A Clean Pair of Hands by Oscar Reynard

questions which he resented and which made him so angry.
    Charlotte was also looking for solutions, though most of her problems concerned the daily round of the social, educational and working life of a family with three girls successively advancing in their teens, administering a business, and looking after a husband who took little interest in any of the above – though he enjoyed the results -and being his model girl accessory as and when required. Charlotte had never loved anybody other than Michel and since her teenage years remained just as besotted and devoted to him. She admired his strength and joie de vivre and she shared his interest in the world around, though at times those strengths had put a lot of pressure on her to keep up. As a mother she wanted to spend more time with the children and be there for them. To a great extent she had succeeded, so the girls enjoyed a very close and confiding relationship with their mother. They enjoyed her company, good humour and wise advice, and they were proud of the fact that she looked like a star when she attended their school. The relationship was particularly close with Annick, who from an early age had shown that she was very protective towards Charlotte.
    Although equal partners in the business, and although Charlotte considered herself to be an equal partner in the family, she had to play a diplomatic role shaped around Michel’s ideas and impulses. So often when he came up with an idea for the business or for their domestic life he would discuss it with her, but equally often implement it whether she agreed or not. He would employ staff without consulting Charlotte. She would simply find that he had offered a job to somebody and the contract and payroll were expected to follow. He would take on clients on terms that were based on historical costs because he didn’t like to do the research, which would have revealed significant materials price increases. Instead, when Charlotte advised him about a margin shortfall, he would make up lost ground by overcharging elsewhere, and above all he would keep going to auctions where he would buy items that were beautifully chosen, mainly light fittings and extraordinary ornaments for the restaurants, but for which the clients had not yet agreed to pay. Some clients were convinced andtook the items; others declined, so that numbers of objèts d’art ended up in the Bodins’ home whether or not they were intended to be there. Charlotte was the sweeper for this kind of indiscipline, but did it all with a smile, accepting that it was just Michel being Michel.
    There appeared to be a balance in their existence in which Michel was free to pursue his instincts, leaving Charlotte to manage the rest. She undertook the role willingly and well, and she naturally enjoyed the fruits of the business success in terms of shopping trips with an unconstrained cheque book with which to pay for beauty treatments and products, and clothes to impress for every occasion. As the years went by it was also noticeable that Charlotte was spending more time and money on medical treatment to overcome digestive and nervous problems which defied remedy and became chronic.
    Charlotte was no dupe and although her telephone conversations with Thérèse showed she was stoic and uncritical of Michel’s strange work habits and increasingly late nights, it was obvious to Thérèse that Charlotte needed someone she could rely on for a second opinion, and she could count on Thérèse to sum up the common sense conclusion that something wasn’t right. Nobody dared to put a finger on it, but the uncertainty was causing Charlotte a great deal of stress and in the secrecy of the night she could imagine and fear the worst. The uncertainty was filtering into her nightmares.
    She could not bring herself to challenge Michel directly and every time she casually asked for clarification on his movements there was always a reasonable explanation, though his unconcealed