"# They go away for a very long time, # in the mist or in the wind." "# Like the clouds, # they're going on a journey, # the sailors leave the port." "# I think that the sailors go away, # to listen to the song, # of the mermaid with long hair, # and I think that she sang for them." "The Narval returned to port and was given a warm welcome." "Gwen Théphanie was also given a great reception, and the men who volunteered to remain on board with him." "Those, Louis Maréchal thanked them." "But he passed by Gwen Théphanie without offering him his hand." "Then he returned to Morsan alone, on foot." "Sébastien also returned a little later, he brought with him very little:" "his presence, a gift like any other, that Louis Maréchal accepted as one man to another." "So are you coming, the weather's nice." "There's no way he didn't hear that, anyway?" "It's ringing up there, do you want me to go?" "Well hey, it's too late." "Are you coming with me to the stable?" "Yes." "There's only this child who keeps him in this world." "What do you mean?" "Are you talking about the Captain?" "You understand things, with your air of seeing nothing..." "Jonathan made me something, but it's not ideal." "There's a good horse." "But, do you do that every morning?" "I have to." "Jonathan doesn't know how to handle horses." "Have you ever looked after a horse?" "You know, sailors... yes, but when you were at Jonquières?" "The rider of the family was my brother, Roger." "My Grandfather." "That's right." "The boss often speaks about him." ""Boss"?" "Ah yes, your father." "It's a pity you don't know him, he's great." "I knew him, a long time ago." "That doesn't count." "Hey, I'll ask him to come and pick me up, if you like." "Why, do you want to leave?" "Not right away." "But still, it's normal that I should go away at the end of the holidays." "You could come with me." "Where, to Jonquières?" "Why not?" "And my business?" "You don't take care of it." "You don't even answer the phone." "We could walk around the hill." "It smells good." "It smells good here too." "The sea smells good." "That's true." "You want us to go there?" "Gladly." "And your leg?" "Well, it's fine." "Thank you." "Come on then." "You know, when I was at Jonquières, the boss and I did many miles like this." "On horseback or on foot." "It's funny, it doesn't bother me." "And you?" "Oh, it doesn't bother me either." "Are you sure that Joseph Théphanie betrayed you?" "Who told you that?" "Everyone." "When talking about you, we talk about that." "They know nothing." "You shouldn't think about it all the time." "Basically, it doesn't help matters." "That's true." "At the moment I've got the blues, but I don't care, I don't think about it." "Is it serious, these blues?" "Yes." "You want to tell me about it?" "I don't even know what it is." "Somebody's making fun of me." "I'd prefer that she didn't." "Hey, are you in love?" "Oh, I was." "And can one know who?" "No." "Would you tell, if you were me?" "Not for anything." "Is she your age?" "Older." "Much older." "Drat." "I'd rather not talk about this because it's finished." "In any event, I'd never have said." "If I'd been older," "I would have proposed marriage." "Yes, by a good ten years." "Hey, by then, you could have changed your mind." "Of course not!" "Do you change your mind?" "When you love someone, you love them for good." "Come on then, I'll show you a great place." "We're almost there!" "Don't you think it looks like a railway wagon or a plane?" "Here's the place for classy people." "Sit down." "And I'm the guy who asks if everything's fine." "Okay?" "Very good." "I've never been on a plane, and you?" "It happened to me." "It's almost like this, right?" "Except that there are other people, and it's in the air." "So where are we going?" "Nowhere." "It's silly." "I don't want to play that." "Hey, Gwen Théphanie nevertheless brought your ship back to you." "With the fish that were in it." "You could say thank you." "Mmm..." "Basically, you and I aren't very fair." "Meaning?" "Well... you resent him for a business that was to do with his father long ago." "And I resent her because she cares more about him than me." "It's stupid." "Yes." "It's noon, M. Théphanie." "Mmm..." "Gwen, it's noon." "What?" "Drink your coffee while it's hot." "Take your time." "M. Walther took care of everything, the Narval was unloaded last night." "Antoine has been to see it, a nice haul." "And the men?" "With their family." "The escort ship arrived this morning, with everyone on board." "The nightmare's ended." "Don't think about it any more, M. Théphanie." ""M. Théphanie"?" "That's a bit formal, Angèle." "I can't call you by your first name any more, you're famous, look." "There's not just that one." "I read the articles, it brought tears to my eyes." "They talk about your childhood, about everything." "I never said anything about this." "It was us." "We said everything we knew, nothing but compliments, I swear." "A razor." "A gift to you from Antoine and me." "The water's hot." "Your things await you, they're here, cleaned and ironed." "Hey!" "Considering how long they've been waiting for you." "Okay then, is everything to your liking?" "It's great, Angèle." "It's delicious." "Okay, I'll leave you." "Ok." "One could say that in one stroke, you've erased all the past." "Who would dare talk about what your father did after this?" "And if by chance he had done nothing?" "If it wasn't Joseph Théphanie who betrayed them?" "If it wasn't him who talked?" "He has a mind that becomes cloudy, the Captain." "Like pond water when the autumn comes." "If ever he woke up one morning with the idea that for 25 years, he was wrong..." "If