Page 61 of Rendez-Vous in Cannes
‘Shall we just run away then? A beach wedding in the Caribbean with a couple of witnesses.’
‘No, that wouldn’t be us, would it?’ Anna said. ‘I do see us getting married in a traditional way, but three months really isn’t very long to prepare for a wedding. For a start, your village church may not be available—’
‘Oh, but it is,’ Leo said, picking an envelope up off the table and pulling out a piece of paper. ‘Eleven o’clock, September the twelfth. The marriage of Anna Carson and Leo Hunter will take place at St Mary’s, followed by the wedding breakfast at The Woodlands Country Club. The happy couple will depart at five o’clock for a secret destination known only to the bridegroom.’
Anna stared at him, stunned. ‘When did you arrange all this, Leo?’
‘I haven’t – totally. These are tentative reservations I made before I came down here knowing I was going to ask you to marry me. Once you’d said yes, I intended picking up the phone and finalising everything. But…’ he paused. ‘Things – Teddy – got in the way and I knew I couldn’t do it without talking to you first. The options on the church and the country club run out tonight,’ he added quietly. ‘Please may I ring and confirm things? I do so want us to be married. I know we’ll only be able to have a short honeymoon, a long weekend at the most, I suspect, but we can have another longer one in the new year. The important thing is being married.’
‘Oh Leo, I do love you,’ Anna took a deep breath. ‘September twelfth it is then. But, I warn you, there’s a lot of arranging to be done between now and then.’
‘We’ll do it together,’ Leo said, a happy smile on his face. ‘It’ll be wonderful, you’ll see,’ and lovingly he pulled her into his arms and held her tight as he kissed her. ‘Right, you’ll have to excuse me. I have some very important phone calls to make.’
As Leo picked up his mobile and wandered into the kitchen, Anna switched on the television. ‘Don’t be too long, it’s about to start,’ she called out.
Anna watched as the opening credits of the programme showed a montage of scenes taken throughout the festival: crowds on the Croisette, stars partying, jesters entertaining the crowds, luxury yachts, famous faces smiling, and then the camera panned around to the paparazzi at the foot of the red carpet for the final time.
Last evening or not, the stars were still in full-on glamour mode. Beautiful dresses, jewellery sparkling in the flashlights, dazzling smiles were all there, as the audience for the closing ceremony made their way up the steps. The camera followed the last of the stars as they disappeared into the Palais des Festivals and seconds later the picture changed to a view of the auditorium. The compère introduced the jury as, one by one, they made their way to their seats at the side of the stage and the ceremony was underway.
‘That’s done,’ Leo said, joining Anna in the sitting room and handing her a glass of wine. ‘September the twelfth is confirmed. See, I told you organising a wedding was easy!’
Anna laughed. ‘Let’s hope arranging the rest is as easy. Oh, look, there’s Teddy.’ She fell silent as she watched her son take his place on the stage. ‘You know, the more I see him, the more I recognise Philippe in him,’ she said.
‘I can see you in him as well,’ Leo said. ‘I hope he has your compassion too.’
Anna sighed. ‘Verity seems to think he will eventually accept things. I just wish I could be so sure. Maybe he’ll be in touch later tonight when all this hoo-ha is over.’ She waved her hand in the direction of the TV. ‘Or when the lawyer contacts him next week.’
‘What are you going to instruct the lawyer to do?’ Leo asked.
‘I think the cottage should go straight to Teddy. I think under French law it has to now anyway – direct heirs take precedence over everybody else when it comes to inheriting property. I was thinking about the boat too. Unless that has to automatically go to Teddy as well, I think I would like it to go to Bernard, as Philippe suggested. Unless you have a yen for a sailing boat?’ She smiled at Leo, who shook his head.
‘What about the money Philippe left you?’ Leo said.
‘I thought we could set up a trust fund for Cindy,’ Anna said quietly.
Leo nodded. ‘That sounds like a good plan.’
‘The only inheritance I want from Philippe is for Teddy to acknowledge me as his mother,’ Anna said, turning away to concentrate on the TV, inwardly hoping that the camera would show more shots of the jury as the various prizes were announced.
More than anything, she wanted to soak up pictures of her son, store them in her memory, to be able to recall them in the days ahead, but the camera resolutely roamed around, never lingering more than five seconds on any face, except for those of the winners.
‘Isn’t that Helen the camera is focusing on?’ Leo said. ‘Sitting next to Rick?’
‘Oh, Leo, I can’t believe it. She’s won the Prix d’Interprétation Féminine – how wonderful is that forFuture Promises? Best actress.’
Together they watched as the young actress made her way onto the stage to collect her trophy and make a short acceptance speech in true Oscar winning style.
‘I wonder if Teddy knows how deeply you’re involved withFuture Promises?’ Leo asked.
‘Well, he will now,’ Anna said. ‘Helen has just mentioned my name in her thank you speech, bless her.’
34
Daisy pushed her laptop across the loggia table and stood up, stretching her arms above her head. ‘My time here is done – Palme d’Or winner’s name entered and final report sent. Wonder if I’ll ever report on the festival again?’
‘Why not?’ Poppy asked. ‘Lots of freelance opportunities around, I would have thought.’
‘Depends on the kind of stuff I write – not sure that lifestyle automatically includes showbiz entertainment – and also where I end up spending most time, I suppose,’ Daisy added thoughtfully, looking at Poppy.
