“Because I just came into the Saint-Lazare station and all I have seen of Paris is this one little quarter,” I said sharply. “I have my small son with me too, which makes moving around difficult.”

“Now we’ve upset her,” Pablo Picasso said. He reached out and took my hand. “Please forgive us. You can take the Métro, change at Étoile, and Line 1 takes you to the first arrondissement where all the rich people stay in the fancy hotels.”

“Thank you.” I smiled at him and again my smile was returned with a sexy wink. “Bon chance, chérie. Good luck,” he said. “But if you don’t find him, come back. We always welcome a pretty face in Montmartre.”

I swallowed back my frustration, thanked them, and left.

Chapter 14

Fourteen

I crossed the boulevard to the area with the fountain and found steps going down to a station of the Métropolitain railway. When I saw that long flight of steps going down into darkness I was extremely glad that I hadn’t tried to bring a squirming and heavy baby with me. It also occurred to me that these steps would be impossible to negotiate with a buggy, should I acquire one. I bought a ticket, went through a turnstile, and down more steps to an underground platform. A great blast of air signaled the arrival of a train and I held onto my hat as it came thundering into the station. I was about to board when I noticed that the carriage in front of me had the words Première Classe on them. Holy Mother. How was I to know there were two classes on subway trains? No wonder this part of the platform had been so empty. I had to sprint back along the platform to the second-class carriages. There was now a subway line in New York and I had ridden it a couple of times, but I still couldn’t quite put aside the feeling of terror as we were swallowed into a dark tunnel, moving impossibly fast, leather straps swaying above our heads, windows rattling, everything creaking. I was glad when we finally reached the Étoile station and I could walk on terra firma again, following tiled passages to another platform where I’d take Line 1 to the Tuileries.