Free The Mahé Circle by Georges Simenon; Translated by Siân Reynolds Page B

he were to tell his wife or his sister-in-law, the boy’s mother, who had entrusted her son to them precisely because she was afraid of him meeting women! – or indeed tell any reasonable man, his friend Péchade, for instance?
    Or his mother, who last year, when they had returned from holiday, had looked at him with an expression he well knew, one that had made him blush when he was a boy. It was as if she had guessed everything, when there was nothing to guess.
    Because there really wasn’t anything! Nothing but some idle remarks one afternoon when it was too hot, when he was feeling irritated for no reason, addressed to his nephew, who was daubing away on
paper with his brushes.
    And now …
    The rain was stopping already. Some young people had switched on a gramophone and were dancing in the tiny dining room of the Arche. You could hear the rhythm of their steps, and the dripping of water from the eucalyptus trees. They had lit the
lamps too early. Now that the sky had cleared there was a misty twilight, full of strong fragrances.
    Young fool, rushing to wash his hands! That alone would have been enough to reveal the truth to the doctor. Typical!
    â€˜I
was
the first, you know!’
    The doctor called back Jojo, who was passing, and ordered another brandy.
    â€˜I don’t really know how it happened … She was on her own … I went in to ask for a glass of water. Yesterday I’d tried to kiss her. She almost let me, then she ran away. It’s very clean inside the
house. A bit weird. It doesn’t look like any other place I’ve been into. Are you cross?’
    â€˜Why on earth would I be cross?’
    â€˜Don’t know … Just now, when I came back, you looked …’
    â€˜Go on, silly.’
    â€˜Well I kissed her again, and I held her so tightly she couldn’t get away. I could see she was looking over my shoulder at the door. She didn’t shut her eyes. She just stood still, looking blank. I got panicky.’
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜She started struggling to pull away from me, and she said:
    â€˜â€œThe doctor!”
    â€˜Because you were outside, looking at my easel and the paint box. I thought you would guess. But she was trembling with fear. She seemed to think you would come in and be angry …
    â€˜â€œDoes he know you’re here?” she said.
    â€˜I said no, and she said: “Go away.” And I thought I
would
go away, because she didn’t want to. Then I grabbed her again, she fell over, and that’s how …’
    The doctor’s gaze had become as opaque as the sky.
    â€˜And well, that was that,’ Alfred concluded.
    Mahé made an effort to add in a casual voice:
    â€˜Satisfactory?’
    And the other, unconvinced:
    â€˜Yes, uncle.’
    â€˜You did take precautions, didn’t you?’
    â€˜Oh, yes, uncle!’
    â€˜Are you planning to go back tomorrow?’
    â€˜I don’t know.’
    â€˜What do you mean, you don’t know?’
    â€˜I’m a bit scared to. On the way back, I met her father going up. If he’d been a few minutes earlier he’d have caught us.’
    There was a silence. The eucalyptus leaves were still dripping, the ice was melting in his glass of brandy and water, couples were dancing, embracing each other tightly, as the cool evening air reached the terrace.
    â€˜And another thing …’
    â€˜Another thing?’
    â€˜I wonder if she really liked it. Afterwards I got the feeling she hated me. She turned away when I tried to kiss her. “Go now, quickly” was all she said. Nothing else. I turned around on the way out, still hoping she’d
make some little sign.’
    â€˜Jojo!’
    The teenager looked in astonishment at his uncle, who was ordering his third brandy.
    â€˜I think I’m going to turn in now.’
    â€˜Yes, off you go!’
    â€˜Are you sure you’re not