Chapter 43
43
Late Saturday afternoon, Agnes and Theo were preparing to go for a walk to soak up the atmosphere of the penultimate day of the festival when Monsieur Caumont rang.
‘I have received a very good offer for the house from a cash buyer and I would advise you to accept it,’ he said. ‘The buyer would like completion within weeks rather than months, which I don’t think is a problem for you? The time scale is more a problem for me than you.’
Agnes thanked him, accepted the offer and said the early completion date was not a problem for them. In fact, they’d welcome a quick completion date.
As they left for their walk Agnes and Theo talked about how quickly the house had sold. ‘And for such a high price. I know Monsieur Caumont said it was a desirable property but it’s a lot of money.’
‘Property down here is expensive,’ Theo said. ‘And the fact that the house hasn’t been on the market for years does make it desirable in people’s eyes.’
‘It’s such a relief to know that soon it will be someone else’s and out of my life for ever,’ Agnes said.
‘Will you stay down here while it all goes through?’ Theo asked quietly. ‘Or return to Devon and come back here for the final signing on completion day?’
‘I think I’ll—’ Agnes stopped. ‘I don’t know. It sounds as though the sale might go through quicker than usual so it might be better to stay. But at the end of the day my life is over there and I will have to return at some point.’ She shook her head.
‘You’re happy down here, aren’t you?’ Theo said quietly.
‘Yes, I am.’
‘Then please stay. Change your life to over here.’
‘I don’t think it’s that easy a decision to make,’ Agnes said. ‘There’s Francine and Edwin to consider as well as Jasmine.’
‘Jasmine is already living over here,’ Theo pointed out. ‘And probably intends to stay for as long as possible, Let’s go home. I need to do something.’
‘Oh, okay,’ Agnes said, surprised at the abrupt end of the conversation and the walk they’d hardly begun.
Theo was silent on the way back to the cottage and once indoors he made for the sitting room.
‘Please sit down. I want to play you something.’
‘I’ve been longing to ask you to play the piano since I arrived,’ Agnes said. ‘I do wish you hadn’t given up on the saxophone.’
Theo regarded her intently for several seconds before moving across to the piano, pulling out the stool, gently, thoughtfully, stroking the keys before he started to play the one tune guaranteed to reduce Agnes to an emotional wreck.
She closed her eyes as the lyrics of ‘Windmills of Your Mind’ began to swim through her mind. So many words resonated with her. She knew she had always loved him and yet had done nothing but hurt him in the most awful way. She fingered the Celtic pendant that she rarely took off these days and tried to hold the tears at bay.
As the last note died away Theo swivelled on the piano stool, turning to look at her and saying her name in such a way that made her look at him anxiously.
‘I think the memories that song triggers mean everything to both of us,’ he said, his eyes fixed on her necklace. ‘I love seeing you wear that necklace,’ he said quietly. ‘You never wore it on my visits to see you and Francine in Devon. I did not think you still had it.’
‘I treasured it down through the years. I often just held it, hoping to feel close to you.’
‘And did you?’
‘I found the trick was to hold the necklace and play our song but then I couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t wear it for years. It was too poignant a reminder of what I’d lost through my own stupidity. These days, I rarely take it off.’
‘I do so love having you here, please stay,’ Theo said. ‘You complete my home – and my life.’
Agnes shook her head. ‘We agreed a long time ago not to talk about what might have been.’
‘ Je sais , I know. But I cannot help but think, hope, pray, that now things are different our friendship will finally be allowed to flourish into the relationship we’ve both wanted for so long? And still want.’ He gave her a hopeful look. ‘Maybe now is the time to follow your heart. Which is something I’ve always urged you to do.’
Agnes hesitated. ‘You don’t think it is too late for us?’
‘You are finally free of a marriage that caused you so much heartache and pain and are free to move forward. It’s never too late when you love someone,’ Theo said. ‘We can be together like we’ve dreamt of for years. It’s never too late to be happy and in love.’
Agnes smiled. ‘It would be rather wonderful, I have to admit. But you forget, you live in France and I live in England.’
‘Pff, when everything is sorted it will not be a problem. I come to you. You come to me. We decide. We can be together wherever we choose. Six months here, six months there. We can work it out if you are willing to try?’
There was a short pause before Agnes spoke. ‘If you want me to,’ and she gave him a tremulous smile.
‘Agnes, I don’t want you to leave me ever again. I’ve dreamt of living a life somewhere with you ever since I met you. Now finally the two of us have the opportunity to have a proper relationship. Why d’you think I’ve never married? You are the only woman I’ve ever wanted to marry.’
Agnes pressed her lips together in an effort to stop herself crying at his words. ‘But you could have had a family of your own. I’m so sorry I was the reason you didn’t.’
‘You, Francine and Zazz are my family, always have been, always will be,’ Theo said. ‘Nothing will ever change that, I promise you. I know I repeat myself mais I so love having you here,’ he said. ‘When everything is settled, I hope you will decide to stay with me – we can sort out the logistics of where – but we will finally be together – as we’ve always wanted to be and deserve to be.’
* * *
Saturday evening and Francine was at a loose end, feeling unsettled and missing Edwin although he hadn’t been gone twenty-four hours yet. She was alone in the house, Zazz having gone out earlier to spend the evening with Dominic. Briefly, she wondered what Agnes and Theo were up to, before deciding they’d probably appreciate a few quiet hours after the excitement of the last day or two.
Bored and flipping through one of the glossy boating magazines of Oscar’s that they’d left on the shelf, Piers came into her thoughts. Would he be down on his boat this evening? He had said he was there most evenings but maybe Saturday night was different. Saturday evening was the time for socialising with other people, for parties. Impulsively, she decided to go and buy a takeaway pizza and see if Piers would like to share it with her. If he wasn’t there she’d come back and eat it here, alone.
