emerged from the house wearing his jacket, George discreetly left the pair to talk. They walked slowly back towards the entrance with Mastrolli’shand on Michel’s shoulder. George wondered what they might be plotting.
Annick Bodin, the eldest daughter, did not often bring friends home while Thérèse and George were staying there, but Estelle’s friends were frequent visitors to the house. The two whom George saw most often were a black African from Mali, whom he only knew as Zu, and a Moroccan Arab boy called Ahmed. As they came and went, George noticed that Michel always had something to say to them. Was he just being polite? More than that, thought George, without further speculation.
Then, one afternoon when Estelle was out, George had gone to the guest bedroom to fetch his camera. He looked out of the dormer window onto the garden and saw Michel talking earnestly to Zu near the gate. At one point Michel took Zu by the elbow and led him away from the gate beside the outer wall, out of sight from the road, then reached into his jacket pocket, drawing out a roll of bank notes. George had already noted that the cash rolls that Michel usually carried were made up mainly of five-hundred-franc notes, so the amount he peeled off and gave to Zu must have been substantial. Later when Michel was alone with him, George asked if Zu and Ahmed worked for him. Michel threw his head back and showed his teeth in a wide grin.
“They are my eyes and ears. They are very good boys.”
Chapter Twelve
Daddyâs Girl
By the mid-1990s, Lydia, the Bodinsâ youngest daughter, the baby of the family, had grown into a beautiful dark-haired, slender teenager with the grace and perfection of a young deer. She was not only a stunner, but proved to be extremely talented and Michel doted on her. He had hardly noticed her in childhood and had certainly never attempted to contaminate her brain with adult thinking. She had offered him a radiant adolescence and now he felt he was closer to Lydia than he had been to the two older girls, whose passage into adulthood had been largely managed by their mother.
When Lydia was twelve, Charlotte had told Michel that Lydia was experiencing her first period. It represented an existential drama for a father who liked stability in domestic relationships, characterised by peace, confidence and calm. Suddenly this little girl could make him a grandfather, anytime. She may only have been twelve at that time, but he must make plans for her now so that she married in the best possible circumstances, not like some young people who left their families and lived their lives in an atmosphere of familial disapproval. He went over his thoughts again. The idea that this child could have a baby was shocking, especially as he had no concept ofwhat life might be like as a result. Even before that happened, he had to come to terms with the fact that she might leave the house at some point in the future and he would miss her decorative presence. That would take a substantial slice of pleasure away from his life. He would have to prepare for the future without knowing what it held. His first priority was to support Lydia in achieving a level of higher education that would give her greater independence. From then on he took a much closer interest in her schooling. He made sure she went to the best lycée . If she wanted to take music lessons she could have them. Later, Michel undertook to advance her sexual education with the help of some explicit photos from his erotic book collection, attempting to make the subject far more interesting that the more biological approach taken by schools. As Lydia grew up and continued to excel, there was less need for Michel to participate so closely. Lydia was an avid student and kept the whole family on tenterhooks as she approached selection exams for prestigious universities, the first of the family to achieve such high academic results. She passed them all and chose to go to the
Annick Bodin, the eldest daughter, did not often bring friends home while Thérèse and George were staying there, but Estelle’s friends were frequent visitors to the house. The two whom George saw most often were a black African from Mali, whom he only knew as Zu, and a Moroccan Arab boy called Ahmed. As they came and went, George noticed that Michel always had something to say to them. Was he just being polite? More than that, thought George, without further speculation.
Then, one afternoon when Estelle was out, George had gone to the guest bedroom to fetch his camera. He looked out of the dormer window onto the garden and saw Michel talking earnestly to Zu near the gate. At one point Michel took Zu by the elbow and led him away from the gate beside the outer wall, out of sight from the road, then reached into his jacket pocket, drawing out a roll of bank notes. George had already noted that the cash rolls that Michel usually carried were made up mainly of five-hundred-franc notes, so the amount he peeled off and gave to Zu must have been substantial. Later when Michel was alone with him, George asked if Zu and Ahmed worked for him. Michel threw his head back and showed his teeth in a wide grin.
“They are my eyes and ears. They are very good boys.”
Chapter Twelve
Daddyâs Girl
By the mid-1990s, Lydia, the Bodinsâ youngest daughter, the baby of the family, had grown into a beautiful dark-haired, slender teenager with the grace and perfection of a young deer. She was not only a stunner, but proved to be extremely talented and Michel doted on her. He had hardly noticed her in childhood and had certainly never attempted to contaminate her brain with adult thinking. She had offered him a radiant adolescence and now he felt he was closer to Lydia than he had been to the two older girls, whose passage into adulthood had been largely managed by their mother.
When Lydia was twelve, Charlotte had told Michel that Lydia was experiencing her first period. It represented an existential drama for a father who liked stability in domestic relationships, characterised by peace, confidence and calm. Suddenly this little girl could make him a grandfather, anytime. She may only have been twelve at that time, but he must make plans for her now so that she married in the best possible circumstances, not like some young people who left their families and lived their lives in an atmosphere of familial disapproval. He went over his thoughts again. The idea that this child could have a baby was shocking, especially as he had no concept ofwhat life might be like as a result. Even before that happened, he had to come to terms with the fact that she might leave the house at some point in the future and he would miss her decorative presence. That would take a substantial slice of pleasure away from his life. He would have to prepare for the future without knowing what it held. His first priority was to support Lydia in achieving a level of higher education that would give her greater independence. From then on he took a much closer interest in her schooling. He made sure she went to the best lycée . If she wanted to take music lessons she could have them. Later, Michel undertook to advance her sexual education with the help of some explicit photos from his erotic book collection, attempting to make the subject far more interesting that the more biological approach taken by schools. As Lydia grew up and continued to excel, there was less need for Michel to participate so closely. Lydia was an avid student and kept the whole family on tenterhooks as she approached selection exams for prestigious universities, the first of the family to achieve such high academic results. She passed them all and chose to go to the
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