‘Yes, really bad shape. And in fact …’
He was stowing things in his bag.
‘I have to ask you whether you are intending to stay here.’
‘But … why?’
Didn’t this question, asked in a more scornful tone, rather echo Félicie’s?
‘None of my business, I suppose. But yes, it is in a way. Madame Couderc is likely to be confined to bed for a matter of weeks, and to need constant care. As far as I know, there’s no one else in the house except you, and she is on bad terms with her family. If you were to leave at any time, I would need to make arrangements and have her moved to hospital. So you had better tell me frankly. Are you intending to look after her for as long as necessary?’
‘Of course.’
‘It won’t be very pleasant.’
‘I don’t mind.’
‘Very well.’
He sat down at the corner of the table to write a prescription.
‘Is it dangerous?’
‘She might not pull through. I’ll be back in two or three days.’
The doctor did not say goodbye to him and got back in his car. Jean hurried up the stairs and stopped for a moment to remove traces of emotion from his face.
‘Come in,’ Tati called. ‘What did he say?’
‘Nothing. He’s a man of few words.’
‘I’m going to be here a long time, isn’t that it?’
‘No, no, you’ll be up and about in a few days.’
‘Why are you lying? See, you’re quite capable of lying.’
‘No, I swear …’
‘Jean, don’t swear, or I won’t believe you. In the first place, he told me it could be weeks. And anyway, I can hear everything from the kitchen. Are you really going to stay?’
‘Yes, of course I am.’
‘You know, it won’t be any fun looking after me. I’m getting sores all over since yesterday. It’s the change of life, I think, you understand? My blood. Check the thermometer. He looked at it, but he didn’t tell me what my temperature was.’
‘Thirty-nine.’
‘Did you buy some meat?’
‘Yes, a steak.’
‘You didn’t meet anyone?’
‘No.’
‘You didn’t see Couderc? Or Félicie?’
He could sense that she didn’t believe him, and now the same questions came back in a different form:
‘I sometimes wonder what’s keeping you here.’
He did not dare reply as he had to Félicie: the house. He preferred to look at Tati with a smile, shifting from one foot to another.
‘Just now, when I heard the car stop, I thought it was your father. I was almost glad you weren’t here. Then I heard someone moving about in the kitchen and pouring water into the basin. I couldn’t go down, I waited here, my mouth was dry. What surprises me is that the old man still hasn’t managed to wander back over. I’m sure they’re watching him all day long. Have you checked the incubator?’
‘Yes, I’ve done everything. One of the rabbits has had babies and another one is making a nest.’
‘Félicie didn’t try to talk to you?’
Why did she keep forcing him to tell lies?
‘No, no, I’ve told you.’
‘Know what you’re going to do? Lying here, I’m on tenterhooks. René’s room is empty since he left. From his window, you can see the canal. There’s a bedstead there, just has to be put together. Think you can do that?’
‘Yes.’
‘And in the cupboard under the stairs, you’ll find a mattress and a bolster.’
