Midnight Girls (16 page)

‘That’s me done,’ she declared, gathering up the silken ribbons of the stiff cardboard bag.

‘After this, I’ll pay,’ Romily said matter-of-factly, as they wandered along one of the
grands boulevards
. ‘Let’s go to the little
passages
– I love the boutiques there. Galerie Vivienne is my favourite.’

‘You can’t pay for me.’ Allegra was horrified. ‘I’ve seen how much things cost here! You’d end up spending a fortune.’

Romily stood still and gazed into Allegra’s eyes, her own velvet-brown ones sincere. ‘Allegra, you’ve seen our house … the servants, the guards. You know who my grandfather was. You must have realised that we’re rich. Very rich. Imagine how rich we are, and then double it – triple it – and you might be close. I don’t want to go into details but my dress allowance alone is more than enough to buy us both anything we want. Last month, I had a couture shirt made for me by Valentino. It cost the equivalent of fifteen thousand pounds. When Mama buys me a couture ball gown, it can cost over a hundred thousand pounds.’

Allegra felt the blood drain from her face. She could hardly believe such sums of money. On a dress! What would her father do with a hundred thousand pounds? He was always moaning about how much the family cost him and how little cash they had. Imagine if they had that to spend on a dress! One dress!

Suddenly the muslin covers and the full-time maid whose sole duty was to care for Romily’s clothes didn’t seem so crazy. She literally had a fortune in that dressing room of hers.

Romily put one hand on her friend’s arm. ‘I’m not boasting. I don’t think it makes me better than anyone else. I just don’t want you to worry. We can buy anything we like, honestly. A couple of pairs of shoes or whatever we want isn’t going to make a bit of difference, I promise.’

Allegra stared at her for a moment longer and then burst out laughing. ‘Oh my God! Imogen is going to be absolutely bloody
green
. A limitless shopping trip in Paris? I can’t believe she’s missing out like this.’

‘I wish she was here,’ Romily said wistfully. ‘The only thing more fun than us shopping together would be if it was the three of us.’

‘Another time, definitely,’ Allegra said as they turned to continue along the boulevard. ‘Not that I’m suggesting you start funding Imogen and me on a regular basis or anything!’

They went to the
passages
, beautiful glass-roofed nineteenth-century arcades, full of quirky little shops and art dealers. Allegra knew, despite Romily’s assurances, that she couldn’t let her friend spend too much money on her. It was tempting but it was also wrong. She realised instinctively that her parents would strongly dislike the notion of her dipping into Romily’s purse, no matter how much cash she had to spare. A gift or two was one thing. Freeloading was something else.
So
she managed to keep Romily in check and prevent her from handing over her platinum credit card whenever Allegra so much as admired something. She did let her friend buy her a skirt in a silk leopard-skin print that she thought looked foxy and punky at the same time, a pair of pink suede shoes with chunky purple heels, and a black cashmere sweater.

When they were tired of shopping, they drank
crèmes
and Allegra ate delicious strawberry pastries at one of the smart cafés near the Louvre. Then it was back to the house for a lazy afternoon before changing for dinner.

How much nicer could life be? wondered Allegra, already wishing that she didn’t have the return journey ahead of her on Friday. But there was plenty to enjoy before then.

On Thursday, Romily wasn’t well. She became more sick as the day progressed.

‘It’s a nasty tummy bug or something,’ she said, looking pale and ill. She couldn’t eat any lunch and decided she’d spend the afternoon in her room. ‘I ought to stay close to the bathroom,’ she said wanly. ‘Don’t tell my mother or we’ll have the place flooded with doctors within the hour and I’ll be stuffed with twenty different medicines and not allowed out for a week.’

‘Don’t you think you should see a doctor, though?’ Allegra asked.

‘No, no. I will tomorrow if I’m no better, but I expect it’s just one of those twenty-four-hour things.’

‘We’d better cancel Monsieur whatever-his-name-is. He’s coming to pick us up for our trip to the Musée d’Orsay in about half an hour.’

