Four Weddings And A Funeral 2 page

Therese and Laurent looked at each other for a few moments. Their faces were only inches apart. Then Laurent pulled Therese towards him. He put his hand in her hair and pulled her head back as he kissed her hard on the lips.

At first, she fought him. She tried to push him away and hit him. Then suddenly she stopped fighting him and fell to the floor. Neither of them said a word. Their love-making was silent and brutal. And it changed their lives for ever.

Chapter four

Love

From the evening that the painting was finished, Laurent and Therese made love whenever they were alone. They felt as if they had been lovers for years. Therese made careful plans. She could not leave the house, so Laurent came to the Passage du Pont-Neuf.

'We can meet here, in my bedroom,' Therese said calmly. Then she pointed at a door across the corridor. 'Behind that door, there are some stone stairs. They lead down to a little alley which goes into the arcade. I'll leave that door open for you.'

'When shall I come?' Laurent asked. He was surprised by Therese's behaviour. She was calm and careful. She knew exactly what to do.

'You must leave your office in the afternoon,' Therese said to her lover. 'Madame Raquin will be serving in the shop and Camille will be at work. Be careful when you go into the alley. No one must see you. Come tomorrow.'

The next day, Laurent told his manager at the railway office that he had to leave work for two hours. He walked to the Passage du Pont-Neuf and went towards the drapers shop. When no one was looking, Laurent walked quickly into the alley behind the shop. He ran up the stone stairs.

The door opened and the light of a lamp shone onto Therese, who was standing at the top of the stairs. She was wearing only her white petticoats. Her thick black hair was tied behind her head.

As Laurent stepped inside, she shut the door and put her arms around him. She smelt of violets.

Laurent was amazed. He had never seen Therese like this before. She was strong and beautiful. Her eyes shone with the madness of love and her body shone in the light.

From their first kiss, Therese had shown Laurent how passionate she was. No one had taught her how to be a lover, but she understood how to love a man.

Therese was a married woman, but her husband was weak and cold. Camille had no desire for his wife. Now, with her strong and passionate lover, Therese's mind and body were awake for the first time.

Laurent had never known a woman like Therese. She almost frightened him. When Laurent left Therese that afternoon, he walked like a drunken man.

Laurent decided that he would not visit Therese again. It was too dangerous. Then he thought of her holding out her arms to him and welcoming him to her bed. He knew that he could not keep away from her. From that day, Therese became part of Laurent's life.

Therese was completely happy and she had no fear. She told Laurent all her thoughts. She told him everything that had ever happened to her.

'I've been unhappy all my life,' Therese said one day. 'I was a strong and healthy child. But I was treated like that weak, sickly Camille. My aunt made me drink his medicine. I slept in the same room as him.

'Madame Raquin has been kind to me,' Therese went on. 'She looked after me, when my father could not. But I wanted fresh air, not hot rooms. I wanted to run and dance and shout. But I had to sit quietly all day, because of Camille. I liked the little house by the river at Vernon. I liked the river too. It was strong and powerful, like you.

'My mother was Algerian,' she continued. 'I'm sure that she was a passionate woman. I am passionate too. You know that now. But the Raquins turned me into a silent, stupid thing. Sometimes I was mad with anger. I often thought about throwing myself into the river. I thought about running away from Vernon. But I did nothing. The Raquins' kindness almost destroyed me. But then we came to this dark, damp hole. We came to this awful shop. My mind was dead.'

Therese was so excited, that she had begun to shout.

'Don't make so much noise!' Laurent whispered. 'Madame Raquin will hear you!'

Therese laughed, but she stopped talking for a moment and walked about the room. Then she went up to Laurent and held his strong hands in her two small hands.

'Why did I marry Camille?' she said. 'He has never been a real husband to me. He has never loved me like you do. I was afraid of you at first. I could not show my feelings. I waited for you to do something. But now I have you - and I love you! My heart is alive. My mind is alive. I'm alive! Madame Raquin can come up to this room. I don't care!'

Laurent was not very happy about his visits to the Passage du Pont-Neuf. But he returned every afternoon, week after week. He had to see Therese and make love to her. He could not stay away.

