used.’
‘I believe so. Tell me about Antigua.’
‘He had planned to go there for two weeks over Christmas and New Year. It was me who bought the air tickets and booked the hotel.’
‘There were two tickets?’
‘He had arranged to go there with his girlfriend, Bella. But they broke up just before they were supposed to go and so he went on his own.’
‘Any idea why they broke up?’
Alice smiled. ‘He was like any other young man with too much money. There were a great many other women ready to help him spend it. I think she was able to tolerate that for a bit. After all, she saw a few other men herself. But with Jérôme women were like a hobby. You’d have to ask her about this. I don’t feel comfortable talking about this with a stranger.’
‘You’ll forgive me, I hope, if some of my questions seem intrusive, but there’s a time factor here. If I don’t find him soon I think the loan deal with FC Barcelona could be off. Which would be bad for Jérôme. His reputation is already in the mud. This could finish him. Clubs don’t like players who take time to settle in, but they especially don’t like players who disappear without a trace. It makes picking a team difficult.’
‘I suppose you’re right,’ she said. ‘So, ask away.’
‘Did you ever sleep with him yourself?’
She coloured.
‘I’m sorry. But I have to ask.’
‘Yes. But we both agreed it was a mistake and we decided not to do it again.’
‘Was it?’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Did he agree more than you did? That it was a mistake?’
‘Yes.’
‘Were you in love with him, maybe?’
‘Yes,’ she said dully. Alice took off her glasses and began to clean them with a tissue she’d found in the sleeve of her sweater. She was much better looking than I had first appreciated.
‘Did he know that?’
‘No. I certainly didn’t tell him. And I don’t think he was capable of knowing it in any other way. He was much too caught up in himself to have even considered the possibility. My feelings were probably quite low on his horizon.’
‘When Bella said she wouldn’t go with him to Antigua – did he ever ask you to go in her place?’
‘He would have done if I hadn’t already made it very clear that I wasn’t prepared to go in those circumstances.’ She tried a smile but it didn’t seem to work very well. ‘It’s one thing to come off the bench as a player substitute in a football match, it’s another thing to take another girl’s place in a man’s bed. Even if the sex we had was very good.’
‘Why did he want to go to Antigua when he was from the island of Guadeloupe? After all, Guadeloupe is less than a hundred kilometres south of Antigua.’
‘I asked him that. The reason was simple, he said. For one thing he has no family left in Guadeloupe. But the main reason he said is that Antigua has much better hotels. He was booked in to stay at Jumby Bay, which is the best hotel on the island, apparently. A villa there costs anything between ten and twenty thousand US dollars a night.’
‘Christ, it must be good.’
‘He could afford it.’
‘I suppose so.’
‘He likes expensive hotels. The more expensive the better.’
‘I’ve heard he’s a bit of a champagne socialist. Is that right?’
‘You’ve been talking to Mandel. Jérôme’s a socialist, yes, but I don’t think he liked champagne very much.’
‘It’s an English phrase. It means that you’re a hypocrite.’
‘Not in France. There are plenty of socialists who like to eat and drink well here. Especially in Paris. Our president, for example. Jérôme likes the good things in life, like anyone else. Me included. In different circumstances I wouldn’t mind a week in Jumby Bay and I’m a socialist. And I love champagne. So what does that make me? A hypocrite?’
‘No, but you’re not telling other people to wear a hair shirt and pay less attention to making money. You’re not the one going on demonstrations outside the
‘I believe so. Tell me about Antigua.’
‘He had planned to go there for two weeks over Christmas and New Year. It was me who bought the air tickets and booked the hotel.’
‘There were two tickets?’
‘He had arranged to go there with his girlfriend, Bella. But they broke up just before they were supposed to go and so he went on his own.’
‘Any idea why they broke up?’
Alice smiled. ‘He was like any other young man with too much money. There were a great many other women ready to help him spend it. I think she was able to tolerate that for a bit. After all, she saw a few other men herself. But with Jérôme women were like a hobby. You’d have to ask her about this. I don’t feel comfortable talking about this with a stranger.’
‘You’ll forgive me, I hope, if some of my questions seem intrusive, but there’s a time factor here. If I don’t find him soon I think the loan deal with FC Barcelona could be off. Which would be bad for Jérôme. His reputation is already in the mud. This could finish him. Clubs don’t like players who take time to settle in, but they especially don’t like players who disappear without a trace. It makes picking a team difficult.’
‘I suppose you’re right,’ she said. ‘So, ask away.’
‘Did you ever sleep with him yourself?’
She coloured.
‘I’m sorry. But I have to ask.’
‘Yes. But we both agreed it was a mistake and we decided not to do it again.’
‘Was it?’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Did he agree more than you did? That it was a mistake?’
‘Yes.’
‘Were you in love with him, maybe?’
‘Yes,’ she said dully. Alice took off her glasses and began to clean them with a tissue she’d found in the sleeve of her sweater. She was much better looking than I had first appreciated.
‘Did he know that?’
‘No. I certainly didn’t tell him. And I don’t think he was capable of knowing it in any other way. He was much too caught up in himself to have even considered the possibility. My feelings were probably quite low on his horizon.’
‘When Bella said she wouldn’t go with him to Antigua – did he ever ask you to go in her place?’
‘He would have done if I hadn’t already made it very clear that I wasn’t prepared to go in those circumstances.’ She tried a smile but it didn’t seem to work very well. ‘It’s one thing to come off the bench as a player substitute in a football match, it’s another thing to take another girl’s place in a man’s bed. Even if the sex we had was very good.’
‘Why did he want to go to Antigua when he was from the island of Guadeloupe? After all, Guadeloupe is less than a hundred kilometres south of Antigua.’
‘I asked him that. The reason was simple, he said. For one thing he has no family left in Guadeloupe. But the main reason he said is that Antigua has much better hotels. He was booked in to stay at Jumby Bay, which is the best hotel on the island, apparently. A villa there costs anything between ten and twenty thousand US dollars a night.’
‘Christ, it must be good.’
‘He could afford it.’
‘I suppose so.’
‘He likes expensive hotels. The more expensive the better.’
‘I’ve heard he’s a bit of a champagne socialist. Is that right?’
‘You’ve been talking to Mandel. Jérôme’s a socialist, yes, but I don’t think he liked champagne very much.’
‘It’s an English phrase. It means that you’re a hypocrite.’
‘Not in France. There are plenty of socialists who like to eat and drink well here. Especially in Paris. Our president, for example. Jérôme likes the good things in life, like anyone else. Me included. In different circumstances I wouldn’t mind a week in Jumby Bay and I’m a socialist. And I love champagne. So what does that make me? A hypocrite?’
‘No, but you’re not telling other people to wear a hair shirt and pay less attention to making money. You’re not the one going on demonstrations outside the
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