‘Monsieur Antoine.’ Romily gave her a pleading look. ‘Would you mind going without me? If we cancel, he’s bound to ask my mother about it and then I won’t get a
moment’s
peace. But if you go off, she’ll assume we’re both there and I’ll be left alone. I’m sure he’ll be an excellent guide to the museum. He’s bound to know lots about art and the best things to see.’

‘I’m not quite …’

‘Please? It’s nearby, it will only take an hour or two. It’s worth seeing, I promise.

‘All right then. If you’d like me to,’ Allegra agreed reluctantly.

‘Thanks, I owe you. I’m sure I’ll be better later,’ Romily said, her eyes grateful.

At two o’clock the message came that Monsieur Antoine was waiting outside. Allegra found him waiting in his navy blue Audi, sitting on the white leather back seat, the darkened window lowered so she could see him.

‘Where is Romily?’ he asked, surprised. The driver got out and opened a rear door so that Allegra could get in.

‘She’s sick. She can’t come.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘What a shame. Never mind. We shall have a lovely time together nevertheless. Musée d’Orsay, please, Georges.’

Allegra felt uncomfortable for the first few minutes but then she began to relax. Paul Antoine was friendly and polite, and although she didn’t like the way his stomach strained over the top of his trousers, he wasn’t quite as ugly as she’d remembered. Nevertheless, he was no oil painting: he had deep-set black eyes and dark hair streaked thickly with grey, while more wiry dark hair emerged from under his shirt cuffs. He had a melodious voice, though, and an undeniable charm that soon put her at her ease.

They arrived at the Musée d’Orsay within twenty minutes. The driver ignored any traffic restrictions and brought the car to a standstill as near to the entrance as possible, then opened the doors so they could alight.

‘Now, this is a wonderful treat,’ said Monsieur Antoine, as he ushered Allegra through what appeared to be a priority door for those who didn’t need to buy a ticket. He murmured something to the person on duty who jumped up and made a great show of welcome. Allegra could make out that her host was waving away the offer of a guide.

‘They know me well here,’ he said as he led the way into the museum. ‘I donated a painting or two a while ago and they make a great fuss whenever I come. Now, let us see what we shall see.’

Allegra had learned about art from what she had seen on the walls at home, and from trips to the National Gallery and the Tate with Uncle David. She had little time for Old Masters or endless portraits of pasty-faced ancestors in ruffs and jewels and furs. At once she could tell that this was her kind of art gallery: the paintings, some over a hundred years old, still shone with life and buzzed with energy. The Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, Expressionists, Modernists: all were represented here by the finest artists of their time, portraying ordinary people – peasants working the fields, girls at their dancing class, a woman drinking in a café – with brilliance and luminosity. Allegra wandered from picture to picture, taking it all in, entranced by what she was seeing. Every room offered some new delight, from famous paintings such as Manet’s
Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe
or Renoir’s
Bal du Moulin de la Galette
to many she had never seen reproduced but found just as stimulating and interesting. And, to her surprise, Monsieur Antoine proved to be an excellent guide.

He didn’t push her in any direction but let her follow her own inclination. When she stopped to observe a painting, he gave her time to look at it before murmuring to her about the artist and the techniques used in this particular canvas. When she came to halt in front of a painting of three women
bending
over a harvested field, picking up dropped wheat, he said quietly, ‘Millet was fascinated by this subject, and this picture of the gleaners took him ten years to research. These peasant women are caught in the midst of their back-breaking work, scavenging what they can from the fields while behind them we see abundance in the full haystacks. And yet their grace is redemptive, is it not? We don’t feel lectured about the inequalities of society. We see beauty and stoicism and humanity.’

Allegra nodded, moved and feeling as though she had glimpsed something important.

So they went on. The museum was not huge, it was nothing like the National Gallery in London with its majestic galleries and several floors. This was more manageable, but the richness on offer – not only paintings but sculpture and decorative arts – meant that it would have taken hours to see everything.

‘We have been here long enough,’ her guide said finally, consulting the bulky Rolex on his wrist just at the moment that Allegra was beginning to feel tired. ‘Come, Georges will be waiting.’

As they went to leave, this time by the main entrance, Allegra’s eye was caught by a painting hanging alone on a great wall by the door, and she gasped. Was that what she thought it was? Yes … it was the lower torso of a woman, entirely exposed. She was lying on a bed, but everything above her breasts was hidden by a swathe of sheet and the picture ended at her ripe thighs.

