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Back The Shoe Queen Save as PDF
Chapters (67)
  1. Cover
  2. “And may I say, those shoes are adorable.”
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. ( I )
  7. ( one )
  8. ( two )
  9. ( three )
  10. ( four )
  11. ( five )
  12. ( six )
  13. ( seven )
  14. ( eight )
  15. ( nine )
  16. ( ten )
  17. ( II )
  18. ( eleven )
  19. ( twelve )
  20. ( thirteen )
  21. ( fourteen )
  22. ( fifteen )
  23. ( III )
  24. ( sixteen )
  25. ( seventeen )
  26. ( eighteen )
  27. ( nineteen )
  28. ( IV )
  29. ( twenty )
  30. ( twenty-one )
  31. ( twenty-two )
  32. ( twenty-three )
  33. ( twenty-four )
  34. ( V )
  35. ( twenty-five )
  36. ( twenty-six )
  37. ( twenty-seven )
  38. ( twenty-eight )
  39. ( twenty-nine )
  40. VI
  41. ( thirty )
  42. ( thirty-one )
  43. ( thirty-two )
  44. ( thirty-three )
  45. ( thirty-four )
  46. ( VII )
  47. ( thirty-five )
  48. ( thirty-six )
  49. ( thirty-seven )
  50. ( thirty-eight )
  51. ( thirty-nine )
  52. ( forty )
  53. ( forty-one )
  54. ( forty-two )
  55. ( VIII )
  56. ( forty-three )
  57. ( forty-four )
  58. ( forty-five )
  59. ( forty-six )
  60. ( forty-seven )
  61. ( forty-eight )
  62. ( forty-nine )
  63. ( fifty )
  64. ( fifty-one )
  65. Acknowledgments
  66. Acknowledgments
  67. Questions for Discussion

“My darling!” Genevieve opened her arms. They stood for a time amid the mess of Lulu’s room, holding each other tightly.

When they let go, Lulu was wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, smearing kohl across her face. “I’m telling myself he’ll be back,” she said. “He always comes back. But still I worry. When I see Violetta I’m going to gouge her eyes out and set fire to her hair.”

“Got anything to drink?” Genevieve sat down on the bed.

“Somewhere.” Lulu knelt and peered under the bed, recovering a half bottle of cheap Scotch. “Will this do?”

“Pass it here.” Genevieve unscrewed the cap and drank straight from the bottle, craving that fire in her throat.

“Oh, chérie.” Lulu shook her head sadly and came to sit beside Genevieve. “We are a stupid pair. We get so carried away with the moment, both of us. And then we let our mouths get in front of our brains and all hell breaks out.”

“I don’t ever want to fight with you again,” said Genevieve. “You’re the only person I can really talk to. There’s never been anyone in my life who understands me like you do.”

“I feel the same. I’ve missed you, Vivi.” She took the bottle and swigged from it, and for a while they sat in silence. It was Genevieve who eventually spoke.

“Did you hear about Norman Betterson?”

“I heard last night. Edward Hausen came rushing into the Coyote to tell everyone. They gave free drinks away for half an hour in Betterson’s memory. When they started charging for the drinks again, Hausen went off to break the news at the Jockey. I should think he had quite a night of it.”

“To Norman.” Genevieve raised the bottle, drank and handed it to Lulu, who did the same.

“It’s Guy Monteray’s funeral today,” said Lulu. “Did you know?”

“No, I didn’t. What about Whisper? Are they being buried together?”

Lulu shook her head. “She was married, apparently. To an American. He’s shipping her back there.”

“He can’t do that!”

“Apparently he can.”

“But they were in love.” Genevieve flopped back on the bed and lay there, staring up at the mottled ceiling. “A strange kind of love, but love all the same. They died together, holding hands. They should be together in the ground.”

“Chérie.” Lulu reached over and stroked her cheek. “This isn’t about Guy Monteray and Whisper, is it? What’s going on?”

Genevieve sat up again. “I was going to leave Robert to be with Paolo. But I’ve just found that he’s betrayed me, and now I don’t know what I’m going to do.”