Page 38 of The Ringmaster’s Daughter

‘You are looking after the horses?’ Hugo asked Michel as Jean deliberated over his cards.

‘Yes.’

‘About time we got another hand around here. I had to clean their hooves. Damn near had my head kicked in by Beau.’

‘He’s OK – just needs to calm down.’

‘Ha! Ask me, I say he needs to be put down!’

‘Are you going to play or not?’ Giordano asked Jean.

‘I’m thinking. Fine. Give me one.’

Michel stuck to his hand; Giordano excused himself to use the toilet.

‘Are you taking your cards with you?’ Jean asked.

‘I don’t trust you.’

‘I don’t trust people either,’ Hugo said, drinking a full tumbler of génépy and immediately pouring more. ‘You know… why would you? I have family, you know, who have run away from the Boche – gone into hiding. They don’t trust people.’

‘Hugo, you need to drink less.’

‘And you need to drink more!’

Just as Giordano reappeared, Michel caught a glimpse of Frieda, ducking into Werner’s carriage on the train. As she opened the door, warm orange light filtered out, then she closed it behind her. She was gone.

‘Don’t even look at that one,’ Hugo said. ‘Not worth your time. German, too.’

‘Ah, hush. Now look,’ Giordano stuck to his cards, ‘see – I win!’

The rest of them slapped their cards on the table.

‘One more round,’ Hugo said. ‘I’ll get another bottle.’

The following days, Michel worked hard with Beau. By the third day Michel had him cantering calmly around the sanded floor in the Big Top whilst workers finished erecting the tiered seats.

‘He’s coming along well.’ Odélie, who was practising nearby, applauded him once Beau was done.

‘He is. But not fast enough. Werner is anxious he won’t be ready for the show.’

‘Werner is always anxious about something.’

‘I should take Beau back. He needs a rest.’

‘I’ll walk with you,’ she said, and hooked her arm in his.

As they walked, Michel heard the muffled roar of Aramis. ‘I still haven’t seen the other animals yet.’

‘Not many to see. Aramis has no teeth now, so hardly a scary beast, but he roars and the children like seeing him. He is really just Werner’s pet. He sits with him at night and talks to him and strokes him.’

‘So, no elephant then? A bear?’

‘We had an elephant. Werner sold her a few months back. We had a llama – just one. We have Gino the monkey, of course, but he belongs to Kacper. Then, we still have two parrots and a snake that used to be Serge’s pet.’

They walked past Felix, who was telling two other workers that the opening to a smaller tent next to the Big Top needed pegging again. It would soon hold the Mysterious Madame Rosie and her fortune-telling powers.

‘She’ll be in the middle of telling some fool that danger will befall him unless he buys some useless charm, and then, boom, the tent falls down on top of them!’ Felix said.