“Why?” She glanced over at the café owner behind the bar, pouring a beer from a tap.
“Because you were being assaulted. Didn’t you notice?”
“It was just words.”
“Bad words.”
“I’ve heard worse. Besides, in French swearing sounds so elegant. I think I learned a few new words.” She patted her journal. “I should write them down.”
He shook his head and chuckled.
Hubert brought Jean-Paul his beer and apologized to Cady, adding, “Andres boit comme un trou.”
Andres drinks like a trout.
“Why do you keep serving him?” Jean-Paul demanded of Hubert.
The bartender lifted his well-padded shoulders and put his hands palms up as if to sayWhat can I do?“C’est le vent qui lui rend fou,”he replied.
“It’s not the wind that’s driven him mad,” Jean-Paul responded, “but the drink.”
Hubert shuffled back behind the bar.
“Putain,”Jean-Paul swore in French, running his hand through his hair. Cady’s eyes lingered for a moment on the path of his fingers, which left little indentations in his thick brown hair.“J’en ai vraiment marre de tout ça.”
By which he meant, basically, that he was tired of all this.
“What are you so tired of?” Cady asked.
“Small-town minds, small-town gossip.”
“It does seem to be quite the efficient communications system. So, you’re speaking French to me now?”
He shook his head and smiled. “I felt like swearing, and you said it was more elegant in French. Besides, I don’t know that many good swear words in English.”
“I could teach you a few choice phrases.”
“I’m sure you could. I imagine you know quite a number from your days running the streets of Oakland.”
“I do indeed,” she said with a smile. Their gazes met and held for a few seconds too long.
“Believe me, it’s not about you—Andres drinks too much, and his wife passed away suddenly last year. I have the feeling he finds teenagers challenging, to put it kindly.”
“Also, he’s not fond of Americans.”
“That too, apparently.” His eyes settled on her. “You’re okay?”
“Of course I’m okay. People don’t like me; I’m used to it.”
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“Because it’s true. It’s always been that way. Anyway, I appreciate the whole knight-in-shining-armor thing, but it’s not necessary. I can take care of myself.”
“I know. So you’ve told me. But I think it’s more than that; I think you don’t like asking for help.”
“I don’t know about that—I asked Fabrice for help, and now I’m staying at his château.”
“I think that was more about you offering help than asking for it.”
