Chapter 49
Louis has left for home. Before he left, we had a long frank talk about me being a lavender wife and I’ve decided I will marry him.
I realise it’s probably not going to be a marriage without its difficulties, but, let’s face it, very few marriages are.
And I’ve always been very fond of Louis, and he of me.
I’ve got an Atlantic passage booked for five days’ time, so I shall be leaving Antibes tomorrow by train for Paris and a day later for Le Havre.
I feel sad knowing that in all probability I will never return to Antibes again, a place I love and where I’d once dreamt I might live with a man I thought I loved.
The only consolation I have is this baby, and whether a boy or a girl, they will be loved by both parents and given the best life possible. Although he or she will forever be a reminder of the bittersweet times I have had here in Antibes.
* * *
Evie put the journal down on the table and covered her face with her hands, feeling emotionally drained, and trying not to scream in frustrated helplessness.
Louis had died before she was born, but the way GeeGee had always spoken to her about him had always led her to believe it had been a really loving marriage.
When, in reality, it had been a marriage of convenience for both of them.
There were so many questions Evie wanted to ask about their lavender marriage. Had it worked for both of them? Were they happy? How had Charlotte felt about her parents? Had she even known theirs was not a true marriage? Did she know that Louis was not her blood father?
The only person left who could possibly answer these questions was her mother, but Evie wasn’t convinced that Daisy would have any of the answers she needed to hear. If she’d known all about her grandparents’ marriage, surely she would have mentioned it to her before.
Her hands were shaking as she picked up her phone and pressed the button for her mom.
Daisy answered breathlessly. ‘Evie. Everything all right? It’s five o’clock in the morning here.’
‘Sorry, I totally forgot about the time difference, but I’ve just finished GeeGee’s journal and I’m in bits here.’ Evie hesitated before asking the question she needed answering. ‘Did you know she and great-grandad had a lavender marriage?’
There was a brief silence before Daisy spoke. ‘Yes. But GeeGee only told me about it shortly before she died, making me promise not to tell Granny Charlotte as she was already ill, but she felt that both you and I should know the true history of our family.’
‘I always thought they had a perfect marriage,’ Evie said.
‘They had an unusual marriage, but it wasn’t loveless, they did love each other in their own way. And I adored Grandfather Louis. He was a special man,’ Daisy said.
‘Why did they never tell Granny Charlotte?’ Evie said. ‘I don’t really understand why they kept it such a secret within the family.’
‘GeeGee and Louis did not make that decision lightly but with Charlotte’s happiness in mind.
Apparently, they initially intended to wait until Charlotte was of age and could be relied on not to tell anyone.
Also, they felt the fewer people who knew, the less chance there was of their secret being leaked.
Their marriage was happier than many conventional ones, but the longer they left it, the harder it became to broach the subject to Charlotte. ’
Evie sighed. ‘I can understand that, I suppose.’
‘GeeGee told me too that Charlotte was the result of an affair between herself and an unnamed Frenchman. Does she mention that in the journal?’ Daisy asked quietly.
‘Oh yes,’ Evie said.
‘As far as the world is concerned, Louis was Charlotte’s father as it’s his name on the birth certificate because they were married by the time she was born.
And that is not going to change,’ Daisy said.
‘I can understand why you are upset, but it’s all in the past now.
There’s nothing we can do. Both GeeGee and Louis are dead, and Granny Charlotte, well, she’s not really living in the same world any more. ’
Evie gave a deep sigh before saying quietly.
‘But it’s not all in the past. I now know the name of the Frenchman who is my paternal great-grandfather.
Stéphane Rochefort. And here’s the thing, Mom.
GeeGee’s affair all those years ago has begun to make its presence felt in the present, in my life.
I’ve met his family. His descendants. Our relatives. And I don’t know what to do about it.’