Everything Under the Sky Read Online Free PDF

was he like, M. Julliard?” I asked in a wisp of a voice.
    “Pardon me, madame?”
    “I asked you what Rémy was like. I'm beginning to think I don't know much of anything. I'm completely taken aback by what you just said. I always thought Rémy was a good, intelligent man who was decidedly well-off.”
    “True, true. He was a good, intelligent man. But he was not well-off, Mme De Poulain, or rather he had less and less money that he spent more and more wantonly. I don't like to speak of my old friend this way, you understand, but I do have to tell you so that … Well, Rémy left nothing but debts.”
    I stared at him with incomprehension written all over my face. He placed both hands on the file and looked at me compassionately.
    “I'm very sorry, madame, but as Rémy's wife you are now responsible for a series of debts that come to an amount so large I almost daren't mention it.”
    “What … what are you talking about?” I stammered, feeling an enormous weight in the middle of my chest.
    M. Julliard sighed deeply, as if overwhelmed.
    “Mme De Poulain, ever since Rémy returned from France, his financial situation was, shall we say, problematic. He incurred very large debts that he couldn't repay, so he took bank loans and advances from the silk factory that also went unpaid. In addition, he handed out promissory notes for exorbitant amounts. While it's true that everything in Shanghai can be arranged with a signature and that even a cocktail can be paid for in installments, Rémy went far beyond that. The situation became so serious that his family sent an accountant from Lyon to look into his finances. As a result, Rémy's brother, Arthème, had no choice but to send another representative to take over the business. He wanted Rémy to return to France, but given your husband's … poor health, madame, this was impossible. In the end, in order to help Rémy and prevent further damage, Arthème removed his brother from the family business and gave him a monthly stipend to live out with dignity what time was left to him.”
    What on earth was the man saying? What was he talking about? Hadn't Rémy been killed by thieves? I felt as if I could no longer hear him; his voice had become muted, and a muffled, buzzing noise began in my head. I was frightened: These were the first signs of one of my anxiety attacks. I'd always been intrepid in terms of thoughts and ambitions, but exceedingly cowardly when faced with physical or emotional pain. I felt as though something terrible was about to happen. My pulse raced, and I thought I'd have a heart attack. Calm down, Elvira, calm down, I said to myself.
    “In fact,” the lawyer continued, “Arthème paid many of Rémy's debts but ultimately he refused to cover them all. Your husband, madame, continued to go further into debt until the day he died.”
    “You said … What was wrong with Rémy? How was his health?”
    M. Julliard looked at me with a mixture of worry and pity.
    “Oh, madame!” he exclaimed, taking a rather dirty handkerchief out of a pocket in his blazer and running it over his face. “Rémy was very ill, madame. His health had seriously deteriorated. This will is ten years old, and in it he names you beneficiary of all his assets, except for his share in the family silk mills, for reasons I'm sure you understand. The situation was very different then, of course, but things changed, and Rémy never updated his will despite my suggestions in this regard. He was very ill, madame. According to French law, you do inherit his estate, that's true, but you also inherit his outstanding debts.”
    “But why?” I nearly shrieked.
    “That's what the law says. You were his wife.”
    “No, I'm not talking about that! I mean why didn't I know all this? Why didn't he ever tell me he was sick, that he was in debt? Wasn't he murdered by thieves who broke in to his house? You've been talking in circles without actually telling me anything!”
    The legal adviser leaned