‘Ah, yes.’ Monsieur Antoine was standing beside her, gazing at the same picture. He was short, she realised, perhaps even shorter than she was. ‘
The Origin of the World
. A stunning picture, is it not? The female sexual organs in all their beauty and power.’

Allegra felt paralysed by embarrassment. Her face was
flaming
so much, she thought she might be about to explode. She couldn’t see any beauty or power – just the anonymous glorification of
that place
. What was it that drove men wild about it? It looked unattractive to her: biological, intimate, faintly repulsive.
And if I had pubes like that, I’d kill myself
.

‘Come along, we must go.’ Monsieur Antoine touched her elbow and guided her towards the door. Allegra was glad to take her gaze away from the mortifying picture.

A moment later, she was climbing into the cool interior of the Audi and the car was gliding off through the streets of Paris.

‘Where are we?’ she asked after a while. The journey from Romily’s apartment had not taken very long and they had already been driving for what seemed far longer. She was sure they were heading in a different direction from the avenue Foch.

‘We have a little time. I thought you might like some tea.’ Monsieur Antoine smiled at her. ‘I’ve enjoyed our visit together, haven’t you?’

‘Yes,’ Allegra agreed politely. She had enjoyed the gallery, it was true, but now she was keen to get back to familiar surroundings and see how her friend was. ‘Where are we going?’

‘Ah, we are here now.’

The car slid to a halt beside a smart apartment block and she was shown into a tiny wrought-iron lift which climbed to the fifth floor.

‘I’ve been bold enough to bring you back
chez moi
. It is clear you have a soul that is touched by art. I thought you might like to see my own collection.’

He opened the front door and Allegra stepped inside, curious. This apartment was very different from the pastels, silks and gilt of the de Lisles’ home: it was more masculine,
with
its dark wooden panelling, heavy furniture and forest green velvet curtains, though there were flowers everywhere in all manner of vases. But each square of panelling displayed another painting; the walls of the apartment were covered in them, of every period: twentieth-century abstract, nineteenth-century portraits, Renaissance religious art … anything she could think of was there.

And everywhere there were sculptures – ancient Greece, Rome, China and Japan were all represented – with every flat surface covered besides in beautiful things: carved boxes, marble lamp-stands, onyx heads of African animals. Leaning against one wall was a gigantic Egyptian sarcophagus in polished wood. Bookshelves were packed with antique tomes, and tiny Etruscan-looking terracotta figures were posed in front of them.

‘How extraordinary,’ breathed Allegra, unable to take it all in at once. She stared about her at the incredible collection.

Monsieur Antoine went to a table in the corner of the room and returned with a tumbler which he pressed into her hand. She took it and automatically sipped without thinking, then winced. It was neat brandy.

‘These are the fruits of many years’ dedicated collecting,’ murmured her host, holding his own glass to his chest. He began to wander about the room, pointing out his most prized possessions – a Matisse cut out, an Ingres drawing, the cameo head of a Caesar carved from jasper. Allegra followed him, listening. Her stay in the de Lisles’ apartment had begun to inure her to seeing the kind of paintings that ought to be in a museum on the walls of a private home – after all, Romily’s house was crammed with Vincent de Lisle’s work – but nevertheless, all of this was stunning. She followed him as he showed off his treasures, going from room to room, sipping at her brandy which became less
difficult
to drink the longer she did so. Then they reached a room decorated Empire-style with a majestic bed standing in the centre and a large desk by the window, everything swagged in dark green velvet or covered in burgundy leather.

‘The bedroom, where I keep my favourite pieces,’ said her host, and put his glass down carefully on a small table crammed with bibelots. He leaned over and took Allegra’s glass from her hand, putting it down next to his. Then he came and stood close to her, and she smelled the brandy on his breath. ‘But you, my dear, are a treasure yourself.’ He put out his hand and stroked her hair. ‘So young and beautiful. You are a prize, aren’t you, for some lucky man?’

‘I think I’d like to go home now,’ she said, stiffening as he touched her hair, feeling a crawling sense of horror.