Page 44 of One Summer in Monte Carlo
‘Are they marked private and confidential? Did Zac ask you to keep them to yourself?’ Mathieu pressed her.
‘No to both questions.’
‘There may just be something in them that would help me,’ Mathieu said quietly.
‘Help you do what? It’s only papers outlining Zac’s business and what I would be expected to do.’ Nanette paused. ‘I know I offered to help you if I could a few weeks ago but this makes me feel very uncomfortable.’
Mathieu was silent for a few seconds. ‘I need a certain piece of information and there’s a possibility it will be in those papers. Please, Nanette. I promise you Zac will never know I’ve seen them.’
Nanette closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. Opening them, she looked at Mathieu.
‘Okay. I’m not happy doing this, but I will give them to you to read.’ She stood up.
‘Only not here. Back at the apartment.’
29
As promised, Jean-Claude drove Nanette to Nice airport to collect Patsy off the afternoon flight. Standing in the arrivals hall waiting for her sister to come through after the plane had landed, Nanette realised she was feeling, not exactly nervous, but definitely anxious. Patsy and Jean-Claude had never met before and she prayed they would like each other and get on. After the fiasco of her relationship with Zac – he and Patsy had never really taken to each other and wound each other up every time they met – she’d determined that in future it would be a case of ‘if you’re friends with me, you’re friends with my sister’. Patsy was the only family she had left now and no friendship, or passing boyfriend, was worth the risk of falling out and being alienated from her. Although the reality was that Jean-Claude was the first man since Zac that Nanette had wanted to introduce to Patsy.
Nanette stood in front of the glass wall separating the baggage collection area from the arrivals hall, hoping for an early glimpse of her sister. Jean-Claude had stopped at the newsagents in the foyer to buy an English magazine that he claimed he could only get at the airport and still hadn’t returned when passengers started to appear down the corridor leading to the baggage area. Patsy was one of the last passengers to appear and waved happily when she saw Nanette, before moving across to the conveyor belt to wait for her suitcase to turn up.
By the time Patsy had claimed her case and passed through customs and come out through the double doors into the arrivals hall dragging it behind her, Jean-Claude was standing at Nanette’s side by the barrier and immediately relieved Patsy of it.
After hugging her sister, Nanette quickly made the introductions and the three of them made their way out onto the main concourse of the airport and the car park.
‘Good flight?’ Nanette asked.
Patsy nodded. ‘Oh, it’s good to see you and be back down here.’ She sniffed. ‘Smell that eucalyptus. I’m sure Nice airport is the only one in the world that smells so delicious.’
As Jean-Claude walked ahead to the car, Nanette glanced at her sister. ‘You’re looking good. Big but good!’
‘I’m beginning to resemble an elephant,’ Patsy grumbled. ‘To think I’ve got another nine weeks to go.’
They were lucky with the traffic and the journey back to Monaco was a quick one. Jean-Claude left the car in the underground garage and took the suitcase up to the apartment for them before leaving.
‘You sure you won’t stay for something to eat?’ Nanette said, as Patsy wandered out onto the balcony to gaze at the boats.
‘Not today – I’ll leave the two of you to catch up. Bring Patsy up to the villa for a swim and lunch whenever you like,’ Jean-Claude said. ‘I’ll ring you later,’ and he leant in to kiss her goodbye.
‘Thanks for playing chauffeur this afternoon, I really appreciate it.’ Nanette said, returning the kiss.
Florence had left a tea tray ready in the kitchen and Nanette made a pot of tea and carried everything out to the balcony, where Patsy was still leaning on the guard rail gazing out at the view in wonder.
‘Mathieu’s gone up in the world with this place, hasn’t he?’ she said, pulling a chair out and sitting down.
Nanette nodded and poured Patsy a cup of tea.
‘It was good of Bryan to treat you to this holiday,’ Nanette said. ‘Shame he couldn’t come with you.’
‘He wanted to, he was worried about me travelling alone, but it’s totally the wrong time of year for a farmer to take a holiday,’ Patsy said ruefully. ‘What with silage and haymaking, not to mention organising AI visits to get the cows into calf ready for calving early next year.’ She glanced at Nanette. ‘Actually, I’m rather ashamed to be here. I told you I asked Bryan to have a word with Helen? He did and it was fine for a week or two. But then, last Sunday, I lost it when she made some remark that I can’t even remember now. I did the unthinkable – called her Grannyzilla to her face and threw the roast potatoes on the floor.’ Patsy gave Nanette a half-smile. ‘It did feel quite good, though, at the time.’
Nanette stared at her, realising just how uptight her unflappable sister must have been to act like that. ‘Oh, Patsy, I’m sorry you were so stressed. I wish I’d been able to help more.’
‘Helen cleared the mess up, muttering all the time about it being my hormones, Bryan, thankfully, realised it wasn’t just that, I really did need some space. So, here I am.’ Patsy smiled happily at her sister.
‘Leaving your husband to the tender mercies of his mother,’ Nanette teased. ‘She’ll probably have moved back into the farmhouse by the time you get home.’
Patsy groaned. ‘Don’t even joke about that. She’s already suggested she moves into the spare room to be closer for the big event. I know she’s Bryan’s mother, I know she’s excited at becoming a grandmother and I know she means well, but she does have this tendency to try to take over.’ She glanced at Nanette. ‘You will still be able to come back and be with me when “the bump” makes its appearance? You are still down as my birthing partner. I’ll understand if you can’t, though.’
