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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

I don’t know how to say this to you, after all our years together. I know it’s cowardly to run away like this. I suppose I’m too ashamed to face you—to speak the words aloud and see your proud face alter just a little—that very small shift in expression that lets me glimpse the tumult beneath. I’ve seen it before, all those times I’ve treated you badly—when I’ve let you down and gone with other women and lied to you. I think sometimes I’ve been deliberately cruel just to find out how much you’re prepared to take—to push you to your limits. But you’re limitless when it comes to me, aren’t you, dearest? You’ve faced whatever the world—and I—have thrown at you with stoicism, strength, and the particular kind of resignation that I just can’t stand and never could.

I am leaving with Genevieve, as I expect you’ve guessed. She couldn’t be more different to you, and perhaps that’s why I’m drawn to her. She’s impatient, flighty and passionate, and there’s something intoxicating about her. (See, I’m doing it even now—the unnecessary cruelty.) All I know is that I believe I’ve met my match in her. We’re like the left and right shoes. We’re meant to be together.

And so it’s good-bye. I’m so grateful to you, Olga, for everything you’ve given me. You have taught me about love and about life. I would never have been Paolo Zachari without your help.

Don’t worry about money. I’ll

And here the letter broke off. With tears in her eyes, Genevieve took it up to read it again and saw that there was an envelope lying beneath it on the table.

An envelope with the name Olga Krechnev written on it, and a full address.

( forty-eight )

HE’S WITH HER. It was her only clear thought as she dropped the letter. And then the other thoughts came rushing in.

He nearly came with me. Nearly. But something made him change his mind even as he wrote that letter. Something made him break off and hurry out of the shop without locking up. And he wrote the good-bye to me instead.

She asked the taxi driver to stop on the Quai de Célestins, preferring to walk from there. Dusk was turning to night. The sky above the Seine was a deep, sorrowful blue. The river was silvery and tranquil. Genevieve crossed over to the Île Saint-Louis by the Pont Marie. Olga’s street lay along one of her favorite walking routes. Quai d’Anjou on the Île, one of Paris’s best addresses. The tall building with the large windows, curling wrought-iron balustrades and pretty walled courtyard was one she’d gazed at hundreds of times and coveted. A far cry from anything she might have imagined.