Then, one day Madame Raquin came up to the bedroom when Laurent was there.

Therese had been upstairs for three hours and her aunt was worried about her. Laurent heard the old lady coming up the spiral staircase. He jumped off the bed and started to pick up his clothes.

Therese laughed. She pushed him and his clothes onto the end of the bed.

Then she threw the bedclothes and her petticoats on top of him.

'Stay there and don't move,' she said.

Therese got back onto the bed, just as the door opened. She covered her body with the bedclothes and pretended to be asleep.

'Therese, my dear, are you ill?' Madame Raquin asked her niece kindly.

Therese opened her eyes slowly and turned her head towards her aunt.

'I have a terrible headache,' she said in a quiet voice. 'Please leave me. I want to sleep.'

Madame Raquin left the room without saying another word. The lovers laughed and kissed each other.

'You see, we've nothing to fear,' Therese said. 'No one can see what is happening between us. They cannot see how we love each other!'

On another afternoon, Francois the cat was with them. He sat in the middle of the bedroom and watched the lovers with his bright green eyes.

'Look at Francois,' Therese said. 'Do you think that he understands? Does he know that we are lovers? Perhaps he'll tell Camille everything this evening!'

'Cats can't speak,' Laurent said quickly. He did not like cats and he was a little afraid of Francois.

'How can you be sure?' Therese said with a laugh. 'Think of all the stories that Francois could tell about us! He watches us with his big green eyes. He has seen us make love many times.'

Laurent looked at the cat and felt afraid.

'Look, this is what Francois will do,' Therese said. She stood up and held up her hands. She made the noise of a cat.

'He'll stand on his back legs and point at us with his feet like this,' Therese said. 'Then he'll say, "Laurent and Therese were kissing each other in the bedroom this afternoon. They thought that I did not understand, but I did. Put them into prison at once!'"

Therese laughed again and moved her body like a cat. Francois stared at her with his green eyes and Laurent thought that the cat was smiling.

Laurent got up quickly, opened the door, and put the cat into the corridor. He was afraid of the animal and sometimes a little afraid of Therese too. He did not understand her.

Laurent thought that his life was perfect. Every afternoon, he made love with Therese in the bedroom above the drapers shop. Every evening, he left work with his good friend Camille, and walked back to the Passage du Pont-Neuf.

Madame Raquin always greeted Laurent cheerfully. She treated him as her own son and gave him a good dinner every day.

In the evenings, Laurent talked to Therese politely, but she never smiled at him when they all sat together.

Laurent was now the wife's lover, the husband's friend and the mother's spoilt child. He had everything that he wanted and he was part of the family too. He did not think about the future - he was enjoying himself too much.

Therese was nervous about her affair with Laurent. But she was used to hiding her feelings. She had been hiding her feelings for most of her life. She knew that she and Laurent were doing wrong. But she enjoyed deceiving Camille and his mother. When Laurent was in the house, Therese's face became plain and cold. She spoke to her lover rudely. But when Laurent was not in the house, Therese could show her happiness. She sometimes sang and she often laughed.

Therese bought flowers and put them in her bedroom. She put new wallpaper on the walls. She asked her aunt for new carpets and new curtains. She wanted fine new furniture.

She did all these things to please Laurent.

'Camille and Laurent are good friends,' thought Madame Raquin. 'I feel as if I have two sons, not one.'

Therese's face was calm and still. But her mind was full of thoughts of her lover and their afternoons of love-making. The young woman laughed to herself. She was happy that she was deceiving her husband and her aunt.

When Camille and Madame Raquin went downstairs, Therese jumped up from her chair and kissed her lover on his lips. When she heard the Raquins coming back to the sitting-room, she sat down again. Her face became completely still and calm once again.

On Thursday evenings, Therese talked to the visitors and played dominoes cheerfully. Laurent behaved well too and the others all enjoyed his company.

As the visitors got ready to leave, Therese and Laurent whispered together. They made plans for their next meeting. Sometimes they were alone for a few seconds and she kissed him.

This life of passion and calm lasted for eight months. Therese was never bored. She no longer felt cold and dead inside. And Laurent was happy and well-fed.

