She sighed with relief. “I was afraid when I saw your face …” She broke off. “But don’t you see? It is all right. He does not carry a gun. There is no gun in his cabin. He has not got a gun.” She laughed. “Perhaps he has pawned it. Ah, do not look so serious, chéri. He may get a gun in Genoa, but then it will be too late. Nothing can happen to you. You will be all right.” She put on a woebegone expression. “I am the one who is in trouble now.”
“You?”
“Your smelly little friend plays cards very well. He is winning money from José. José does not like that. He will have to cheat and cheating puts him in a bad temper. He says that it is bad for his nerves. Really it is that he likes to win because he is a better player.” She paused and added suddenly: “Please wait!”
They had reached the end of the deck. She stopped and faced him. “What is the matter, chéri? You are not listening to what I am saying. You are thinking of something else.” She pouted. “Ah, I know. It is your wife. Now that there is no danger you think of her again.”
“No.”
“You are sure?”
“Yes, I am sure.” He knew now that he did not want to tell her about Moeller. He wanted her to talk to him believing that there was no longer any danger, that nothing could happen to him, that he could walk down the gangway at Genoa without fear. Afraid to create his own illusion, he could live in one of her making. He managed to smile. “You mustn’t take any notice of me, Josette. I’m tired. You know, it’s a very tiring business searching other people’s cabins.”
Immediately she was all sympathy. “Mon pauvre chéri. It is my fault, not yours. I forget how unpleasant things have been for you. Would you like us to go back to the salone and have a little drink?”
He would have done almost anything for a drink but go back to the saloon where he could see Banat. “No. Tell me what we shall do first when we arrive in Paris.”
She looked at him quickly, smiling. “If we do not walk we shall get cold.” She wriggled into her coat and linked her arm in his. “So we are going to Paris together?”