Page 72 of A Riviera Retreat
‘Before I forget, Chelsea told me to tell you – the three of them would like you to join them for breakfast in the kitchen tomorrow morning. About 8 o’clock, for one last breakfast together.’
‘Hope I’m awake in time,’ Amy said, smothering a yawn.
The Morning Of Departure
31
Chelsea made her way to the kitchen early the next morning, pleased to see Pierre had already been and left the usual bag from the boulangerie on the kitchen table. She switched the coffee machine on, placed the croissants and pains au chocolat in the basket and put plates and cups ready on the table. She smiled happily to herself. This kitchen was going to be her domain for the summer – she couldn’t wait.
Sitting there waiting for the others to arrive, her thoughts drifted to what was likely to happen when she got home. So much stuff to sort out. Stuff she wasn’t looking forward to dealing with, but it had to be faced. The only consolation was she’d be back here soon, ready to stay and work for the rest of the summer. Chelsea was mentally writing a to-do list when Matilda appeared. ‘Morning, Tilly, how’s the birthday girl the morning after?’ she said, pouring a coffee and handing it to her.
‘Last evening was such a lovely surprise,’ Matilda said. ‘I’m still in shock, to be honest. Everybody was so kind, spoiling me with presents.’ She shook her head. ‘I love my friendship bracelet, it’s so pretty,’ she said, looking at Chelsea. ‘It will remind me of you every day.’
‘Morning, you two, this is all very intriguing,’ Amy said, coming into the kitchen and helping herself to a cup of coffee but declining a croissant when Chelsea pushed the plate towards her.
‘Vicky will explain when she gets here,’ Chelsea said. ‘Ah, here she is.’
‘That coffee smells good. Just what I need this morning,’ Vicky said as Chelsea poured her a cup. She placed a gift wrapped package on the table and an envelope with Amy’s name written across it alongside it.
Amy looked at it and then at the three of them questioningly. ‘You’ve bought me a gift?’
‘Belle Vue is a such a special place and we wanted to say thank you for giving all of us a wonderful holiday here. I think it’s safe to say, your generosity has proved to be something of a life changer for the three of us,’ Vicky said quietly. ‘I found this in the brocante market in Cannes and as a thank you present we all agreed it fits the bill perfectly. We hope you like it,’ and she gently nudged the package across the table in Amy’s direction.
Amy pulled the wrapping open carefully and gasped with delight as she saw the book and realised what it was. ‘I don’t know what to say other than thank you all so much. I’ve always thought Belle Vue to be a special place, a little bit of paradise, and I’m happy that you’ve found it to be special too. I truly wasn’t expecting anything, but this is wonderful. It will have pride of place in Belle Vue Villa. Thank you.’
* * *
An hour later, Amy was on the terrace, preparing to say goodbye to everyone. Seeing the two cars being loaded with luggage, Amy felt strangely deflated and close to tears. Over the course of a year at Belle Vue, she welcomed so many guests that saying goodbye to people she had become fond of was a common occurrence and something she’d learned to deal with as part of the business, but these three women had turned out to be special. She was going to miss them so much. Chelsea at least would be back soon. And Matilda, of course, would be moving to France within the next few months.
First to leave were Vicky and Anthony. Pierre was driving them to Nice airport for the midday flight to London. As Anthony and Pierre put their luggage in the car, Vicky hugged Amy.
‘Thank you again for a wonderful holiday. Belle Vue will always be my favourite writing retreat. It seems I’m the only one not coming back to France in the near future, but you and I will keep in touch, won’t we?’
‘Definitely,’ Amy said, hugging her back. ‘You’re welcome at Belle Vue any time you want to come. And you get that novel written, so I’ve an excuse to come to London for a book launch.’
‘Will do,’ Vicky said, getting into the car.
Everybody waved as Pierre drove off and watched as the car disappeared in the direction of the A8 autoroute.
Matilda and Josh had accepted Simon’s offer of a flight home to Bristol with him and Chelsea, instead of taking the budget airline they’d planned. Matilda had confided in Chelsea how excited she was. She’d never flown in such a small plane. Now, as Josh loaded Matilda’s luggage into Simon’s 4 x 4 ready for the short drive to Mandelieu-la-Napoule Airport, Matilda held out the walking cane she’d had to use when she first arrived, to Amy.
‘May I leave this with you please? I don’t need it now.’
‘Of course. I’ll keep it for when you return,’ Amy said and gave Matilda a hug. ‘I’m so looking forward to you moving over. Anything I can do to help, just ask.’
Matilda returned her hug. ‘Thank you. With luck, I should see you in about three months.’ A kiss on the cheek and she walked over to the car and got in.
Chelsea threw her arms exuberantly around Amy and hugged her tight. ‘I can’t wait to come back. I promise to be a model employee for you. I think Dad will have something to say if I’m not, won’t he?’ and then she was gone, sliding onto the back seat of the car to sit next to Josh.
‘My turn, I think,’ Simon said, putting his hands on Amy’s shoulders and giving her a gentle squeeze. He brushed her forehead with a light kiss before he whispered, ‘I wish I didn’t have to leave right now, but I’ll be back soon. This is just a very brief au revoir.’
Epilogue
Six months later – the week before Christmas
Vicky sniffed appreciatively at the perfume from the red roses bath oil she’d poured into the water before she stepped into the bath and sank into the hot water. Bliss. The bathroom up in the converted eaves of her new home was nowhere as luxurious as the bathroom at Belle Vue, but nevertheless it had been a deciding factor in buying this cottage.
After talking everything over with Tom and Suzie, they’d decided that, yes, they would sell and move out of London. Where to go had been an easy decision to make when Vicky had applied for and been accepted on an MA at Bath Spa University. She and Anthony had had a fun month or two scouring the property pages and viewing houses and when their old London house had sold quickly and for a better price than anticipated, they’d taken the decision to buy this thatched cottage tucked away down a quiet lane on the outskirts of Bath. Three weeks ago, they’d moved into Owl Cottage and Vicky and Anthony had lain in bed that first night listening to the cottage’s namesake tu-whitting and to-whooing in the tall trees at the bottom of the garden, instead of the incessant drum of London traffic.
