Escape to the French Riviera

Chapter Nineteen

We are almost falling asleep for the night when the hotel phone rings. We both jump up, startled by the old-fashioned chime.

Elias answers it, and by his tone, I immediately know it is the police. I try to make out his expression as he listens to what they say.

‘Uh-huh. Right, okay… Oh, well, that’s great news.’ Elias gives me a thumbs up, and I wonder what this fortuitous news is.

‘Yeah, sure. Okay. I’ll be down in the morning. Thank you for all your help.’

He seems a lot more upbeat than earlier as he puts the phone down.

‘So, it seems that the steering mechanism failed on the other yacht. It was a complete accident, and they take full responsibility for all the damage.’

‘Oh, that’s a relief then. It doesn’t change what happened, but at least they’re not fighting about who’s to blame.’

‘No, exactly. But the good news is that they’ve towed Lady Jane out of the water and are going to see what can be salvaged. They’re hoping we might even be able to save some of our things.’

‘That would be brilliant. I hope I can get my laptop back and my phone… And your late wife’s artwork, of course.’

‘Let’s not get our hopes up too high. We’ll see in the morning, hey?’

‘Oh, yes, of course. The main thing is we’re in one piece.’

As soon as we wake up, we head down to the marina, where the boat has been taken out of the water as promised. It’s in a sorry state, with a big chunk missing from the side, as if a shark took a massive bite into it. It stands on a trailer, looking neglected.

A different police officer from yesterday meets up with us and points to a ladder where we can climb up and get on board to find some of our things. I decide to stay on the ground and wait where it’s safer. It looks so tall and as though it could topple over and, after yesterday, I can’t face going back on there. We agree that Elias will throw anything he can find down to me.

I wait around until he shouts that he’s found my laptop, and it’s not water damaged. It is an absolute miracle. Maybe this book does want to be written, after all. He checks what else he can find, and then I meet him halfway up the ladder to get my luggage, which Elias has quickly managed to pack with any belongings he found.

‘Your phone’s here too.’

It is down to one per cent battery, and there are messages from Michael, the girls, and Soraya, who is checking on how I am getting on. If only she knew.

I open a frantic message from Michael.

You’ve not been online for hours. He’s kidnapped you, hasn’t he?

Well, tell him I can’t afford a ransom right now. Come on, where on

earth are you? We’re all getting worried now, Looloo.

He hasn’t called me Looloo since we first met. He must be worried. Before I can put him out of his misery, the screen goes blank. I hope Elias has managed to find my charger in there.

When I next see Elias, he is smiling and coming back down the steps with a bag of some of his things.

‘The artwork was saved. I’ll arrange to get it shipped back.’

‘Oh, that’s the best news. I’m so pleased. But perhaps you should send it by air and not ship, hey?’

Elias shakes his head, smiling, as even I begin to see the funny side of our mishap at sea.

We head back to the hotel with all our essentials, feeling a huge sense of relief, and chat about what we should do for the next two days. My flight was already booked for Thursday, and my time on the French Riviera is almost up. I don’t know what Elias will do. I suppose he still has a lot to sort out with the boat.

‘I know a fabulous place we could spend the next two nights. I only booked this place for last night, so we need to check out by eleven a.m. How about you let me take you somewhere special?’

Even though I forgive Elias for lying about who he was, given his tragic tale, I still wonder when – or if – he would have come clean with me. How long would he have kept his story up for?

‘I don’t know, but whatever we do, I insist on paying my way.’

‘No. It’s my treat to thank you for coming into my life and cheering me up. You have no idea how lonely I was feeling when I bumped into you. I want to give you a gift and an apology for not being straight with you from the start.’

‘Look, I should be thanking you for all the meals out and the yacht trip.’

‘Not at all. Please, let’s not talk about money. Look, I know this chateau, and I think you’ll love it. Let me make it up to you for not telling you the truth about who I was and… Well, I can’t apologise enough. I’m so embarrassed about it. I also wish you hadn’t been on board with me when Lady Jane crashed. I feel so bad that I could not keep you safe.’

‘It’s fine – I know it wasn’t your fault. Please, let’s just start again.’

We check out of our Monaco hotel and jump into our new hire car, a bright red convertible Fiat 500. Elias is back to his cheery self now and grins at me as though he is a young lad who just received a Scalextric for Christmas.

‘It’s so cute,’ I smile.

‘Isn’t it perfect? Let’s take it for a spin to the Grande Corniche, there’s some spectacular views out that way. We can take our time getting to the chateau.’

I remember the scenery from the taxi ride I had with Soraya and Carol, but in this little Fiat with Elias beside me, it will be even better.

