Page 62 of Summer at the Château
Sitting there eating lunch with Augustus and reminiscing about a long-ago summer, Gwen felt her world had come full circle. This was where she’d longed to be for most of her life. At Augustus’s side.
‘I’ve just realised you are wearing the brooch I bought you all those years ago,’ Augustus said.
‘Which reminds me.’ Gwen reached around for her bag which she’d placed on another chair. ‘I bought this for you earlier. I wanted to bring you something. I’m not sure whether it’s the kind of thing you would wear these days, but you can always put it in a pocket.’ She held out a small brown paper bag. ‘The assistant offered to gift-wrap it, but I was too impatient to wait.’
Augustus had opened the bag whilst she was speaking and was looking at the rope bracelet with its metal whale secured through a loop.
‘It’s a friendship bracelet. I thought if they’d been around when we were young, you and I would both have worn one, or even several. And the whale motif was perfect for you. You are still crazy over les baleine?’
‘Oh yes. They’ve played a large part in my life.’ Augustus slipped the bracelet over his hand. ‘Thank you. It will most definitely not go in a pocket.’ He poured himself a drink of water and took a sip before continuing. ‘So, Gwen, tell me about you. Has life been kind to you?’
Gwen hesitated. ‘The biggest unkindness life has thrown my way was taking me away from you. When I finally accepted that and got on with life as best I could, I have to say, yes, life since then has been kind, if lonely because it did not include you. I’ve two wonderful children, I’ve supported them and myself by making and painting garden gnomes. Do not laugh,’ she wagged a finger at him as she saw the suspicion of a smile lurking on his lips. ‘They’re very fond of gnomes where I live. In fact, I’ll bring one over for the edge of the pond when Pixie and I move here in October.’ She picked up a knife and cut the tarte Tatin into slices before offering the plate to Augustus.
‘We are going to see each other again?’ Augustus asked. ‘I would like nothing more than for us to be back in each other’s lives, but…’ he sighed. ‘We’ve been a long time apart, although sitting here with you now it seems like only yesterday when you and I fell in love.’
Gwen reached out for his hand and he grasped hers, giving it a hard squeeze. ‘Of course we’re going to see each other again. We’ve been given an unexpected second chance – and I can assure you, Augustus Dubois, that nobody is going to keep us apart this time. D’accord?’
‘D’accord,’ he echoed, before raising the hand he was still holding to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on it.
40
Pixie forced herself to stop thinking and worrying about Gwen and Augustus as she and Brigitte made their silent way to a pavement cafe near the harbour. Once they’d ordered their coffees, Pixie looked at Brigitte and waited.
‘What has Gwen told you about that long-ago summer she spent here?’
‘It was only this year that she even mentioned it to me, so basically nothing. Certainly no mention of your brother.’
‘I was too young to have any real memories of that summer, so all I know is what has passed down from the annals of family history, and from Augustus himself. Although I do have vague recollections of Gwen reading us bedtime stories every night, something our parents had never done.’
‘That sounds like Mum.’ Pixie smiled. ‘So what happened all those years ago?
‘D’accord,’ Brigitte took a deep breath. ‘The bare facts are these. Gwen ‘ad been looking after the three of us for a few weeks in Paris before we all decamped ‘ere as normal for the whole of summer. Augustus was already ‘ere as his university term had finished: he ‘ad a summer job here working on one of the farms.’
The waiter arrived at that moment with their coffees and Brigitte waited until she’d moved away before continuing. ‘Augustus has always maintained the summer he met Gwen was one of the best, if not the best, summer of his life. Even though he almost died and he lost Gwen. Something for which he blamed our parents, particularly our father.’
‘What happened?’
‘Augustus contracted polio.’
Pixie gave a horrified gasp.
‘Our parents apparently “lost the plot”. Gwen was given her fare home and told to leave immediately, with no reason given. And no chance to say goodbye to Augustus, who’d been whisked away to ’ospital.’
Pixie fiddled with her coffee cup. ‘Did he make a complete recovery?’
‘Yes, eventually. It took several years though, but he led a very full life afterwards. Unfortunately, he had a stroke in his late sixties, from which he has recovered, but he now suffers from post-polio syndrome. He gets tired really easily and has problems with the muscles in his legs, which means these days he struggles with walking very far.’
‘And you didn’t think to tell Mum about any of this as we were driving here? Given her some time to prepare herself?’
‘Augustus asked me not to. He needed to tell her ’imself and to say sorry for breaking his promise.’
Pixie looked at Brigitte. ‘Promise?’
‘They’d only known each other a month, but they both recognised what they felt for each other was special. They planned to marry as soon as Augustus finished university and had a job.’
‘Poor Mum.’ Pixie shook her head. ‘I can’t get my head around how she’s had to live all these years without closure, not knowing the truth about what happened to the man she’d loved.’
‘Well, she’ll know by now, so don’t get too maudlin,’ Brigitte said, standing up. ‘I do know that he never forgot Gwen, and she was the reason he never married. No woman ever matched up to his first love. Come on, we need to find somewhere for lunch. And I fancy a spot of retail therapy. There are some very tempting shops here.’
