Page 27 of A Riviera Retreat
William had favoured a countryside view with the mountains in the distance and she fancied the coast with its changing sea moods. They still hadn’t decided when William had sadly died. So she was free to choose to live on the coast without feeling guilty, but she’d have happily gone to live in the countryside instantly if it meant she still had William at her side.
Matilda put the brochure down and closed her eyes. Outwardly, she knew she gave the impression she was coping, but she still missed William so much. It didn’t get any easier, no matter how many times she repeated to herself the old cliché ‘time is a great healer’. Was moving to France on her own even a good idea? Staying in Bristol, she’d at least be surrounded by the familiar and constant memories of the life she and William had shared. Moving away, she’d lose that everyday physical presence of the buildings and places they’d both loved – and her memories, would they fade?
Josh had urged her not to make any major decisions in the early weeks after his father died and she hadn’t. But she couldn’t just drift along on memories for the rest of her days. She needed to find some sort of purpose in life. Organising a move to France had the potential to keep her busy for months. A phrase some unknown woman had used on Radio 4 the other day sprang into in her mind unexpectedly – ‘You have to be on the beach to catch the wave.’
Matilda smiled to herself. William would definitely have agreed with that sentiment. He’d always been one to jump in to new projects. His enthusiasm for life had been one of the many things Matilda had adored about him. He’d longed to move to France for some time; had even talked a couple of years ago about taking redundancy, retiring early and just taking off. Matilda regretted talking him out of it now. It had seemed sensible at the time to wait the two years for his official retirement. If they’d taken the leap then, William would at least have realised part of his dream for the two of them. She couldn’t help feeling that he’d expect her to carry on and make the dream come true for herself.
She picked up the magazine. Decision made. She’d keep looking until she found a suitable house. The next time she spoke to Josh, she’d tell him her plans. Right now though she was going to go and sit by the pool, study the brochure properly and make a couple of viewing appointments. After all, she had nothing to lose but time.
* * *
There was no sign of Amy when Chelsea went into the kitchen with her shopping. Once everything was away, she went to her room and changed into her swimming costume, grabbed a towel and her ever-present phone and made for the pool.
Amy was swimming a slow crawl down the length of the pool when she got there. Chelsea sat on the edge and dangled her feet in the water as she waited for Amy to finish her swim and join her.
‘Hi. How was Cannes? Busy?’ Amy asked.
‘Matilda treated me to lunch at the Carlton, which was awesome.’ Chelsea glanced at Amy. ‘We saw Kevin there. Pierre says he’s been here?’
Amy nodded, a rueful look on her face. ‘I’m going to have to keep the gates closed and locked from now on. Tonight at dinner I’ll give everybody the code to the small side entrance for when you go out. I rarely use it, so I need to look it up; make sure I remember it correctly. It’s a bit inconvenient but…’ and Amy shrugged before getting to her feet. ‘Fancy a cold drink? I’ll go and get some.’
‘Cool,’ Chelsea said and slid into the water and powered away with a fast crawl. She’d managed fifteen laps before Amy returned, accompanied by Matilda holding her brochure.
The three of them settled down companionably, dangling their feet in the shallow end of the pool, drinking iced tea.
‘This place is just so perfect,’ Chelsea said happily. Matilda murmured her agreement. Chelsea looked at her before turning to Amy. ‘I still can’t believe I’m here really. Did you know Matilda’s thinking about moving to France?’ She picked up the brochure Matilda had placed on the ground beside her. ‘There’s some lovely houses in here,’ she said, flicking through.
‘A lot of them out of my price range,’ Matilda said. ‘But I’m sure the right villa is out there. I’ll certainly have fun looking. Not sure how my son, Josh, will react though.’
‘Well, I think it’s a brilliant idea,’ Chelsea said. ‘I’m so looking forward to visiting when you move here. Just so you know, I plan on being your very first visitor.’
Matilda laughed. ‘Don’t hold your breath – it could be a long time coming. Ah, here comes Vicky.’ Matilda paused before adding quietly, ‘She looks a bit upset. I do hope nothing is wrong.’
‘I think Vicky’s got a secret,’ Chelsea whispered.
Amy looked at her. ‘Everyone has their secrets – and their reasons for keeping them. Probably even you. Please don’t say anything.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Chelsea said. ‘I like Vicky. I’m not going to say anything to upset her. I’m just curious.’ Hmm, that was interesting. Was Amy already in on Vicky’s secret?
Amy held out a drink to Vicky. ‘I hoped you’d join us.’
‘Thanks,’ Vicky said, taking the drink and sitting down to join the three of them and dangle her own feet in the water. ‘Oh, that’s refreshing.’ She looked at the house brochure Chelsea was still holding. ‘You’re not thinking of selling this place, are you?’ she said to Amy.
‘No. I’ll never sell Belle Vue,’ Amy said. ‘Matilda is toying with the idea of moving here.’
‘Toying is the right word,’ Matilda said. ‘It’s always been a dream but…’ she shrugged. ‘We’ll see. Are you all right?’ she asked, looking at Vicky. ‘You looked a bit hot and bothered when you arrived.’
‘I’m fine. Just not used to such high temperatures. I think it’s time I braved the pool and had a swim. It should at least cool me down a bit.’ And Vicky slipped off her sundress and cautiously walked down the pool steps and slowly eased herself into the water. The other three women watched her silently for a few moments.
‘She’s definitely upset about something,’ Chelsea whispered.
Amy and Matilda nodded in agreement. All three fell silent as they watched Vicky swimming a methodical breaststroke.
* * *
Vicky, swimming slowly up and down the length of the pool, tried not to worry about whatever it was Anthony had cocked up. The message under that heart stopping subject line had been simple in the extreme:
Need to talk to you asap. Will phone at 7 this evening. Got to go to a press conference now. x.
