Dionne unfastened her belt, ran a questing hand over the smooth chignon in the nape of her neck, and rose to her feet, gathering her belongings. From the brilliance of the sun on the tarmac, she did not think she would need her coat and she slung this over her arm, grasping the strap of her travelling bag.
‘May I be of assistance, mademoiselle?’
It was the young man again. Most of the other passengers were disembarking, wishing the stewardess goodbye, disappearing down the flight of steps to the formality of the airport buildings, but the young man had obviously waited for her.
Dionne smiled a dismissal, shaking her head, and without a backward glance walked swiftly down the aisle to the exit. The air outside was incredibly warm and sweet-smelling, and not even the roar of a jet overhead could wholly dispel the poignance of the moment for her.
Then, shaking sentimentality aside, she ran down the steps and walked towards the Customs building.
It was soon over. The officials smiled at her warmly with the inconsequence of Frenchmen faced with an attractive female, and she emerged feeling flushed and a little more confident to face what was ahead. She looked about her, unable to dispel a faint surge of excitement. The air smelt so deliciously of the perfumes of the flowers mingled with the tang of the sea, while the heat of the sun was warm upon her back. She wondered where she would find the car which she had hired in advance and which was to be awaiting her here at the airport. There were plenty of cars about as well as the buses waiting to take passengers into Marseilles.
The young man from the plane emerged and walked casually across to join her. Dionne bit her lip rather impatiently. She hoped he was not going to prove a nuisance. When he spoke to her again she turned to him with an expression of exasperation marring her smooth forehead above eyes which were an amazing shade of sea green.
‘ Yes, monsieur? ’
‘You are being met, mademoiselle?’ he queried, and Dionne hesitated only a moment before nodding. After all, it was only a distortion of the truth. ‘Then you do not require a lift, mademoiselle?’
‘Thank you, no.’ Dionne moved a few paces away, continuing to scan the cars parked by the kerb in an effort to find the one belonging to Inter-France Travel. There seemed a constant stream of cars coming and going, the glare of the sun glinting dazzlingly on paint and chromework.
Fumbling in her bag, Dionne drew out dark glasses and slid them on to her nose. They were huge squares of polaroid glass and successfully hid her expression. She hoped the young man would take the hint and disappear about his own business, but presently he was beside her again, saying: ‘I think you dropped this, mademoiselle.’
Dionne spun round ready to make some chilling rejection of his supposition and then gasped in surprise as she recognized her hotel reservation in his hand.
‘Oh – oh, thank you,’ she said awkwardly. ‘I – I must have dropped it when I took out my sunglasses, Thank you.’
The young man smiled. ‘It was my privilege, mademoiselle,’ he responded politely. ‘However, I could not help but notice you are intending to stay in Arles. A beautiful city. I live quite near there myself.’
Dionne caught her breath. ‘Really,’ she exclaimed. ‘I see.’ She glanced round swiftly. ‘I agree. It is a beautiful city.’
The young man frowned. ‘Are you sure I cannot give you a lift, mademoiselle?’
‘Oh, no!’ Dionne moved a deprecating hand. ‘I – well – actually I’ve hired a car. It should be here … somewhere.’
The young man listened attentively and then scanned the waiting vehicles with a practised eye. ‘Come,’ he said. ‘I think I know where we might find your transport, mademoiselle.’
It seemed he knew what he was talking about, and as he took charge of her cases Dionne had no alternative but to follow him. In no time at all he had found the small Citröen, introduced her to the attendant, and in the process discovered her name, Dionne thought to herself rather uncharitably, and had thrust her cases into the boot.
‘Perhaps we shall meet again, mademoiselle,’ he remarked lightly, as she bade him goodbye and thank you. ‘I am often in Arles and I should be most happy if you would allow me to buy you dinner one evening.’
Dionne smiled vaguely, allowing his invitation to go by without comment. After all, it was reasonable that he should assume she was merely a tourist in the area. He could not possibly be aware of the real reasons behind her visit, reasons which were scarcely acceptable even to herself.
She drove away with his saluting silhouette visible in her rear view mirror and wished with a desperate feeling of inadequacy that she had been only a tourist after all.
She drove west from Marseilles, and then turned north, following the road to Arles across the great Plaine de la Crau. This was a rather desolate area, bare and uninviting, and only in places was some attempt at cultivation being made. She remembered that once Manoel had told her that in legend Hercules was supposed to have come up against a race of giants on this plain and had called on Zeus to help him. The god had rained down rocks and stones and saved the hero from death, but ever afterwards the area had been littered with the rubble from the battle.
Manoel!
A quiver ran through her. For the first time since leaving London she had allowed thoughts of him to invade her mind and it was devastating what even a thought could do to her. She stretched out a hand searching for her handbag and finding it. Extracting a pack of cigarettes, she put one between her lips and lit it with trembling fingers. She did not smoke much, and only when she was under strain, but right now she needed something.
It was after six by the time she reached Arles, and she felt travel-stained and weary. She drove straight to her hotel, checked in, and after refusing anything but a sandwich, which they agreed to send to her room, she went straight upstairs to take a shower. Afterwards, she dressed in a silk housecoat and seated herself by her window overlooking one of the small squares to eat her sandwiches and drink some of the excellent coffee which the proprietress had thoughtfully provided.
A breeze stirred the branches of the plane trees, and several youths cavorted about on bicycles beneath the windows, but it was very peaceful and relaxing, and Dionne allowed her taut nerves to slacken. There was no point in maintaining such a rigid control on herself. The chances of meeting Manoel by accident were very slim indeed, and when she did see him it would be on her terms, not his. If he agreed to see her …
She thrust the half-eaten plate of sandwiches away, as memories came to pain and disturb her newly found peace. What if he refused to see her? He might very well do so. After all, he was not to know the truth, of that she was determined.
She poured another cup of coffee and held the cup between her two hands, cradling its warmth against her palms. She must go over in her mind what she had to say to him. It would not do for her to be disconcerted by any question he might ask. She must have her story so clear in her mind that she would not make any mistakes.
She sank back in her seat, replacing her empty cup in its saucer. Reaching for her handbag, she extracted a leather wallet and opened it. From inside she withdrew several photographs, looking at them tenderly.
The small boy whose image gazed out at her with trusting sincerity touched a chord inside her and she felt the unaccustomed prick of tears behind her eyes. It was a long time since she had allowed herself the luxury of crying. She wondered what he was doing now, whether he was behaving himself for Clarry.
On impulse, she bent her head and touched the pictured lips with her own. ‘Good night, Jonathan,’ she whispered huskily, before putting the photographs back in the wallet and securing it in the larger of her two suitcases. Just in case, she thought regretfully.
In