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Back The Shoe Queen
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

The other impulse was more moderate—more his own. Calm down, it said. What good will it do anyone if you start behaving like a brute? The way to win your wife over to your point of view is to find out what’s troubling her. Then you can give her the reassurance she needs and be a good, strong husband to her. It doesn’t make any kind of sense that a woman like her wouldn’t want a baby. There has to be more to this than meets the eye. If she won’t tell you directly, there are other ways to discover the truth. Subtler ways. For now, just calm down and sit down and make a plan.

“Céline?” Robert opened the salon door and peered out into the empty hallway. “Would you come and light a fire before you turn in, please?

Then he returned to the bourbon bottle and poured himself another finger.

( eight )

THE TAXI WAS ALMOST at the Rue de Lota, but Genevieve needed a few minutes to steady herself before she could face Robert. The taxi was one of the new kind, fully motorized but styled like the old horse-drawn variety, with the passenger completely encased and protected from the elements at the back while the driver was stuck out front in the cold. Genevieve had to bang repeatedly on the little screen to attract his attention.

They pulled up under the spreading branches of a plane tree, alongside a street carousel. Genevieve watched a pair of sweethearts laughing and reaching out to each other as their horses went up and down. A group of giggling girls were using the ride as an excuse to reveal an expanse of leg, which would be concealed by their dresses when they dismounted, while a bunch of young lads standing nearby looked suitably appreciative.

What damage had been done, really, by the events of the evening? The only people who knew about what had happened were herself and Guy Monteray. And he was clearly as nutty as a fruitcake. This was unsettling, of course, but she felt increasingly certain, now that she was safely out of that apartment, that he would have little interest in making trouble for her. He was surely far too wrapped up in his own insane world to bother much about hers.

She would tell no one that she’d cheated on Robert. Not even Lulu. Especially not Lulu. And that way, the matter could end right here. She’d made a mistake, but she would not make the same mistake again. She’d put her marriage to rights. It simply had to work, or what would become of her? And Robert—poor Robert—well, none of this was his fault. Why should he have to suffer unduly? It would be much better for him if he never found out.