The Miracle Part 14

"Yes, of course."

"I love New York, absolutely love it. I can't wait to get back."

Tikhanov was worried again. "You've been to New York?"

"I've lived there," she said cheerily. "I had the best time ever. There is so much to do in New York. I lived in New York for over a year."

Tikhanov tried not to be too interested. "You did? What were you doing there?"

"I had a secretarial job at the United Nations."

"At the United Nations?"

"With the French delegation. I'd met the French amba.s.sador to the UN in Lourdes. He hired me to be one of his secretaries, and took me along when he moved to New York. It was a memorable experience. I can't wait to go back. I made so many friends there. Some of my best friends are Americans. One of them was in the United States delegation to the UN. As a matter of fact, if I remember right, he was a graduate of Columbia University. Maybe he was a student of yours, for all I know. His name is Roy Zimborg. Does that ring a bell? Did you ever have a Roy Zimborg in any of your cla.s.ses?"

A big trap and danger. "I have had so many students it is difficult to remember names. Maybe he did not study Russian?"

"Probably not," said Gisele.

Tikhanov could see that they were approaching Lourdes, and he was relieved. He could not wait to get away from this country girl who had lived in New York and worked at the United Nations where he had appeared and spoken so often. Her inquisitiveness and persistent prying made him uncomfortable. Sooner or later she might catch him out in some error or inconsistency. He must rid himself of her.

Presently, they were on the Avenue Bernadette Soubirous, and entering the parking lot of number 26, which was connected to the Hotel Gallia & Londres.

"What's this?" Tikhanov asked.

"The hotel where Edith Moore and her husband are staying," said Gisele, getting out of the car. "I told you last night about Edith. She's our miracle woman, had a miracle cure of cancer right here in Lourdes. You'll find it encouraging to talk to her. You still want to, don't you?"

"Certainly I do."

"Let me see if she's in."

He watched the French girl go into the hotel. His resolve had hardened. He must separate himself from her and from her prying. If he continued to lodge in Tarbes with her family, he would have to commute to Lourdes with her every morning and evening, and answer a continual outpouring of questions, and inevitably be tripped up. He had to find a room of his own in town as soon as possible. That was the immediate priority.

Gisele had returned, and was slipping into the driver's seat. "Edith is at the Medical Bureau, checking in, but she'll be back at the hotel for lunch. I left her a note, and told the girl at the desk to reserve two places at Mrs. Moore's table for twelve o'clock noon. How's that, Mr. Talley?"

"Perfect."

"What are you going to do with yourself until then?"

"You are the expert on Lourdes. What do you suggest?"

"Well, you're here for your health, aren't you? You're after a cure? You're serious about that?"

"Most serious."

GKsele started the car. "Then here's what I suggest. Go through all the routine that every ailing pilgrim goes through. First, go to the grotto and pray."

"I'd like to. How long should I give it?"

She blinked at him. "Why, that's up to you -- five minutes, sixty minutes, whatever you feel. After that, walk over to the second trough, the one past the grotto, turn on one of the faucets and drink some of the curative water. Finally, next door you'll find the bath houses. Go inside, shed your clothes, and take a dip. And think of the Virgin Mary when you do so. The baths have proved to be the most effective remedy yet."

"The water cures?"

"No," said Gisele, s.h.i.+fting gears, "the water has nothing in it to cure. But your head does. Don't forget to meet me in front of this hotel for lunch. Now I'll drop you off at the domain, Mr. Talley."

"My thanks," said Tikhanov. "I'll do everything you say, Miss Dupree."

Amanda Spenser had not been in a hurry to leave Eugenie-les-Bains and return to Lourdes. She had enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the table on the balcony of her suite, thinking constantly of Ken, his illness, and finding it inconceivable that Ken, the fool, could have left this elegant paradise for that hovel in Lourdes. After breakfast she had dressed in pants, blouse, sandals, and taken a long stroll over the hotel's lawn.

The drive from beautiful Eugenie-les-Bains to miserable Lourdes had taken an hour and a half, but as she neared Lourdes, its monotony and accompanying depression had been alleviated by one valuable tidbit of information from her elderly balding driver. The driver had known a good deal about the Lourdes story and especially Bernadette herself. In pa.s.sing, as they drove, he had mentioned Bernadette's early illness, and Amanda had been attentive. Amanda had known that Bernadette had been a frail youngster, but she had not known that the little girl had suffered so seriously from asthma.

