«It all sounds so incredible,» she said quietly. «But I really don’t see why it should concern me.»
He was stunned at her calm, at her complete equanimity. She had listened to him in silence for nearly half an hour, heard revelations that had to be shattering to her, yet she displayed no reaction whatsoever.
Nothing. «Haven’t you understood a word I’ve said?»
«I understand that you’re very upset,» said Gretchen Beaumont in her soft, echoing voice. «But I’ve been very upset for most of my life, Mr. Holcroft. I’ve been that way because of Wilhelm von Tiebolt. He is nothing to me.»
«He knew that, can’t you see? He tried to make up for it.»
«With money?»
«More than money.»
Gretchen leaned forward and slowly reached out to touch his forehead. With her fingers extended, she wiped away the beads of perspiration. Noel remained still, unable to break the contact between their eyes.
«Did you know that I was Commander Beaumont’s second wife?» she asked.
«Yes, I heard that.»
«The divorce was a difficult time for him. And for me, of course, but more so for him. But it passed for him; it will not pass for me.»
«What do you mean?»
«I’m the intruder. The foreigner. A breaker of marriages. He has his work; he goes to sea. I live among those who don’t. The life of a naval officer’s wife is a lonely one in usual circumstances. It can become quite difficult when one is ostracized.»
«You must have known there’d be a degree of that.»
«Of course.»
«Well, if you knew it?…» He left the question suspended, not grasping the point.
«Why did I marry Commander Beaumont? Is that what you mean to ask?»
He did not want to ask anything! He was not interested in the intimate details of Gretchen Beaumont’s life. Geneva was all that mattered; the covenant, everything. But he needed her cooperation.
«I assume the reasons were emotional; that’s generally why people get married. I only meant that you might have taken steps to lessen the tension. You could live farther away from the naval base, have different friends.» He was rambling, awkwardly, a little desperately. He wanted only to break through her maddening reserve.
«My question’s more interesting. Why did I marry Beaumont?» Her voice floated again; it rose quietly in the air. «You’re right; it’s emotional. Quite basic.»
She touched his forehead again, her dress parting once more as she leaned forward, her lovely, naked breasts exposed again. Noel was tired and aroused and angry. He had to make her understand that her private concerns were meaningless beside Geneva! To do that, he had to make her like him; yet he could not touch her.
«Naturally it’s basic,» he said. «You love him.»
«I loathe him.»
Her hand was now inches from his face, her fingers a blur at the corner of his eyes—a blur because their eyes were locked; he dared not shift them. And he dared not touch her.
«Then why did you marry him? Why do you stay with him?»
«I told you. It’s basic. Commander Beaumont has a little money; he’s a highly respected officer in the service of his government, a dull, uninteresting man more at home on a ship than anywhere else. All this adds up to a very quiet, very secure niche. I am in a comfortable cocoon.»
There was the lever! Geneva provided it. «Two million dollars could build a very secure cocoon, Mrs. Beaumont. A far better shelter than you have here.»
«Perhaps. But I would have to leave this one in order to build it. I’d have to go outside—»
«Only for a while.»
«And what would happen?» she continued, as if he had not interrupted. «Outside? Where I’d have to say yes or no. I don’t want to think about that; it would be so difficult. You know, Mr. Holcroft, I’ve been unhappy most of my life, but I don’t look for sympathy.»
She was infuriating! He felt like slapping her. «I’d like to return to the situation in Geneva,» he said.
She settled back into the hassock, crossing her legs. The sheer dress rose above her knees, the soft flesh of her thigh revealed. The pose was seductive; her words were not.
«But I have returned to it,» she said. «Perhaps awkwardly, but I’m trying to explain. As a child I came out of Berlin. Always running, until my mother and my brother and I found a sanctuary in Brazil that proved to be a hell for us. I’ve floated through life these past years. I’ve followed—instincts, opportunities, men—but I’ve followed. I haven’t led. I’ve made as few decisions as possible.»
«I don’t understand.»
«If you have business that concerns my family, you’ll have to talk to my brother, Johann. He makes the decisions. He brought us out of South America after my mother died. He is the Von Tiebolt you must reach.»
Noel suppressed his desire to yell at her. Instead, he exhaled silently, a sense of weariness and frustration sweeping over him. Johann von Tiebolt was the one member of the family he had to avoid, but he could not tell Gretchen Beaumont why. «Where is he?» he asked rhetorically.
«I don’t know. He works for the Guardian newspaper, in Europe.»
«Where in Europe?»
«Again, I have no idea. He moves around a great deal.»
«I was told he was last seen in Bahrain.»
«Then you know more than I do.»
«You have a sister.»
«Helden. In Paris. Somewhere.»
All the children will be examined … decisions made.
Johann had been examined and a judgment had been made—rightly or wrongly—that disqualified him from Geneva. He was a complication they could not afford; he would draw attention where none could be permitted. And this strange, beautiful woman on the hassock—even if she felt differently—would be rejected by Geneva as incompetent. It was as simple as that.
Paris. Helden von Tiebolt.
Absently, Noel reached for his cigarettes, his thoughts now on an unknown woman who worked as a translator for a publishing house in Paris. He was only vaguely aware of the movement in front of him, so complete was his concentration. Then he noticed and he stared at Gretchen Beaumont.
The commander’s wife had risen from the hassock and unfastened the buttons of her dress to the waist. Slowly, she parted the folds of silk. Her breasts were released; they sprang out at him, the nipples taut, stretched, swollen with tension. She raised her skirt with both her hands, bunching it above her thighs, and stood directly in front of him. He was aware of the fragrance that seemed to emanate from her—a delicate perfume with a sensuousness as provoking as the sight of her exposed flesh. She sat down beside him, her dress now above her waist, her body trembling. She moaned and reached for the back of his neck, drawing his face to hers, his lips to hers. Her mouth opened as she received his mouth; she sucked, breathing rapidly, her warm breath mixed with the juices that came from her throat. She put her hand on his trousers and groped for his penis … hard, soft, hard. Harder. She became suddenly uncontrollable; her moans were feverish. She pressed into him. Everywhere.
Her parted lips slid off his mouth and she whispered. «Tomorrow I go to the Mediterranean. To a man I loathe. Don’t say anything. Just give me tonight. Give me tonight!»
She moved away slightly, her mouth glistening, her eyes so wide they seemed manic. Slowly, she rose above him, her white skin everywhere. The trembling subsided. She slid a naked leg over his and got to her feet. She pulled his face into her waist and reached for his hand. He stood up, embracing her. She held his hand in hers, and together they walked toward the door of the bedroom. As they went inside, he heard the words, spoken in that eerie, echoing monotone.