Once again, we weave through the winding roads as we head out on the coastal route. With Club Tropicana blasting out from the radio, I am in complete holiday mode and momentarily begin to forget about the book, Michael, and things back home. I can feel the tension in my shoulders slipping away as we both sing along to the words of Wham! as the scent of the trees and flowers that line the mountains waft into the car.

‘God, it’s good to have company,’ says Elias, glancing over at me as he drives.

‘I know. It’s lovely, isn’t it?’

‘Isn’t it funny… People think winning the lottery will solve all their problems. Don’t get me wrong, it changed my life, but not all of it was for the better.’

‘I’m sure anyone struggling to pay their bills wouldn’t agree with you, but I do understand what you’re trying to say.’

‘I’d have given it all back for my Jane to have not died. I’d rather have struggled with my bills, like we did when we were first married, than lose my wife of thirty years.’ Elias sighs and then tries to raise a smile. ‘Sorry. It’s just that, for so long, I haven’t been able to confide in anyone. Finally, I’ve met someone I can trust.’

‘Well, I’m glad you trust me.’

‘Just don’t put my story into your book, will you?’

I laugh. As if I would. Although, I am going to ask him if I can sneak in the bit about the time we had sex on deck whilst listening to Rick Astley.

As I remember that moment, we pass a group of Ferraris driving along the coastal route.

‘Is there a collective noun for that many Ferraris?’ I ask.

‘A flash of Ferraris?’ says Elias.

‘Hmm, how about a posse?’

‘Nice one. What about a bank of Ferraris?’ says Elias.

‘A small appendage of Ferraris?’ I suggest.

‘Love it. Now, let me think. What else? Right, wait for it.’

We both giggle in anticipation.

‘A flaunt of Ferraris.’

‘Genius. You should have your own dictionary,’ I tease.

We are still laughing together when we pass a huge pylon that is practically at the same height as us, making me realise just how high this sinuous road is.

‘Wow, look at the pylon,’ I say.

‘Good job you don’t mind heights,’ says Elias.

‘I know. I’m trying not to distract you. We don’t want another accident… Although, we all know Lady Jane wasn’t your fault,’ I quickly add.

‘Thanks for saying that. You know, it was on a road not too far from here that Princess Grace was killed in that tragic car accident.’

I think back to the cathedral where she happily celebrated her wedding.

‘So sad. Sometimes it’s better not to know what’s in store for you. Can you imagine if you felt ill while driving with all those big drops below.’ I shudder at the thought.

I am glad Elias is taking the bends slowly after realising this is the same road that the beautiful Princess Grace was on.

There aren’t many places to stop for a look around, but Elias eventually spots a small layby. It is probably just as well that there aren’t viewing points all along here, or people would be stopping every few minutes; it’s so beautiful.

We pull up safely, and Elias stands behind me with his hands around my hips as we both look over at the spectacular views of the sea and the principality below.

‘This is breathtaking, isn’t it?’ he says.

‘It truly is. It’s like a bird’s eye view over Monaco. So different from how we saw everything down below. We really have had the best of both worlds.’

We drive a little further along and find ourselves in Eze, which I remember from the night out on Soraya’s birthday. It is where she wanted to go if we had more time.

Soon, we pull up to an old stone chateau that teeters off the verge of a mountain with an incredibly dramatic view of the Mediterranean below. I thought I had seen some incredible sights on this break, but I realise that I haven’t seen anything until now. My mouth hangs open as I look at the building in front of me. The stonework reminds me of Rapunzel’s tower. Torch sconces hang from the medieval stone walls, and the pretty pink flowers all combine to make it look like a fairy-tale castle.

Inside, there is a grand open fireplace, chandeliers and portraits. This place really is like something from a fairy tale, although I dread to think how much it costs to stay here for the night.

When we reach our room, I feel like a real-life princess. I have never stayed anywhere like it. The huge four-poster bed has grand red curtains hanging down on four corners, and I look over to see a roll-top bath in the corner. It could be so easy to get carried away here, so I try to remind myself that this is only a holiday and not to get used to this lifestyle.

‘Seriously, there’s a bath in our bedroom?’

‘We could always use it later,’ Elias grins.

I run about like a child, not knowing where to look first. I open the French windows and walk out onto the patio with the most wonderful sea view.

‘Is it my imagination, or does the sea look bluer than ever from here?’

‘It’s so clear up here, I guess.’

‘I don’t think I want to leave the room.’

‘Well, we don’t have to. Although, the food is supposed to be pretty good here. But I suppose we should make the most of our time at the hotel,’ says Elias.

I take hold of him and kiss him, and then we both fall onto the four-poster bed.

‘Oh, god. My knee. Hang on.’ In my excitement, I forgot all about the dodgy knee.

‘Oh, no, are you okay?’

He straightens out his leg and laughs, and then pulls me towards him. We spend the rest of the afternoon in our glorious four-poster bed, and Elias doesn’t complain about his knee again.