Chapter five

Saint Ouen

One afternoon, Laurent's manager spoke to the young man angrily.

'You've been spending too much time away from the office,' the manager said. 'We pay clerks to work, not to go out every afternoon. You must stay in the office all day. If you leave your desk again, you'll lose your job.'

Laurent was going to see Therese that afternoon, but he did not want to lose his job. He needed the money. He knew that his father would not give him an allowance now. Laurent did not move from his desk all day.

In the evening, he went quickly to the Passage du Pont- Neuf. Therese looked at him angrily, but he was not able to speak to her alone for some time. When Laurent was alone with Therese for a few minutes, he spoke to her quietly.

'We can't meet again!' Laurent whispered. 'My manager won't let me leave the office.'

Then Camille came back into the room and Laurent could not say anything more.

Therese did not sleep that night. She lay in the bed beside Camille and tried to think of a plan. On Thursday, she told Laurent when she wanted to see him, but he did not come.

Two weeks passed. Therese had only one thought in her mind - she wanted to be alone with Laurent again.

Laurent was like a wild animal in a cage. He was half-mad because he could not hold Therese. Laurent loved her and he could not live without her. He had never felt like this before. His desire for Therese was very strong. He needed her in the same way that he needed food and drink. He could not go to the Passage du Pont-Neuf in the evenings now. He was frightened that he would show his feelings. He thought that Camille and his mother would find out about his affair with Therese.

Then Therese wrote to Laurent. She told him to stay at home the next evening. She would come to his room at eight o'clock.

The next afternoon, Laurent spoke to Camille as they were leaving the office of the Orleans Railway Company.

'I'm sorry, my friend,' he said. 'But I'm very tired. I think that I'll go home. I will not dine with you tonight.'

Therese told Madame Raquin that she had to go out.

'A lady bought several things this morning but she didn't pay for all of them,' Therese said. 'I know where the customer lives, so I'm going to her house. I'll get the money. I'll be out for about two hours, I think.'

Madame Raquin did not like losing money. 'Very well, my dear,' she said to Therese. 'But be careful. You don't go out in the evenings very often.'

Therese put on her coat, hat and gloves and went towards the house where Laurent lived. She walked quickly, pushing people out of her way. Therese's face and hands were very hot and she walked like a drunken woman.

Therese ran up the stairs of the house where Laurent lived. When she reached the sixth floor, she was breathing very fast. Laurent was standing there, waiting for her. Therese ran into the attic and her wide skirts almost filled the little room. She took off her hat and fell onto the bed.

The little attic had a skylight in the roof. The cold evening air came in through the window and cooled the room and the two lovers. They stayed together until the bell of a church clock rang ten times. Therese wished that she had not heard it. She got up slowly, found her hat and put it on. Then she sat down on the bed again. Laurent knelt on the floor in front of her.

'I must go,' Therese said. 'Goodbye.' But she did not move.

'Don't just say goodbye. Tell me when you are coming back,' said Laurent.

Therese looked into her lover's eyes. 'I don't think that I can come back,' she said.

'So we must say goodbye for ever?' Laurent asked quietly.

'I don't want to say goodbye,' Therese replied. Then she repeated, 'I must go.'

Laurent thought about Camille, but he did not want to say his name.

'I don't dislike him, but he is a problem,' Laurent said. 'Why can't he go away? Can't you send him on a journey?'

'A journey?' Therese said sadly. 'Camille will never leave the Passage du Pont-Neuf. He will never leave home until he goes on his last journey - the journey that no one comes back from. You know what I mean. But he'll live longer than all of us. Sickly people always live the longest.'

'I want to spend the whole night with you,' said Laurent. 'I want to sleep with you every night. I want to be with you forever. I want to be your husband.'

Therese kissed Laurent and then she began to cry.

'Help me to be strong!' Therese cried. 'Say that you love me and that one day we'll be together. Please tell me that you need me!'

'I do need you. Come back tomorrow,' Laurent said.

'That is not possible,' Therese replied. 'But perhaps I'll tell Camille everything and then I'll leave him. I'll come back here and live with you. I don't care what people say about me. I want you to be happy.'