Half an hour later, clutching both a pizza and a bag of frites, Francine was anxiously approaching Piers’s boat. Her heart missed a beat when saw him in the cockpit, alone.
‘Fancy some company? I’ve got supper if you’re hungry,’ she called out.
‘This is a good surprise,’ Piers said, helping her on board. ‘You didn’t have to bring food but I’m suddenly longing for a slice of pizza.’
Five minutes later, Piers had opened a bottle of wine and they were tucking into their food.
‘Where is your husband tonight?’
‘He’s had to return to the UK for two days,’ Francine said. ‘Zazz is out with a certain Dominic,’ she raised her eyebrow quizzically at Piers who simply smiled at her. ‘Which is why I’ve had to bribe you with food to keep me company and to stop me feeling alone like Billy No-Mates.’
Piers looked at her, puzzled.
‘Strange English expression,’ Francine said.
‘You don’t have to bribe me with food to keep you company,’ Piers said quietly. ‘I like your company but I suspect Edwin is a little wary of our friendship.’
‘I’ve already told him how close we were in the past but now we’re older and just good friends with a long friendship history.’
‘Good friends with history,’ Piers repeated slowly, looking at her.
‘Yes,’ Francine said firmly. ‘We’ll keep in touch now we’ve connected again.’ She hesitated. ‘We’ll always have a special friendship.’
‘ D’accord , a special friendship,’ Piers said slowly. ‘More wine?’
Francine held her glass out. ‘Thanks. Oscar’s house has sold,’ she said, realising they were treading on dangerous ground and wanting to change the subject. ‘So that’s one problem being sorted. You know I told you about the possibility of this Serge Cortez being my half-brother? Well, it turns out that he is. I have met him, I took your advice and relaxed and when we met, we got on. He was surprise number one in my life. Having to share the inheritance with him is a bit of a blow, particularly for Maman, but it is what it is. At least Maman is finally getting some money from Oscar.’
Piers nodded thoughtfully. ‘That’s good. Surprise number two is? Please don’t tell me you have more half-brothers, or even sisters, arriving in your life?’ Piers said.
‘No. Surprise number two was Maman’s long-lost sister, Denice, turning up.’ And she quickly explained how that had come about. ‘I’m just waiting for surprise number three now,’ she said, laughing. ‘Everything always comes in threes, doesn’t it?’
‘ Peut-être surprise number three will be my Dominic and your Zazz getting together,’ Piers said.
‘Aren’t they together already?’ Francine said before realising what he meant. ‘Rings being exchanged you mean? Making it official.’
Piers nodded. ‘It would be ironic, wouldn’t it?’
‘It would be rather nice,’ Francine said. ‘But if it happens, it won’t happen soon. Zazz is determined to make a success of being a “social media influencer”.’ She pushed away the unbidden, unexpected thought of what might have happened between herself and Piers years ago. It was far too late for those ‘what-if’ kind of thoughts.
The town hall clock could be heard striking the hour and with a start Francine realised it was eleven o’clock. ‘I’d better get back to the house. Otherwise there is a good possibility my daughter will lock me out.’
‘I’ll walk you back,’ Piers said, standing up. ‘No argument,’ he said as she went to protest. ‘It’s late.’
Walking back, Francine was glad of Piers at her side. Saturday night revellers were out in force and she knew she could have attracted the wrong sort of attention if she’d been alone.
At the house door, Piers gave her a rueful smile. ‘It’s a long time since you and I were here saying goodnight.’ He gave her a gentle kiss on both cheeks. ‘ Bonne nuit, mon amie spéciale .’ And he was gone.
Glancing up the stairs as she went in, Francine saw the light from Zazz’s room shining down the spiral staircase. Impulsively she called out. ‘Fancy a hot chocolate nightcap?’
‘Please. Give me five minutes and I’ll be down.’
‘Stay where you are. I’ll bring it up when it’s ready,’ Francine said.
When she carried the two mugs of hot chocolate up to the attic room, Zazz was just closing down her laptop.
‘I thought you were out with Dominic this evening?’ Francine said, as she handed Zazz her drink.
‘I got back about an hour ago and decided to do some content preparation for next week,’ Zazz said. ‘You, on the other hand, were out late?’
‘Pizza and frites with Piers on his boat,’ Francine said. ‘I was feeling a bit low and needed some company. You were out, I didn’t want to interrupt Maman and Theo, so…’ She shrugged. ‘Piers is an old friend. We’ve still got lots of catching up to do.’
‘Mum, you know I’m moving in with Mel in September?’
Francine nodded as she drank her drink.
‘This place has sold so quickly that even if I wanted to stay here on my own, which I don’t honestly fancy doing, it would only be a week or two before I’d have to get out. Granny added her voice to Theo’s in insisting it made more sense for me to live down there for the rest of summer, so, when you and Dad go back home I’m going to move in with Theo for a few months.’
‘Good idea,’ Francine said. ‘Granny will come home with us, I expect, so Theo will be glad of your company. And I’ll be happier knowing he’s keeping…’ Her voice trailed away as Zazz gave her a look and shook her head. ‘Sorry. Habit. I know you don’t need anyone keeping an eye on you.’
Finishing her drink, Francine stood up. ‘I’m ready for bed. See you in the morning, sleep well.’
Down in her bedroom, Francine hummed happily to herself as she got ready for bed. She and Edwin were rekindling their close relationship, and she and Zazz seemed to be understanding each other better. And having Piers back in her life as a friend, that was good too. The icing on the cake would be her inheritance. Deciding what to spend it on would be fun. Maybe they would buy a small apartment down here as a bolt hole. Life was definitely good at the moment and when Edwin returned it would be even better.