Chapter 39
39
There was a message from Suzette, the notaire’s property manager, on the house phone when they reached home that evening asking if she could come and take photos and measurements the next day and suggesting an open morning some time before the festival finished. ‘It is short notice but we already have clients on our books who have expressly asked us to look out for this type of property for them and who are currently in town. Once the details are on the website I am confident there will be a big surge of international interest, particularly from the Americans.’
Agnes rang the property manager early the next morning, agreeing to her suggestions. Francine, when she called her, immediately started to make plans.
‘We’ll need to style the house. Make it look as attractive as possible. We haven’t got time to do any decorating so we’ll just clean the place up as best we can. The day of the open house we’ll put flowers in every room, coffee in the kitchen, no clutter anywhere. At least Zazz did the courtyard the other day. And we’ve already cleaned the bedroom that Oscar had let go. We’ll make the bed up in there too.’
Agnes laughed. ‘I don’t think we need go overboard. The notaire clearly thinks whoever buys it will want to renovate and modernise, knock walls down and do other things.’
‘I think we still need it to look as good as we can make it,’ Francine said.
‘Fine, but please don’t expect me to come and help style it,’ Agnes said. ‘I’ll leave that to you. Theo and I will cook you dinner tonight. See you around eight o’clock. You can tell us all about your visit to Monaco and there’s something I need to talk to you about too.’
‘Talk to me now,’ Francine said.
‘No, it will keep until then. Is Jasmine home at the moment?’
‘Yes, but I know she’s going out soon.’
‘I’ll ring her and tell her we’d like her to come for dinner tonight as well. I hope she is free.’
‘Maman, what is going on?’
‘I just need to talk to you and tell you something exciting,’ and Agnes ended the call.
Agnes and Theo followed Theo’s usual morning routine, which Agnes had readily adopted as her own – breakfast and then an early-morning visit to the market, followed by coffee at their favourite cafe. Once home, they prepared the ingredients for dinner that evening together. Agnes glanced at Theo and gave him a small smile as they moved around each other in the kitchen instinctively, they knew each other so well. She knew deep down that Denice had been right when she’d said that they made a perfect couple. If only they had been allowed to be that couple in the past.
* * *
Up at Oscar’s, Francine and Edwin spent the morning ‘tarting up the place’ as Edwin called it. Zazz, out for the morning interviewing an English woman who was the chairperson of a Franco-British Society, promised to pick up some flowers from the market on the way home.
Edwin’s phone pinged with an incoming message as they sat down to a well-earned cup of coffee and a pain au raisin after they’d finished. ‘Ah,’ he said as he read it, before glancing up at Francine.
‘The e-mail you were waiting for?’ she said.
‘Yes, but still no definite date for the meeting I need to have. So a few days’ reprieve before I have to return home.’
‘I’m glad you don’t have to rush back,’ Francine said as the front door slammed. ‘It’s nice being down here together.’
‘Is she here yet?’ Zazz asked as she rushed in, clutching bunches of white roses and thrusting them in Francine’s direction. ‘I need to tidy my room before she gets here.’
‘Dad and I made your bed,’ Francine said as she filled two vases with water. ‘And we threw shoes and things into the cupboard out of sight, so it’s fine.’
‘Thanks.’
As Francine divided the roses between the two vases, there was a knock on the door.
‘I’ll put these in the sitting room while you answer the door,’ Zazz said.
Over the next hour and a half, Suzette measured every room, took lots of photographs and spoke lots of notes into her phone. After taking one final photograph of the courtyard she switched off her phone and turned to Francine and Edwin.
‘Right. All done. I’ll get back to the office and start the marketing. First time on the market in over fifty years, this house has got so much potential. I think, rather than put a definite price on it we’ll ask for offers in excess of two and a half million euros and it will be snapped up quickly. I know similar houses further along the rue have been turned into two apartments and one apartment sold just last week for a million euros.’
Closing the front door behind Suzette, Francine went back into the kitchen in a daze. ‘I can’t believe that figure she’s going to ask for offers in excess of, can you? So much money.’
* * *
Francine, Edwin and Zazz walked down together for dinner with Theo and Agnes that evening. After telling them about the estate agent’s visit and the decision to ask for offers on the house, Francine turned to Agnes.