Laurent began to think more clearly. Therese could not live with him in his little attic. It was too small. And if she left the Passage du Pont-Neuf, he could never visit the Raquins again.

Laurent spoke slowly. 'If your husband was dead, we could be happy together.'

'If... if he was dead,' Therese repeated. She looked down at her lover. Her eyes looked very dark in her pale face.

'Sometimes, people die suddenly,' she said. 'But there might be a problem for the family later.'

'I'm not stupid,' Laurent said quickly. 'I want to live with you and love you in peace. Perhaps your husband could have an accident. People have accidents every day. But we must be careful. I'll think of a plan.'

They both stood up and Therese walked to the door. Laurent put his arms around her.

'You are mine, aren't you?' he said. 'You belong to me?'

'Yes, I belong to you. Do what you like with me,' Therese replied.

They stood there silently for a moment. Their love for each other was wild and dangerous. Then Therese pulled herself away from Laurent's arms and ran down the stairs.

Laurent lay down on the bed again. The bedclothes were warm and smelt of violets. He lay on his back and looked up through the skylight at the square of dark blue sky. He did not sleep that night. Before Therese's visit, he had not thought of killing Camille. Now, because of his desire for Therese, he could only think of killing her husband. He thought about what could go wrong. He thought about what would happen to Therese and himself. He thought about his father.

'Perhaps my father will live for another ten years,' Laurent said to himself. 'And when he dies, I might not get his money. I can't go on living in this room, working in the office, and living on cheap food for ever. But if Camille was dead, I could marry Therese. Madame Raquin would call me her son and I'd get her money. And I might get my father's money too, when he is dead.'

Laurent wanted Therese. He did not want to share Therese with her husband, Camille. If Camille disappeared, Laurent could become Therese's husband. Camille must be killed. But no one must know who had killed him.

'I must kill him. I must kill him,' Laurent said to himself again and again, until he fell asleep.

Therese got home at eleven o'clock. She could not remember getting back to the Passage du Pont-Neuf. She felt cold and very ill. Madame Raquin and Camille were worried about her, but Therese would not answer any of their questions.

Therese's body shook with cold and fear when she got into bed with Camille. He fell asleep at once and lay there with his mouth open. Therese hated him. Camille was her husband and she wished that he was dead.

Three weeks passed. Once again, Laurent started visiting the shop every evening. Madame Raquin welcomed him as usual, but she said that he looked tired. Therese did not speak to Laurent. She made herself look as ugly and stupid as Camille. Madame Raquin was worried by the girl's silence.

'Take no notice of Therese's cold behaviour,' the old woman said to Laurent one day. 'Sometimes, she is not friendly, but she has a warm heart.'

The lovers did not make plans to meet each other. Their faces were calm, but their hearts were full of anger and fear. They could not speak to each other about their true feelings - feelings of murder and desire.

Sometimes, when they were alone, Laurent and Therese held each other's hands for a moment. They held hands so tightly, that they hurt each other. But they did nothing more. They were waiting.

One Thursday evening, Old Michaud, the retired police commissioner, began to talk about unsolved crimes.

'I could tell you about some terrible crimes - including murder - that are still unsolved,' the old man said.

'Do you mean that there are killers walking in the streets?' Grivet cried. 'Are there murderers who have never been caught?'

'They have not been caught, because no one knows that they are murderers,' Olivier said. 'We try to find them, but the police can't catch everyone. There are some murderers who will never be caught. Their crimes will never be solved. These murderers are too clever.'

Laurent and Therese listened to this conversation, but they did not say anything. They looked at each other and Therese shook with fear.

Sometimes, on Sundays, when the weather was fine, Camille made Therese walk with him along the wide streets of Paris. The stupid young man liked people to look at his beautiful wife. But Therese hated going out with her husband.

Madame Raquin was always worried when Therese and Camille left the Passage du Pont-Neuf. She would follow them slowly to the end of the arcade and then call out, 'Be careful! There is a lot of traffic in Paris these days. So many people have accidents. Look where you are going!'

Then the old woman would walk very slowly back to the shop and she would worry until Camille and Therese returned.