one day he thought that all the trouble he caused, doesn't matter any more..." "Does it matter?" "Does it matter since Gilles is dead." "Doesn't it any longer, Clarisse?" "Are you also changing?" "You know that he'll return to see you whenever you want, your Gilles." "Well, there we have it!" "Listen." "They were pretty stories you invented..." "I spent much time listening to them." "But if the kid got them out of your head, it's no bad thing." "For 25 years you've lived alone with this mist in your heart." "If you looked a little outside, you'd see some things." "Eh, Clarisse?" "Leave it, I'll do it because I've finished the windows." "You're acting strange, Gwen." "What are you thinking about?" "Of what I'd have said yesterday on the ship if he'd offered me his hand." "Do you remember what I told you about the Narval before leaving?" "Oh yes, you spoke about the Narval as like an old heap of scrap metal." "You were right, it was true." "No." "I said all this, I repeated it on board, I brainwashed them, you understand." "So after Lemoigne's accident, Dutertre was scared." "It was a mess on board." "Everything bad that could be said of the ship, I said it." "However, in the 1st stormy weather, I didn't think about it any more." "The Narval is..." "I don't know how to explain." "Some ships are difficult to manoeuvre, but the Narval rises with the waves." "It defends itself, you see?" "It's cheerful." "It responds like a sailboat." "However old it is, it has youth." "It should go back to sea." "I have no desire to damage it in my report." "And Captain Lemoigne's accident?" "The rotten rusted ladder?" "Stories, all that." "Of course, there was rust on the ladder, but it held out." "It was Lemoigne that slipped." "He was furious that day." "He'd just received the message from the office, telling him to put in to shelter." "It made him mad with rage." "In fishing, a captain is the master of his ship, he does what he wants." "It's me who wanted you to turn back." "I moved heaven and earth to achieve it." "But Maréchal didn't agree." "Really?" "He signed the order, though." "After Lemoigne's accident." "When he knew that you were on board." "I'll talk things over with your father." "He awaits us for lunch." "Gwen." "Have you really forgotten?" "The auction of the Mary-Morgane?" "And then that little corner of the cemetery where nobody goes except me?" "I didn't say that I forgave." "You're capable of returning ashore by yourself, Yes?" "Why don't you take me with you?" "No, not today." "Why?" "Ships boys don't question the captain." "What does that mean?" "That I want to be alone today." "Okay." "Are you sure?" "Yes." "You have a rather fixated mind." "Yes." "It shows." "In these cases, one shouldn't be alone, you know." "Sébastien, don't talk so much." "That's it, go away, my little dog, we've seen enough of you." "Huh?" "I'm talking about me." "You'll manage by yourself, eh?" "I'll have to." "Don't forget to close the fuel valve." "Secure the boat on arriving." "Go on." "Stay." "The Captain?" "Went to sea, he left me behind." "Isn't he eating?" "I don't know." "Me, in any case, I'm hungry." "You don't want to answer it?" "Well..." "To hell with your complications!" "Me, I'm going!" "Hello!" "Hello, M. Walther." "Oh, hey, if you want to talk to my uncle, you'll have to wait." "Or take a helicopter if you can't wait." "He went out on the Mary-Morgane." "He has things on his mind." "I really need to see him." "You'll tell him, eh?" "It won't be any use." "Try however to change his mind." "I'll try, but I can't do much." "What?" "Well... there's not much I can do about it, eh." "Listen, Siza has just left for Morsan." "She's bringing his car back." "Oh really?" "Goodbye, Sébastien." "Goodbye, M. Walther!" "Yippee!" "It was M. Walther." "I have to talk very seriously to my uncle." "Don't you believe me?" "Thank you, Clarisse" "Yes, yes." "Not so fast, you'll choke yourself." "I must hurry because Miss Sophie Virginie will arrive in 5 minutes." "And in the absence of my uncle, I'm responsible for receiving her." "Isn't that right?" "Yes, yes." "There, I think that's her." "Hello." "Have you finished lunch?" "Yes." "If you'd like to come in." "I won't be disturbing the Captain?" "He's not in... but I'm here." "So if you'd like a cup of coffee..." "No thank you." "I'll set off again." "Are you in such a hurry as that?" "I wanted to give you a present." "You know, Monseigneur's horseshoe." "Ah, that's nice." "Come on then!" "Here." "I didn't have time to wrap it." "I'm giving it to you." "This is something very precious, you know." "Thank you." "I'll keep it always." "I should hope so." "Do you still not want coffee?" "No." "Something else then?" "No thanks." "There's a lot of work at the office, you know." "I thought you didn't want to work there any more." "I had a change of mind." "Hey, are you going on foot?" "Yes." "Can I take you home?" "Of course." "Oh, maybe I should put the Captains car in the garage." "Yes, go right ahead." "I'll be right there!" "I'll go back with her, it's more polite, she's on foot." "Hey!" "Clarisse, come and see." "You know, if you want, we can go via the beach it's much nicer than the road." "Hey, I have an amazing place, among the rocks." "I showed it to the Captain this morning." "You probably don't know it, it looks like a small circus." "It's very funny." "# I think that the sailors go away, # to listen to the song, # of the mermaid with long hair, # and I think that she sang for them." "# However, if I were a sailor, # maybe one fine morning, # on lifting the trawl net, # like you don't see anymore," "# I would catch the mermaid, # the mermaid with long hair."