Free Devil and the Deep Sea by Sara Craven Page A

to
    interfere, naturellement.'
    'Of course.' Samma forced a smile, aware that the idea didn't fill her
    with total delight. It wouldn't be easy for her to form a relationship
    with Solange, if the child was constantly being visited by someone
    she preferred.
    'You are too good.' She turned to Roche. 'You have married an
    angel, mon ami. Now, permit me to leave you alone together, as
    you must wish.'
    Samma turned away hurriedly, aware of the amused irony in
    Roche's glance, as he escorted their visitor from the room.
    When he returned, she said, 'This ghost—is this really why the
    others wouldn't stay?'
    'Understand this, ma belle,' he said harshly. 'There are no ghosts at
    Belmanoir. Your predecessors were victims of their own hysterical
    imaginings, nothing more.'
    'And Solange?'
    'That is another matter.' He frowned. 'I dislike this preoccupation
    with the past. I hope you will be able to divert her thoughts into
    healthier channels, more suitable for her age.'
    Outside in the hall, there was the muffled sound of voices, and
    excited laughter. Roche reached for her hand, drawing it through his
    arm. 'Now it begins,' he said, half to himself. He glanced down at
    her. 'Play your part well, mignonne.'
    But that, Samma thought, as she pinned on an obedient smile, was
    easier said than done.
    Judge Lefevre was a small, rotund man with shrewd eyes behind
    gold-rimmed glasses.
    He said briskly, 'Be seated, if you please.'
    Samma sank into the chair he indicated, aware that her legs were
    trembling. The awkwardness of the celebration party at Belmanoir
    was behind her, but this promised to be the greatest ordeal so far.
    She felt such a fraud, she thought passionately. Back at the house,
    they'd all been so welcoming, so delighted to see her, from
    Roxanne, the fat and smiling cook, to Hippolyte, the
    gardener-cum-handyman, not to mention the maids, and the casual
    workers employed in the house and grounds. Their delight in the
    fact that 'Mist' Roche' had taken a wife, and their robustly
    expressed good wishes had been embarrassing in the
    extreme—especially under Elvire's enigmatic regard.
    Samma had found herself wondering if the other staff knew what
    had been going on between their master and his supposed
    housekeeper, and disapproved.
    Her hands clenched together in her lap as Roche took his seat
    beside her, and his attorney, Maitre Jean-Paul Giraud, sat down on
    her other side.
    The lawyer was much younger than she'd expected, loose-limbed,
    with a smiling, attractive face. When Roche had introduced them,
    he had kissed her hand with an exaggerated but heart-warming
    admiration.
    'Madame, when Roche informed me he was to be married in such
    haste, I admit I wondered, but now that I have seen you I
    understand everything. He is the most fortunate man in the world.'
    As she'd walked into the judge's private office, Samma had been
    blushing, and she'd heard a faint hiss from the other side of the
    table.
    The Augustins were not a prepossessing couple, both plump, with
    discontented expressions. Their lawyer, Maitre Felix, looked
    irritated and resigned.
    Samma hardly heard the opening statements by both attorneys. She
    was waiting tensely for the announcement of her marriage. When it
    came, she was still totally unprepared for the sensation it caused.
    'Married?' Madame Augustin shrilled. 'What lie is this?'
    'It is the truth, madame .' Maitre Felix studied the marriage
    certificate, then passed it back to Judge Lefevre. 'A valid ceremony
    has taken place. Your son-in-law has legally remarried.'
    There was a silence, then the woman shrugged a shoulder. 'What
    difference does it make? Now that he has a new wife, he will
    simply neglect la pauvre petite all the more.'
    'Au contraire,' Maitre Giraud said. 'Madame Delacroix is anxious
    to care for Solange—to establish a stable home background for the
    child.'
    Madame Augustin gave an incredulous laugh. 'Look at her! She is
    scarcely more than a child herself.'
    Judge Lefevre