Laurent began to go with Therese and Camille on these Sunday walks. Sometimes, the three of them left Paris and found a cafe on the banks of the Seine. They would have a meal and walk by the water.

Therese loved to walk by the River Seine. She loved to sit on the grass and put her hand in the water. She loved to breathe the warm, sweet air.

One Sunday in the autumn, Camille, Therese and Laurent left the arcade at eleven o'clock. On this day, the sky was blue and the sun was warm. Laurent, Camille and Therese were going on a longer visit. They rode in a cab across Paris and then they walked to Saint-Ouen. When they reached this small town to the north of Paris, Camille and Therese walked along the warm, dusty road beside the River Seine. Camille had one hand on his wife's arm. In his other hand, he held a parasol over Therese's head. Laurent walked behind them. Sometimes he looked down at the road. Sometimes he looked at his lover.

The three young people walked along one bank of the river. Then they went over a little bridge to a small island and looked for a comfortable place to sit down. They found a quiet place, where grass was growing under tall trees. Red leaves had fallen from the trees. The leaves made a dry, crunching noise as the young people walked over them. The island was quiet and peaceful. The cool green water of the river flowed round and past the island.

Camille sat down on the soft grass. Therese dropped down onto the ground and her wide skirts spread round her in a big circle. Laurent lay on his stomach and looked at Therese. He could just see one of her legs beneath her wide skirts. Her leg was slim and beautiful, with its white stocking and black shoe.

The three of them - Laurent, Camille and Therese - stayed on the island for three hours. They waited for the cool of the evening.

At first Camille told the others silly stories, but at last, he fell asleep. He lay on the ground, with his hat over his eyes and his mouth wide open.

Laurent moved closer to Therese. He kissed her shoe and then her leg. Therese smelt of violets and desire burned through Laurent's body like fire. He wanted to hold his lover in his arms, but he could not. Camille might wake up.

Laurent thought that Therese was asleep. He stood up, went over to a tree and leant against it. Then he saw that Therese was not asleep, her black eyes were wide open. Laurent stared down at her, but she did not look at him.

Laurent looked at Camille. The silly, weak young man looked ugly and stupid and Laurent hated him. He lifted his foot above Camille's face and Therese gave a cry. Laurent put his foot back on the ground. It would be stupid to murder Camille like that. Laurent walked down to the fast-flowing river and stared at the water. Then suddenly, he had a plan.

'I can murder Camille and never be caught,' Laurent thought. 'Then I'll be able to enjoy the rest of my life with Therese. My plan is perfect!'

Laurent woke his sleeping friend and told him to stand up. Therese stood up too and shook the red leaves from her dress.

'Let's go and get something to eat. I'm hungry,' Laurent said.

They left the island and walked along little roads that were full of happy, laughing people. The sun was not so bright now and the air was getting cooler. Camille and Laurent walked together and Therese walked more slowly behind them. She was sure that Laurent had a plan and she felt very frightened. Therese's legs shook and she felt weak.

'Come on!' Camille shouted to Therese. 'I'm hungry. Aren't you?'

'Yes,' Therese replied, but she was not hungry. She was too frightened.

They soon found a cheap little cafe on the river bank. The lower floor of the cafe was full of customers, so they went upstairs to a terrace.

Chapter six

The Accident

Therese, Laurent and Camille sat on the terrace and looked down at the many people below them. Waiters were running about, serving customers with food and wine. Girls wearing brightly-coloured dresses were dancing and shouting. There were some students who were watching the girls and laughing at them.

The sun was setting now and the sky was as red as fire. Far away, the hills above the city were blue.

Laurent started to call for a waiter, but then he stopped.

'Why don't we go for a boat-trip on the river?' Laurent said suddenly to Camille. 'Then we can come back and eat here later.'

'Therese is hungry now,' Camille said.

'I can wait,' his wife replied quietly.

The three friends walked down the steps of the terrace and spoke to a waiter. They ordered their meal and told him that they would return in an hour.

The owner of the cafe hired out boats. Laurent chose a very narrow rowing-boat and the cafe-owner untied the rope that held it to the river bank.

Camille and Therese looked at the boat.

