An Inconvenient Wife Read Online Free PDF Page B

to trust it.” Expect trouble ahead,
Westcott, and you won’t be disappointed.
     
    ~* * *~
    Portugal
    It appeared to be a daily
routine.
    The gentleman Westcott had
been told was Claude Meraux set out each mid-day, and soon after an older
couple appeared to collect two children and a maid. The trio stayed out for two
hours, returning well before Monsieur Meraux reappeared. The children
were a puzzle, unusually quiet and serious, and he was glad he had not
approached the odd family the minute he learned of their whereabouts. Today he
planned to follow them. He had already determined that Meraux spent the
afternoons in a coffeehouse, indulging in an occasional game of cards. Often he
appeared to conduct some sort of business with other members of the small
French community residing in Oporto, and not the most respectable
members.
    I’d like to know what that
business is. None of the traders I spoke to know anything about him, so where
is he getting the funds to finance his leisurely pursuits and this so-called
business?
    Westcott trailed the
children at a safe distance. Although finding Meraux had not been difficult, he
had no idea how to approach this girl who was purported to be la Comtesse’s niece.
And what of the boy? Was he Meraux’s son? Westcott had been in Oporto for
several days and had little more information now than when he arrived.
    His quarry turned into a
quiet street lined with the high, stone walls that hid the villas of the
wealthier residents of Oporto and he halted at the corner to watch them. They
stopped at a small door beside the high double gates guarding one of the
villas, the girl spoke briefly to the maid, and then followed the boy and the
couple through the doorway. The maid, Westcott was interested to see, did not
join them, but walked on alone.
    He went in the opposite
direction, searching for an alehouse. If the youngsters kept to their normal
routine, he had an hour or more to wait; and a drink with the local residents
was a good way to obtain some information about the occupants of that villa.
    The common room was cool and
dark and Westcott paused inside the entrance until his eyes adjusted. At this
time of day, few tables were occupied. He walked over, leaned against the
ancient counter and ordered cerveja , well aware every eye in the room
marked him as a stranger. But he spoke the language well, and after spinning a
short tale to explain his presence, encouraged the loquacious barman to talk
about the area and its residents. In any case, the beer was good.
    Westcott wandered out
sometime later, the better for the drink, but uncertain how accurate the
information volunteered by the barman was. An English lady and her servants
stayed in the gatehouse of the Villa de Campo des Flores , guests
of the Condessa, who was away in the country. No one knew the children who
visited every day, but sometimes the ‘foreign’ lady was known to play music
while they were there. Could it possibly be as simple as that? The children
were having a music lesson? Why so far from their home, and why not a French
teacher ?
    Westcott took up a watchful
post near the villa. If they held true to form, they would leave soon to return
home. No need to follow today. It might be more productive to investigate the
English woman.
    He did not have long to
wait. The children emerged first and the boy held the leash of a small dog that
frisked around their feet. The man and woman followed, along with the
children’s maid, and then another woman. She said something to the boy, who
slowed his pace, and then taking the girl’s hand, walked along with them.
    Westcott moved back into a
shadowy doorway on the opposite side of the street, but no one paid any attention
to him. He had never seen her with the children before and the woman’s
headscarf made it hard to determine her features or age, although she appeared
to be much younger than her adult companions.
    He kept well back, but since
he knew their destination, had no