XXII
Nicole awoke late, murmuring something back into her dream before she parted her long lashes tangled with sleep. d**k’s bed was empty, only after a minute did she realize that she had been awakened by a knock at their salon door.
‘Entrez!’ she called, but there was no answer, and after a moment she slipped on a dressing-gown and went to open it. A sergent-deville confronted her courteously and stepped inside the door.
‘Mr. Afghan North, he is here?’
‘What? No, he’s gone to America.’
‘When did he leave, Madame?’
‘Yesterday morning.’
He shook his head and waved his forefinger at her in a quicker rhythm.
‘He was in Paris last night. He is registered here but his room is not occupied. They told me I had better ask at this room.’
‘Sounds very peculiar to me, we saw him off yesterd
