“All right,” I said, forcing a grin. I had no choice but to press on, hoping that Ponty would drop some further clue as to what he was talking about. “I’ll admit it—I simply had to discover what it was all about.”
The director looked suitably downcast. “It’s about love.”
“Yes,” I answered, “it is about love.”
“She told you, then, about my proposal?”
“Of course,” I said, my stomach sinking since in fact she’d told me no such thing. “Just the other day.”
“Yes, I expected she would have. I must admit I never entertained much hope, but I had to try.”
Again Georges came to my rescue. “She is a remarkable woman,” he said. “Who could blame you?”
Ponty sighed deeply. Then, again clapping his hands softly in what I took to be a characteristic gesture, he regained his businesslike composure. “Well, I am glad to meet you after all. If I have to lose her, it is some comfort to meet the man and realize that he is a gentleman.”
I accepted the compliment with a nod, nearly overcome with relief that Tania had turned him down, then distressed anew by the secrets she kept from me. But this was no time to reflect on that. “I’m sorry if my curiosity seems callous,” I said. “I had no intention—”
“Please,” he said, waving me off, “put the thought from your mind. What could be more natural? But to satisfy your curiosity about me completely, I suppose I should show you our operations here after all, eh? How does the saying go—‘judge a man by his creation’? The St. Etienne arsenal is my ‘creation,’ Monsieur Giraud. It is the thing of which I am most proud.”
At that moment a guard passed in the hall and looked in, prompting Georges to speak up. “Frankly, I’m very impressed with your security.”
“Yes,” Ponty replied. “I doubt rather strongly that anything save a massive assault could cause us much inconvenience. I might add, we don’t envision an assault of that kind around here. Still, considering the kind of work we’re doing, we can’t be too careful. Come.”
We rose and went back out to the corridor. He turned to Georges.
“What is it that you deliver?”
“Medical supplies. Gauze, bandages, no real medicine.”
“Ah, yes. Fortunately, we haven’t had many accidents. I hope we can keep your deliveries small. Now, then”—he stopped in front of the first door we’d passed coming in—“as you know, we make most kinds of arms and munitions supplies here, so really our security amounts to national security. Open that door, Monsieur Giraud.”
