Free Survivor by Lesley Pearse Page B

but Angus said, “If I was you,
     I’d send her off to a relative until the talk dies down.” As you know,
     Belle, he’s not the kind to gossip, and he’s got a soft spot for
     Mari.’
    Angus was an elderly Scotsman who often
     went out fishing with Etienne. His wife had died a couple of years ago and his two
     sons had moved away to Christchurch. Belle knew that his friendship with Etienne
     meant a great deal to him, and that was why he felt he had to warn him about what
     was being said.
    ‘No one has said anything to
     me,’ she said.
    ‘They wouldn’t, would they?
     People love to chew over other people’s misfortunes, but they are rarely brave
     enough to face up to the person they are tittle-tattling about.’
    ‘How much do you think has got
     out?’ Belle asked, anxious now, as she was sure it was more than just about
     Sam and Mariette holding hands.
    ‘I think Sam must have talked to
     someone on the ferry. Anyway, word got around that I’d beaten him up, and it
     doesn’t take much to work out why. If Mari stays here, she will be ostracized
     by many and become a target for those young men who will see her as
     “easy”.’
    ‘Couldn’t we just send her
     to stay with Vera and her family?’ Belle asked.
    ‘We could, if Vera was agreeable.
     But too many people here have relatives there, and the gossip will just follow her.
     With Noah and Lisette she can start out with a clean sheet. Noah will help her to
     get a suitable job and, as Rose is only a few years older than Mari, she’ll be
     like a sister to her. We can use some of the money Annie left you to pay for her
     passage. I think it could be the making of her. Would you have wanted to be stuck in
     a quiet little place like this at eighteen?’
    Belle recalled her eighteenth birthday,
     by which time shewas already officially a
     whore. The so-called gentleman she’d had to entertain had been very fat, with
     the most rancid breath she’d ever smelled. That night she would’ve given
     anything to be somewhere as beautiful and serene as Russell. But she supposed you
     had to experience the wickedness of the world before you could truly know when you
     were in paradise.
    But Belle never spoke about those days –
     not even to Etienne or Mog, who knew all about it. That was a former life, they were
     all different people then, and she’d drawn a shutter down over it all.
    ‘You are right – at eighteen you
     want more than the sea and cows wandering along a dusty street. You want to see
     shops lit up with electricity, to go dancing and to wear the kind of clothes that
     would be impractical here. But what if war does break out? How will Mari get
     home?’
    ‘We heard on the news about
     Chamberlain coming back from meeting Hitler and waving the document he’d
     signed, saying it was “Peace in our Time”. No one in England or France
     wants a war, and Noah said in his last letter that he thought it could be averted.
     He should know, Belle. He was a war correspondent in the last one. Besides,
     there’s no one I’d trust more to keep our daughter safe.’
    ‘I agree with that; he’s a
     kind and caring man. But isn’t it asking too much to expect him to take
     responsibility for Mari? We both know just how headstrong she can be.’
    Knowing how strong the bond was between
     Etienne and Mariette, she was surprised he would even consider sending her away. The
     fact that he appeared to have decided on this course of action meant that he really
     feared for her future here.
    ‘Children are different away from
     their parents,’ he said, putting his arm around her and drawing her close.
     ‘She isbehaving for us now, but how
     long will that last? A few months down the line and she’ll be playing us up
     again, and resenting the fact that there is so little future for her here. But if we
     send her to England, maybe she will learn to value all she has here, and then
     she’ll come back to us willingly.’
    ‘How did it