'Is this boat big enough for all of us?' Camille said. 'We'll have to sit very still, or one of us will fall in!'

'Are you frightened?' Laurent asked, laughing.

'No, of course not,' Camille replied.

But Camille could not swim and he was afraid of water. He got into the little boat very carefully and sat at the far end of it. Laurent turned towards Therese. As she stood on the bank beside the boat, he whispered to her.

'Don't be afraid. I'm going to push him into the river.

Don't worry. I'll do everything.'

Therese's face became very pale. She could not move.

'Therese is frightened,' Camille said with a laugh. 'Look at her, Laurent! Will she get in the boat or not?'

Camille's words made Therese angry. She jumped into the boat and sat at the opposite end to Camille. Laurent sat down in the middle of the boat and picked up the oars. As he pulled the oars, the boat moved away from the bank and towards some small islands. Soon the boat was in the middle of the River Seine.

The sun was very low now and the sky was getting dark. The black shadows of the trees fell across the water. It was colder too. Laurent stopped rowing and the fast-flowing river moved the boat along. Laurent, Camille and Therese sat in silence as the sky and the river became darker.

Camille was lying on his back. He put his hand into the fast-flowing water of the Seine. 'That's cold!' he said. 'I wouldn't like to fall in there!'

Laurent did not answer. He was sitting completely still, with his big hands on his knees. Therese sat at the other end of the boat. Her body was stiff with fear.

Now their boat was moving into a narrow space between two of the small islands. There were no other boats here. Laurent stood up and moved to the end of the boat where Camille was sitting. He put his hands on Camille's waist.

'What are you doing?' the young man said, laughing. 'Be careful, Laurent! I shall fall into the water!'

Then Camille saw the cold, cruel expression on Laurent's face and he was terrified. Laurent put one hand around the weak young man's throat. Camille shouted out.

'Help me! Therese!'

Therese sat very still. She held onto the sides of the boat with both of her hands. She wanted to shut her eyes, but she could not. The little boat moved from side to side.

'Therese!' Camille cried out again.

Therese could not watch what was happening. She felt shocked and ill. She fell down into the bottom of the boat and began to cry.

Camille held the sides of the boat tightly, but Laurent pulled his hands away. Then he picked up Camille and held the weak young man like a child. As Laurent bent his head forward, Camille bit him on his neck. With a cry of pain, Laurent threw Camille into the water. Camille screamed two or three times, as his head came up out of the water. Then there was silence.

Laurent moved quickly. He took hold of Therese and pushed the narrow rowing-boat over. As the boat rolled over, Laurent and Therese fell into the cold water.

'Help! Help!' Laurent shouted loudly.

Laurent was strong and a good swimmer. He was in no danger. He easily held Therese in his arms as he swam to the river bank. Some men in another boat heard his cries and they rowed towards Laurent and Therese as fast as they could.

Laurent and Therese were soon safely on the bank. Therese had fainted but Laurent jumped into the water again. He began to look for Camille. He looked under the rowing-boat and around it. But he was careful to look in the wrong places. Laurent came back to the river bank alone.

'It was my fault!' Laurent cried. 'My friend Camille moved in the boat too much. Then he stood up! I should have stopped him. He didn't understand the danger. The boat turned over. As Camille fell into the water, he called out to me. "Help my Therese!" he shouted.'

'Yes, we saw it all!' some of the young men said.

This was not true. The young men had not seen anything, but they wanted to feel important. They helped Laurent to turn his rowing-boat over again so that it lay safely in the water once more.

'The poor woman has fainted,' said one of the young men, looking at Therese. 'Someone must look after her.'

The young men tied the narrow rowing-boat to their own boat and pulled Laurent and Therese back to the cafe. Very soon, everyone in Saint-Ouen knew about the accident. They knew that Laurent's friend - Therese's husband - had fallen into the river and disappeared.

The young men described the accident exactly as Laurent had told them the story. Everyone thought that the young men had seen the accident and so everyone believed Laurent's story. The owner of the cafe and his wife were kind people. They gave Laurent some dry clothes. Therese could not stop crying and shaking and they put her into a bed.

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 750