Read Online The Flemish House by Georges Simenon, Georges Simenon; Translated by Shaun Whiteside - Free Book Online Page A
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an ironic
and contemptuous smile and muttered under his breath:
âThe friend of the Flemings
â¦â
He had been drinking too. His pupils
were too shiny. His purple lips offset the pallor of his complexion. It was clear
that he was very excited. He was playing to the gallery. He was trying to find
something to say to shock his lady companions.
âYou realize, Ninie, when
youâre rich you wonât have to worry about the police any more
â¦â
His friend gave him a nudge to make him
shut up, but it only made him more worked up.
âWhat? Arenât we allowed to
say what we want any more? ⦠I repeat that the police are at the disposal of the
rich, but as soon as youâre poor â¦â
He was pale. Basically he had frightened
himself withhis words, but he wanted to preserve the halo that his
attitude gave him.
Maigret removed the foam that covered
his glass and took a great gulp of beer. The card-players could be heard murmuring,
to break the silence:
âA flush â¦â
âFour jacks â¦â
âYour deal!â
âIâll cut!â
And the two little factory workers who
didnât dare to turn and look at the inspector arranged themselves so that they
could see him in the mirror.
âYou would think it was a crime to
be French in France! Particularly if youâre poor as well â¦â
At the till, the landlord frowned and
turned towards Maigret, who didnât look at him, hoping to indicate to him that
the young man was drunk.
âSpades! ⦠And spades again! ⦠Eh?
You werenât expecting that â¦â
âPeople who have made their
fortune by smuggling!â Gérard went on, keen to be heard by the whole bar.
âEveryone in Givet knows! Before the war it was cigars and lace ⦠Now, since
alcohol is forbidden in Belgium, they serve genever to the Flemish sailors ⦠Which
allows their son to become a lawyer ⦠Ha ha! Heâll need it, to defend himself!
â¦â
And Maigret stayed alone at his table,
the focus of all the customersâ attention. He hadnât taken off his
overcoat. His shoulders were glistening with rain.
The landlord became agitated, foreseeing
trouble, and approached the inspector:
âPlease ignore him ⦠Heâs been
drinking ⦠And the grief â¦â
âLetâs go, Gérard!â
the little woman beside the young man murmured anxiously.
âSo that he thinks Iâm
scared of him?â
He still had his back to Maigret. Each
could see the other only in the mirrors.
Now the other customers were only
playing for the sake of appearances, and forgetting to mark the points on their
tiles.
âA brandy, please! ⦠Time for a
drink! â¦â
The landlord almost refused but
didnât dare, given that Maigret was still pretending not to notice him.
âItâs a complete outrage! â¦
Thatâs what it is! ⦠These people take our daughters and kill them as soon as
theyâve had enough of them ⦠And the police â¦â
Maigret imagined old Piedboeuf, in his
dyed uniform, doing the rounds of the workshops by the light of his hurricane lamp,
coming back to his nice warm corner to eat his potatoes.
Opposite, the Piedboeuf house: the
midwife must have put the child to bed and was waiting for her own bedtime, reading
or doing some knitting.
Then, further off, the Flemish grocery,
old Peeters being woken and led to his bedroom. Madame Peeters lowering the
shutters, Anna, all by herself, undressing in her room â¦
And the barges slumbering in the current
that stretched the moorings, made the rudders creak and the dinghies collide â¦
âAnother beer!â
Maigretâs voice was calm. He
smoked slowly, blowing puffs of smoke towards the ceiling.
âYouâll all have noticed
that heâs taunting
and contemptuous smile and muttered under his breath:
âThe friend of the Flemings
â¦â
He had been drinking too. His pupils
were too shiny. His purple lips offset the pallor of his complexion. It was clear
that he was very excited. He was playing to the gallery. He was trying to find
something to say to shock his lady companions.
âYou realize, Ninie, when
youâre rich you wonât have to worry about the police any more
â¦â
His friend gave him a nudge to make him
shut up, but it only made him more worked up.
âWhat? Arenât we allowed to
say what we want any more? ⦠I repeat that the police are at the disposal of the
rich, but as soon as youâre poor â¦â
He was pale. Basically he had frightened
himself withhis words, but he wanted to preserve the halo that his
attitude gave him.
Maigret removed the foam that covered
his glass and took a great gulp of beer. The card-players could be heard murmuring,
to break the silence:
âA flush â¦â
âFour jacks â¦â
âYour deal!â
âIâll cut!â
And the two little factory workers who
didnât dare to turn and look at the inspector arranged themselves so that they
could see him in the mirror.
âYou would think it was a crime to
be French in France! Particularly if youâre poor as well â¦â
At the till, the landlord frowned and
turned towards Maigret, who didnât look at him, hoping to indicate to him that
the young man was drunk.
âSpades! ⦠And spades again! ⦠Eh?
You werenât expecting that â¦â
âPeople who have made their
fortune by smuggling!â Gérard went on, keen to be heard by the whole bar.
âEveryone in Givet knows! Before the war it was cigars and lace ⦠Now, since
alcohol is forbidden in Belgium, they serve genever to the Flemish sailors ⦠Which
allows their son to become a lawyer ⦠Ha ha! Heâll need it, to defend himself!
â¦â
And Maigret stayed alone at his table,
the focus of all the customersâ attention. He hadnât taken off his
overcoat. His shoulders were glistening with rain.
The landlord became agitated, foreseeing
trouble, and approached the inspector:
âPlease ignore him ⦠Heâs been
drinking ⦠And the grief â¦â
âLetâs go, Gérard!â
the little woman beside the young man murmured anxiously.
âSo that he thinks Iâm
scared of him?â
He still had his back to Maigret. Each
could see the other only in the mirrors.
Now the other customers were only
playing for the sake of appearances, and forgetting to mark the points on their
tiles.
âA brandy, please! ⦠Time for a
drink! â¦â
The landlord almost refused but
didnât dare, given that Maigret was still pretending not to notice him.
âItâs a complete outrage! â¦
Thatâs what it is! ⦠These people take our daughters and kill them as soon as
theyâve had enough of them ⦠And the police â¦â
Maigret imagined old Piedboeuf, in his
dyed uniform, doing the rounds of the workshops by the light of his hurricane lamp,
coming back to his nice warm corner to eat his potatoes.
Opposite, the Piedboeuf house: the
midwife must have put the child to bed and was waiting for her own bedtime, reading
or doing some knitting.
Then, further off, the Flemish grocery,
old Peeters being woken and led to his bedroom. Madame Peeters lowering the
shutters, Anna, all by herself, undressing in her room â¦
And the barges slumbering in the current
that stretched the moorings, made the rudders creak and the dinghies collide â¦
âAnother beer!â
Maigretâs voice was calm. He
smoked slowly, blowing puffs of smoke towards the ceiling.
âYouâll all have noticed
that heâs taunting
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