"It is a curious thing," the driver had said, "that when Bernadette sought a cure for her severe asthma attacks, she did not go to the grotto. By the time Bernadette had seen the seventeenth apparition of the Virgin Mother, there had already been four miracles cures at the grotto. But in truth, Bernadette did not herself believe in the curative powers of the grotto. Instead, when she was so sick, she went to Cauter-ets."

"Cauterets?" Amanda had said. "What's that?"

"A mere village. But also a fas.h.i.+onable spa in those days, not far from Lourdes. There was a healing spring, a thermal bath, that was supposed to be useful for an asthma cure. So Bernadette went there, not to the grotto, for her cure. Of course, she was not cured, but she tried."

"But not at the grotto," Amanda had mused. "She really did not believe in it?"

"Not for cures, no. She went to Cauterets instead."

"What's Cauterets like today?"

"It is still there, less fas.h.i.+onable perhaps. It's nearby. You drive up the valley into the mountains. I believe that there is even a shrine to commemorate Bernadette's visit."

"How interesting," Amanda had said. "I'll have to remember that." If Bernadette did not believe in a cure at the grotto, she would dare to ask Ken, why should he?

Now, in the reception lobby of the hotel, she wanted to find Ken. Perhaps he was still kneeling hypnotized before the grotto. Or perhaps he was in their awful room getting some rest. Maybe the plump receptionist at the desk, the one called Yvonne, would know.

Amanda went to the desk. "I'm Mrs. Clayton," she said. "We had to go out of town last night. My husband, Mr. Ken Clayton, came back this morning. I wonder if you've seen him around?"

"Actually, I did," said Yvonne. "He's asked me to arrange for him to have lunch downstairs at Mrs. Edith Moore's table. He should be in the dining room right now. You know where it is?"

"You said downstairs. I'll find it. You can send my bags up to our room."

Amanda made for the staircase near the elevator, and hurriedly descended to the entry to the dining area. She could see the main dining hall, plain, every table filled with nondescript pilgrims, with a second narrower dining hall beyond it, and alcoves and booths off that room for more private dining.

A mdtre d' materialized to inquire if she was a resident of the hotel, and Amanda gave her room number. "I'm told my husband is lunching here now, and he's expecting me."

"His name?"

"Mr. Kenneth Clayton."

"Yes, of course, he is dining at Mrs. Moore's table. Please follow me.

Amanda was brought to an oversized round table at the far side of the main dining hall. She spotted Ken immediately, and he wobbled to his feet to greet her. She went around to embrace and kiss him. "I'm back, darling," she whispered.

"I'm glad," he said. "I hope you'll join us for lunch?"

"I'm famished."

Clayton signaled the maitre d' for another chair, then took Amanda by the elbow and introduced her to the others at the table. "This is my wife, Amanda," he announced. "Amanda, I want you to meet my friends. Right here we have Mrs. Edith Moore, from London. And this is Mr. Samuel Talley, from New York. And Miss Gisele Du-pree, who works in Lourdes as a guide."

When her chair was in place, between Ken and Mr. Talley, Amanda tried to orient herself to the strange mixed group. Edith Moore was obviously the dominant, central personality, although everything about her from her flat, square countenance to her unadorned.

inexpensive dress was commonplace. The Talley gentleman was more distinctive with his beady eyes, bulbous nose, and flowing mustache. The Gisele youngster resembled a French starlet on the make.

Ken was speaking to Amanda. "You remember, I met Mrs. Moore on the train from Paris to Lourdes. The miracle woman-"

"Oh, now," Edith protested modestly.

"I wanted to hear her whole story," Ken continued, "and I invited myself to lunch with her. She was kind enough to have me."

"I'm pleased to help anyone I can," said Edith.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," said Amanda, apologetically.

"We've hardly started yet," said Ken. "We just ordered our lunch. Do you want to see the menu?"

Amanda felt oppressed by the ordinary dining room and the company. "I-I'll have whatever you're having."

"We're all having the same," piped up Gisele. "For the main dish it's grilled steak and potatoes today. Is that all right?"

"Suits me perfectly," said Amanda, without enthusiasm.

Gisele gave the order to the maitre d', and then directed herself to Edith Moore. "Anyway, Mrs. Moore, you were telling us that your malignant tumor of the iliac bone was discovered five years ago."

Edith gave a deprecating wave of one hand. "Well, if you're sure you want to hear all that-"

"Mrs. Moore, I am anxious to know how your cure came about," said Tikhanov.

"Yes, do tell us about it," added Ken.

Amanda kept her lips compressed. She wanted to tell them all that despite what they heard from Edith Moore about a cure at the grotto, Bernadette herself, the instigator of all this miracle nonsense, had put no faith in the powers of the grotto, had instead been taken to a spa called Cauterets. But Amanda maintained her silence. She would not diminish the glory of this ordinary Englishwoman, and certainly she did not want to upset Ken, not right here in this odd group.

