Page 35 of Rendez-Vous in Cannes
‘He would like to meet you again.’
‘I can’t really see the point,’ Anna said.
‘Please, Anna. I think you should find the time. He says there is something he needs to give you. It’s important to Jacques – and for you. Ten o’clock at the Cambones’, okay?’
‘I’ve still got things to do for tomorrow night’s party,’ Anna protested. ‘I’m not sure I can spare the time. Wednesday would be better for me.’
‘Sorry, Anna, Jacques is going to Paris on Wednesday. It shouldn’t take more than half an hour. I can organise a car to collect and return you if that helps?’
Anna sighed before reluctantly agreeing and saying goodbye. She turned to look at Leo.
‘Jacques Cambone wants a meeting with Bernard and me tomorrow morning. Will you come too?’
Leo shook his head. ‘No.’
Anna stared at him, shocked by the determination in his voice.
He held out his hand. ‘Give me the locket and I’ll put it on the chain.’ Leo concentrated on threading the chain through the small loop at the top of the locket, before looking up at Anna. ‘It’s your past – only you can deal with it. We’ll face the future together, but we both have to deal with the baggage from our previous lives ourselves. Of course I’ll support you in any way I can, but ultimately you have to face certain things alone. May I open the locket?’
Anna nodded. Leo was silent as he looked at the faded picture of Anna and Philippe and gently fingered the few fine strands of hair that were curled around the inside of the locket.
‘Jean-Philippe’s?’
Anna nodded, unable to speak as her eyes filled with unexpected tears. ‘I always longed to update the contents.’
‘Come here,’ Leo said, closing the locket and holding it out to place around Anna’s neck. ‘I’ll do it up for you.’
Pushing the clasp tightly closed, he bent his head and brushed her cheeks with his lips.
‘I love you so much, Anna, but you must relegate these ghosts to your past where they belong. Hopefully meeting Jacques tomorrow will help you to do that.’
‘I can’t imagine why Jacques wants to meet me again,’ Anna said. ‘I only met him briefly before. Perhaps he too wants to close the door on Philippe and the past.’
19
Daisy pulled on her best pair of skinny white jeans and a pale blue sweatshirt, and topped it off with Poppy’s leather jacket she’d found hanging in the wardrobe. She and Poppy had always borrowed each other’s clothes, so she knew it wouldn’t be a problem.
Nat might have instructed her not to dress up, but she still wanted to look good. Idly she wondered where they would go for a drink. Be difficult to find somewhere quiet in Cannes this Monday evening, that was for sure.
Nat was talking to Poppy in the kitchen when she went downstairs.
‘Hi. So where are we going?’ Daisy asked.
‘Just along the coast road to Juan-les-Pins,’ Nat said. ‘If you’re happy with the transport, that is,’ and he handed her a crash helmet.
Daisy laughed when she saw the Vespa scooter outside. ‘Nat, you’re full of surprises.’
‘I’ve got a Harley at home, but these seem to be the in thing for nipping around on down here.’
Sitting behind Nat, arms clasped tightly around him, Daisy enjoyed the ride along the coast road as Nat expertly weaved his way through the traffic. The main Juan-les-Pins streets, when they arrived, although less crowded than Cannes, were bustling with locals and holidaymakers enjoying themselves. Parking the scooter near the marina, Nat held Daisy’s hand as they strolled back towards the town centre.
Passing the derelict Hotel de Provence currently concealed behind scaffolding and tarpaulin, Nat said, ‘I love that place. I’d love to be able to put the clock back and see it in its heyday with the Fitzgeralds, the Murphys, Cole Porter et al. It must have been really something. Great to see it being restored – even if it’s being converted into yet more apartments.’
‘When you’re a rich and famous Hollywood scriptwriter you can buy one and pretend you’re a reincarnation of Scott Fitzgerald,’ Daisy teased.
Nat shook his head. ‘No. I want to live in the country. I don’t like towns that much. A farm up in the back country here would suit me fine. Peace and quiet for being creative. How about you? Are you a real townie?’
‘I grew up on the edge of a town, with fields and a wood at the end of the garden. Poppy and I were always disappearing and building dens and having adventures. So I guess I like a mixture of both town and country, but I definitely prefer old houses to modern. I’d love to do what Poppy and Dan have done. Restore something.’ Daisy glanced at Nat. ‘That is what apparently freaked Ben out – that and having to make a commitment.’