‘So what is it you want to talk about, Maman?’ she asked.
‘A couple of things,’ Agnes said. ‘First, I need to tell you about the discovery of one of Oscar’s more dubious dealings. Theo and I took some papers he had found going through the files to the notaire to check for us.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Oscar cheated me of my inheritance from my parents by lying about me and forging my signature. It would appear it was that money he used to buy his boat. A boat he called “ Agnes” .’
‘Oh Maman, he really was wickedly immoral in the way he treated you,’ Francine said.
‘But I will receive the money when the boat is sold,’ Agnes said with a smile. ‘Thanks to Theo.’
‘Let’s go through to the courtyard. Theo has aperitifs waiting out there.’ Agnes said. ‘I have some really exciting news for you. And we want to hear about your visit to Monaco as well.’
‘Zazz said you went to Antibes Juan-les-Pins to see an old friend yesterday,’ Francine said, accepting an aperitif from Theo.
‘We did,’ Theo said, looking at Zazz. ‘Thank you for looking after Cerise for me.’
‘Anytime,’ Zazz said.
‘Do I know this old friend?’ Francine said.
‘No, but you know of her and you will meet her soon,’ Agnes said. ‘And I expect I will see a lot of her in the future.’
Francine looked at her puzzled. ‘You will?’
‘Yes. Your aunt Denice is looking forward to meeting you and her great-niece, Jasmine.’ Agnes smiled happily as she waited for Francine’s reaction.
‘Your sister, Denice? The one that ran away?’ Francine frowned as she looked her mother.
‘Isn’t it wonderful news?’ Agnes said excitedly.
‘Cool,’ Zazz said. ‘First Serge shows up, a half-brother for Mum and an uncle for me as well as Cousin Al who is a great-nephew for Theo. And now we’ve got a long-lost aunt and her husband. We’re turning into quite the extended dysfunctional family.’
‘Now she and her husband are both retired, they travel a lot. But she rang this morning to say she’d re-arranged things and she and Carl are coming over the day after the open house viewing to meet everyone.’
‘Are you sure it’s her? Not someone pretending to be your long-lost sister,’ Francine said.
‘Francine! When did you get so cynical?’ Agnes demanded. ‘Of course it’s her. I know my own sister even if we haven’t been in touch for years. And I’m so, so happy to have her back in my life. The least you can do is be happy for me. Donc ! Let’s change the subject, maintenant . Tell us about your day in Monaco.’
‘It was a good day,’ Edwin answered, realising that Francine was upset by her maman’s outburst. ‘Wouldn’t want to live there though. So busy and touristy. We saw some beautiful boats and the visit to the Casino was amazing.’
As they all tucked into their duck confit, with pan-fried potatoes and a green salade , talk turned to the marketing of Oscar’s house.
‘The house is as ready as it ever will be, except for the finishing touches on the open day,’ Francine said, regaining her equilibrium. ‘I just hope the notaire and Suzette are right when they talk about it selling quickly. You don’t think maybe they are over pricing it?’ she said glancing at Theo.
‘ Non ,’ Theo said. ‘Property up there is much sought after. They know that they have a property that is going to earn them their commission quickly.’
‘Not too quickly, remember I’ll be homeless when it sells,’ Zazz said. ‘It’s a few months until September when I move in with Mel.’
‘You could take it as a sign,’ Francine said. ‘A sign that you should give up this silly idea of yours and come home and find another job.’ She registered the disapproving look Edwin gave her and smothered a sigh. It was so difficult to step back, not to sound critical whenever she made a suggestion and she knew Zazz would have taken those words as interference on her part.
‘Sorry, not my business,’ Francine mumbled, picking up her glass of red wine and taking a sip.
‘Not going to happen, Mum,’ Zazz said. ‘Mel has already said I can sleep on her sofa bed.’
‘And there is always a room here for you,’ Theo said quietly. ‘So you don’t have to worry about her having nowhere to live,’ he added, turning to Francine.
‘Thanks, Theo,’ Zazz said gratefully. ‘Anytime you need Cerise looking after, I’m your girl.’