"To make it brief," Edith Moore was saying, "I had been forced to quit my job with a movie talent agency, and I could get around only with the use of a crutch, when Father Woodcourt -- the very one on the train yesterday-suggested I join his next pilgrimage to Lourdes. Although I was a believer, I did not have much hope, nor was I given any great hope by Father Woodcourt. But I had reached a state where I was ready to try anything, you understand."

They all, except Amanda, bobbed their heads with full understanding. Ken, Amanda observed, most vigorously of all. Edith Moore halted her recital to allow the first course of the lunch to be served. The moment the plates were on the table, the English lady resumed, and Amanda found herself irritated by Edith's monotonous voice, no inflections whatsoever, and her colorless language. Nevertheless, Amanda made a pretense of being extremely attentive.

"The first visit to Lourdes produced no change in me," Edith Moore recited. "Perhaps the visit was too brief, and I did not pray enough, even permitted doubts to enter my prayers." Her gaze went around the table. "One must believe," she said. She chewed her shrimp piously, and resumed with her mouth full. "The second visit, four years ago, I was determined to try harder. To stay longer and try harder. I prayed by the hour at the grotto. I drank water from the spring without stop. I immersed myself in the baths. On my final day, being a.s.sisted out of the bath, I found that I could stand and walk without aid. I went to the Medical Bureau and was examined. Over the next three years I returned to Lourdes, and realized I was cured."

"It was verified?" asked Tikhanov.

"By sixteen different doctors," said Edith. "Even the iliac bone, which had degenerated, began to grow back to normal. There are X rays to prove it."

"A miracle," said Ken with awe.

"It has already been declared a miracle," chirped Gisele enthusiastically.

Edith Moore retreated behind a modesty that Amanda was sure she did not possess. "The miracle is not official yet," said Edith. "I have one more examination with a famous specialist in Paris, Dr. Paul Klein-berg, who will be arriving here this week to confirm my-my full recovery."

"But that's open and shut," said Gisele, employing one of her favorite Americanisms. "Everyone in Lourdes knows you are the one, the latest, of a favored group closest to Saint Bernadette."

"Oh, I don't know," said Edith with a seraphic smile, but not actually denying it.

"So it does happen," said Ken with continued awe. "It can happen to anyone."

"If they have pure faith," p.r.o.nounced Edith as high priestess.

Amanda, bending over her plate, felt sick to her stomach, with no desire to eat and with the single desire to get Ken away from the ba.n.a.l, stupid Englishwoman.

Tikhanov, his voice serious, said, "You attribute it all to the baths?"

'To everything here, to belief in the Immaculate Conception above all else," said Edith. "But my cure happened after the bath on the last day of my second visit."

As Edith finished speaking, a rather large, florid gentleman-he reminded Amanda of pictures she had seen of Phineas T. Bamum-had appeared behind Edith, stooping to kiss her on the cheek.

"Reggie-" said Edith, pleased. "Everyone, this is Mr. Reggie Moore, my husband." She proceeded to introduce Reggie to everyone at the table, one by one.

"Edith," Reggie said, "I hate to interrupt your tete-a-tete, but I must see you alone on something that's come up."

"But Reggie," Edith complained, "I haven't had my dessert yet."

He was half lifting the miracle lady out of her chair. "I'll treat you to some ices later. Please come along." He saluted the others. "Glad to have made your acquaintance, everybody. Hope to see you again soon."

Pus.h.i.+ng and then pulling, he was leading the reluctant Edith out of the room.

"So it is the baths," mumbled Tikhanov to no one in particular. He twisted toward Gisele. "You heard. She said it happened after the bath."

"Well, you're on your way," said Gisele. "You started your baths this morning."

"I am afraid I did not," admitted Tikhanov. "I prayed by the grotto, but I did not go in the baths."

"Then go this afternoon, Mr. Talley."

"I shall. But first I must find a room in the city." He added quickly, "It is a pleasure to room with your parents, Gisele, but it is too far from here, too removed. I want to be close to the baths. I must find a hotel room in this city. I have tried, and I will try again."

Gisele eyed him shrewdly. "Is that all that's bothering you, a hotel room in Lourdes?"

"I know it is impossible, but it is important."

"Maybe I can find you a hotel room, but it'll cost you extra. Are you willing to pay extra?"

"I will pay anything reasonable."

"Say four hundred francs, for me to give to a reservations clerk."

"I will pay it."