5

'Lieutenant Cazalet is waiting at the bar. Would you care to sit down straight away?'

She smiled and waved to Jake, who approached. 'Oh, yes, I think so. We’ll have a bottle of Don perignon. A celebration.'

'May I ask the occasion, countess?'

'Yes, Pierre, we’re celebrating being alive.'

He laughed and led the way to the corner table on the outside veranda, seated them and smiled. 'The champagne will be here directly.'

'Do you mind if I smoke?' she asked Cazalet.

'Not if I can have one as well.'

As he leaned across to give her a light, he said, 'You look wonderful.'

She stopped smiling, very serious, then smiled again.

'And you look very handsome. Tell me about yourself. You are a regular soldier?'

'No, a volunteer on a two-year hitch.'

'You mean you chose to come here? But why?'

'Shame, I think. I avoided the draft because I was at college. Then I went to law school at Harvard. I was working on a doctorate.' He shrugged. 'Certain things happened, so I decided to enlist.'

The champagne arrived, and menus. She sat back. 'What are these things?'

So he told her everything, exactly what had happened in the cafeteria and it’s consequences. 'So here I am.'

'And the boy who lost an arm?'

'Teddy Grant? He’s fine. Working his way through law school. I saw him when I went home on leave. In fact, he works for my father now during his vacation. He’s bright,Teddy, very bright.'

'And your father is some sort of diplomat?'

'In a way. A brilliant lawyer who used to work of the state Department. He’s a senator now.'

She raised her eyebrows. 'And what did he think of your enlisting?'c

‘ Took it on the chin. Told me to come back in one piece and start again. When I was last on leave he was campaigning. To be honest, it rather suited me to have a son in uniform.'

'And a hero?'

'I didn’t say that.'

'No, but your medals do. We were forgetting the champagne.' She pick up her glass. 'What shall me drink to?'

'Like you said, to being alive.'

‘ To life, then.'

' And the pursuit of happiness.

The clinked glasses. 'When do you go back?'he asked.

'To Paris?' She shook her head. 'I’m in no hurry, now. I don’t really know what am going to do next.'

'Now that you’ve laid the ghost?'

'Something like that. Come on,' she said, 'let’s order.'

Jake Cazalet was deliriously happy, And afterwards, couldn’t even remember what he had for dinner except that some sort of steak featured. A small band started to play and they moved inside and danced. She was so light in his arms; he was always to remember that, and the smell of her perfume.

And how they talked. He could never recall having such a conversation with anyone in his life. She wanted to know everything. They had a second bottle of champagne, and ice-cream and coffee.

He gave her another cigarette and sat back. 'We shouldn’t be here. We should be up there in the mud.'

A shadow crossed her face. 'Like Jean?'

'I’m sorry.' He was instantly contrite and reached for her hand.

NEXT EPISODE TOMORROW

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***