Page 56 of A French Country Escape
‘It’s strange how these small, empty churches or chapels always give off an air of peace – the feeling that somehow, bygone worshippers’ hymns are still lingering in the air,’ Sasha said quietly. ‘Even when they’ve not been used for years.’
She wandered over to look at the memorial plaques. Names of local men lost in both world wars, buried who knew where, but remembered on the estate. She glanced at the pulpit. There must have been countless weddings and christenings performed here during happier times. She hoped – as Freddie said they were – that Peter and Ingrid were indeed planning to use the renovated chapel to hold marriage blessings for couples after the legal civil ceremony in themairie. As unadorned as the building was, the peaceful ambiance within its walls would be perfect for such functions.
A fleeting vision of herself standing in front of the altar, her bridegroom at her side as the priest blessed their marriage, brought a smile to her face. She could only hope that perhaps one day the dream would come true.
42
It was another few days before Penny finally set up the champagne afternoon tea in the orangery. Alice had already apologised for failing to get Eliza to change her mind about declining the invitation, but Ingrid and Peter said they’d open the box with Sasha as planned after the thank you tea with Alice and Lucas. Peter’s parents would be sitting in on the occasion too. Freddie had been asked to join them, but he had a gardening job on the other side of the village which he was unable to change.
‘This all looks delicious,’ Sasha said, arriving with the box and looking at the scones, jam and cream on the table, alongside a three-tiered gateau stand full of tempting fruitcake, strawberry tartlets, eclairs and slices of carrot cake. ‘Now you’re staying, you can advertise afternoon teas.’
Penny smiled. ‘Alice has given Mum so many ideas for moneymaking events, offering cream teas is just one of them. If we were to do everything she suggests, I’d never get a day off!’
‘There are eight of us for tea today, is that right?’ Sasha said, placing plates around the table. ‘I do wish Alice had been able to persuade Eliza to come, it is her box after all.’
Just then, Peter, his parents, Ingrid, Lucas and Alice arrived and within minutes, Ingrid was urging everyone to sit down and ‘tuck in’ as she poured the champagne. It was nearly an hour later before Penny and Ingrid cleared the table of dirty plates and cups and the few remaining cakes, and Sasha placed the box on the table in front of Peter. They all watched as he carefully cut through the string and unfolded the thick brown paper used to parcel it up to reveal an old-fashioned square tin.
The lid came off easily and Peter set it to one side as everyone leant forward to peer into it. A sealed envelope with the wordConfidentieland Eliza written across it was on the very top. Peter took it out and laid it on the table before he continued to lift out unsealed envelopes containing black and white photos, marriage and birth certificates and various other pieces of paper. A ring box was tucked into a corner at the bottom and Peter removed it, putting it unopened on the table as he picked up several loose photos from the bottom of the tin.
One of the photos, a portrait of a woman with a baby on her lap, slipped through his fingers. As he picked it up and saw it properly, the colour drained from his face. Silently, he handed it to Edward. Surprised, he too glanced at the photo, giving a visible start before he handed it back to Peter, his eyes wide open and a questioning look on his face.
‘Alice, Lucas, I think it’s important that your grandmother is here before we go any further,’ Peter said quietly, picking up the lid and placing it back on the tin.
‘Why?’ Alice asked. ‘She’s said we can tell her about the contents of the box if they’re important – she just doesn’t want to see them.’
‘I’m sorry, but that is no longer possible. She has to see them. She needs to be here because I think she is possibly the only person still alive who can explain this photo and the rest of the contents of this tin,’ and Peter handed the photo to Alice.
‘I’ve never seen a photo of a woman like this in any of the photo albums Eliza has,’ Alice said, staring at it before handing it to Lucas and looking up uncertainly at Peter. ‘I’m not sure Eliza will even know who this person is.’
‘Maybe not,’ Peter said. ‘But I, on the other hand, suspect I know who she is. I think my father, from the look on his face, also suspects who she is.’ He took a deep breath.
‘Eliza needs to come and try to explain to us how a photograph of my great-aunt Bernadette, who vanished from our family records at the beginning of the twentieth century, came to be in a tin sent to your grandmother over fifty years ago.’
‘Grand-maman, you have to come up to the château with us right now,’ Alice said, running into Eliza’s cottage. ‘They’ve just opened the box Sasha found in the attic and Peter wants you there before they go any further.’
Eliza sighed. ‘I’ve told you I’m not interested.’
‘I’m not taking no for an answer, Grand-maman. Lucas has the car waiting outside. You. Have. To. Come,’ Alice begged. ‘It’s important. They’re waiting for you before they take anything else out of the box.’
Eliza tutted, but finally got to her feet and followed Alice out to the car.
When Eliza walked into the orangery, Peter stood up and took her by the arm. ‘Eliza, I am so pleased you’ve joined us. Please come with me, I’d like to show you a painting hanging in the château before we look at the contents of your box together.’
In the dining room, Peter led her over to the family portrait.
‘This is my great-grandfather Edward, his brother Charles, and their sister Bernadette. It was painted just before the brothers left to fight in the First World War. Sadly, Charles never came back. The ring Bernadette is wearing is rather beautiful, don’t you think?’
Eliza peered at the picture. ‘I suppose it is. But why are you showing me this?’
‘Let’s go back to the orangery and the others, and I’ll tell you why I’ve shown you this family portrait and in return, I hope you can explain some things to me.’
Eliza gave him a sharp look. ‘I don’t know why you should think that. I know nothing about your family.’
Back in the orangery, Alice pulled out a chair for Eliza and took hold of her hand.
‘It’s going to be all right,’ Alice said as reassuringly as she could.
Peter handed Eliza the black and white photo before opening the ring box and silently pushing it towards her. ‘You’ve just seen my great-aunt Bernadette in the old family painting wearing both a ring that is identical to the one in this jewel box, and a dress that looks to be the same one she is wearing in the photo. The baby on her lap is presumably hers.’ Peter swallowed hard. ‘Eliza, I sincerely believe that this all points to the lady in the photo being Bernadette Chevalier – and the baby on her lap is your mother. Which makes Bernadette your grand-maman as well as my great-aunt which, in turn, makes you and me related.’
