‘If you’re going to be in Paris for any length of time,’ said David as they paused to shake hands, ‘you must come and dine with us one evening. Christine would love to see you again, especially now you’re Sir Rupert.’ He saluted him with a mock bow and went into the embassy, leaving Rupert to walk back to the Hotel Montreux to see if any messages had been left for him.

An hour later André was able to report to Eugène that the man he’d been set to follow was staying at the Hotel Montreux off the Boulevard St Germain. A chat with one of the ostlers and an exchange of five francs had elicited the fact that the man was indeed Sir Rupert Chalfont and that he had come with his man and a quantity of luggage which seemed to indicate that he was not planning to return home in the near future.

Entirely unaware of anyone’s interest in his movements, Rupert wandered into the public lounge and sent Parker to ask if there had been any messages for him while he was out.

Moments later Jacques Rocher came in carrying a folded note on a tray.

‘A young woman, Sir Rupert,’ he said. ‘Not the sort of clientele we encourage, but when she said she had a message for you and we knew you were expecting one, we gave her admittance and took charge of her note. She said she has to speak with you, but as you weren’t here, we sent her away and told her to come back tomorrow.’

‘Pity you sent her away, Rocher. I need to speak to her.’

‘I’m sorry, Sir Rupert, but I wasn’t to know, and it doesn’t do the hotel any good to have the likes of her loitering about outside. Anyone seeing her might think it was a bawdy house.’

Rupert sighed. ‘If she comes here again, ask her to wait. If I’m not here and you can’t allow her to wait in the hallway to deliver her message, you must take her into the servants’ quarters and permit her to wait for me there.’

Chapter 47

Annette’s note had not given Rupert the address of the apartment where she and Hélène were living; all she had said was that as he had arrived in Paris he should come to the market at St Eustache the next morning and find her at the poulterer’s stall. She might tell him where Hélène was then. Rupert had to accept that his approach to Hélène must be carefully managed and meeting Annette was the first step. He knew he couldn’t assume that Hélène would be pleased to see him; indeed, she might refuse to meet him at all. All he did know was that though he was aching to see her, he would have to wait. So that evening he stayed in his suite and played backgammon with Parker, with André keeping a fruitless vigil in the street.

In the morning Rupert was just finishing his breakfast when Rocher announced that he had a visitor. Thinking it must be Annette, he asked Rocher to bring her into the dining room and to bring more coffee. He looked expectantly at the door and was amazed to see, not Annette, but Simon Barnier walking into the room. He paused in the doorway, staring at Rupert with an implacable hostility.