More than once he felt around it, made as if to insert his thumb under the flap, only to lay it down again. He picked it up and ran his tongue round the edges, and replaced it on the desk. He lay back in his chair and lit a cigarette, got up and crossed the room to look out of the window, but if you had asked him what he saw he couldn’t have told you. Was his reluctance occasioned by the fear that the contents of the envelope would reveal nothing of significance, or the suspicion that what was revealed was something he would prefer not to know? He couldn’t find an answer to these questions.It was a relief when a knock on the door came as a distraction and old Joseph entered to say that a young woman wanted to see him. ‘To my mind she’s a tart but someone’s had a go at her,’ he said. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me if she was asking for it, but there you are, it’s a wicked world.’Yvette had a black eye and a swollen mouth, and was trembling. Lannes took a bottle of Armagnac from the cupboard, poured out two glasses, gave her one, and said, ‘Drink this and take your time.’ She winced as the spirit touched her lips.
