs, the blue sea of the Mediterranean beyond, just as Picasso had painted it. The closest she’d been to the coast before then was a trip to The Hamptons one year with her parents to stay with friends of theirs, but here the landscape was different. Everything was brighter, the colours deeper, the light seemingly translucent. As the landscape rolled by, she watched as it changed from small bays to sweeping ones, long stretches of sand one minute then a headland covered with pines before revealing a hidden bay with rocky outcrops on either side.
For Allegra, it was love at first sight.
* * *
As they stepped off the train into the heat of the Riviera, the four friends agreed the first thing they wanted to do was find coffee. Heading down from the station towards the Croisette, they followed Etienne who obviously knew Cannes like the back of his hand.
‘We’re not being picked up until after lunch so I suggest we go to a café by the harbour, then we can walk up to Le Suquet where the old part of the town is and find somewhere to eat there.’ Etienne turned to Allegra. ‘But before we go I want to show you something.’ He took her hand. ‘Follow me.’
They turned left onto the palm tree-lined boulevard and there, up ahead, was an enormous hotel topped with domes on each corner at the front of the building.
Allegra gasped. ‘The Carlton!’ she exclaimed.
‘You know it?’ said Luc, looking slightly confused.
‘It’s the one in To Catch a Thief ,’ said Allegra, staring at it in wonder. She turned to Etienne. ‘Can we go in?’
‘You have to be staying there to use the bar, but we can always go in. Then at least you can see it inside.’
They walked up the stone steps to the huge front door, the clock above the entrance telling them it was almost eleven o’clock in the morning. The tall white stone portals on either side made it look like a wedding cake and stepping into the lobby through the heavy wooden revolving door, Allegra felt like she was walking into a film set. The white marble floor and huge pink marble columns in the hotel were just as she’d remembered them.
‘Can I help you, sir?’ A bellboy in a grey suit and peaked cap approached Etienne almost immediately.
Etienne disarmed him with a smile, asking him in French if it was possible to have a coffee in the hotel bar.
The bellboy shook his head and spoke quickly to Etienne.
‘As I thought, we can’t unless we’re staying here,’ said Etienne, with a shrug of his shoulders.
‘It doesn’t matter really,’ said Allegra. ‘All I wanted was to see the inside.’ She swept the room with her eyes.
‘ Merci, monsieur ,’ said the bellboy, ushering them back towards the entrance.
As the door deposited them back on to the street, Elizabeth sighed. ‘What a place.’
‘It is but the really beautiful part is over there.’ Etienne pointed towards the other side of the bay. ‘See that church on the hill? That’s the real Cannes.’
They walked along the beachfront towards the harbour and as they got closer, the Old Town came into view. Allegra looked across, a clocktower at one end and a tall stone turret at the other, pine trees lying between them. The buildings lining the front of the harbour were painted in muted shades of pink and yellow with shutters of pale green and blue adding to their appealingly jumbled appearance.
They stopped at a café in the main square for a quick coffee overlooking the old port, before heading up the hill towards the church. Turning up into the twisting cobbled streets, it was a world away from the grand hotels and glamour of the Croisette. Here, the houses were tall and narrow. Pot plants sat on doorsteps and waterfalls of bougainvillea hung down from balconies, their flowers doing their best to look magnificent even though they were just past their best.
The climb was steep and by the time they reached the top, they were all a little out of breath. Allegra looked out across the bay beyond. There were two small islands just off the coast, a smaller one tucked behind a larger one, both covered with trees and dotted with pale stone buildings. Small white sailing boats crept slowly across the water. Below, the town unfolded from the old part immediately beneath them to newer buildings beyond and behind that, hills rose on the other side. Suddenly the Riviera took on a different feel for Allegra. Not just the movie version she’d long imagined but a real place, with its own sounds and scents – what was that? – and even though she was a stranger here, she felt at home.
Eventually they headed back down into the streets of Le Suquet in search of something to eat. It didn’t take them long to be tempted into one of the small restaurants on Etienne’s recommendation. Taking one of the tables outside, the waiter soon returned with water and a carafe of rosé wine for the table. The menu was on the board and between them they ordered pretty much everything on it, from fresh fish cooked in butter to steak frites, bouillabaisse and ratatouille. Afterwards, they shared a plate of cheese and drank more strong coffee to fortify themselves for the next part of their trip, the drive to Etienne’s parents’ house.
The journey was around an hour and one of Etienne’s sisters, Camille, had offered to come and collect them. They walked to the arranged meeting point in front of one of the modern hotels on the beachfront on the other side of the old port and waited. The beach was almost empty, the tourists long gone.
‘Have I got time to put my toes in the water?’ asked Allegra.
‘Sure,’ said Etienne. ‘I’ll wait here. She should be arriving any minute.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ said Elizabeth. ‘Here, hold this for me,’ she said, handing her bag to Luc.
Elizabeth and Allegra went down a small flight of stone steps and took off their shoes, crossing the soft golden sand barefoot to the water’s edge. The first feel of the Mediterranean Sea on Allegra’s skin made her laugh out loud in delight. If she hadn’t been about to get into a car she would have happily walked right into the water there and then. She reached for Elizabeth’s hand and they stood for a moment, looking out to sea.
‘Thank you, Elizabeth.’
‘What for?’ said Elizabeth.
‘For crossing that road. If you hadn’t, we’d have never met and I wouldn’t be standing here, with my feet in the sand. I’m so happy I could burst.’
‘You do realise you’re in love, don’t you?’ Elizabeth grinned knowingly.
Allegra looked back at the boys standing at the top of the steps. Etienne was waving to her, signalling for them to come back. She waved at Etienne, then winked at Elizabeth. ‘Maybe.’