Page 31 of Secrets Beneath a Riviera Sky
‘I’m not sure.’
‘So why did she cut contact with him as much as she could?’
Agnes sighed. ‘Something happened on her last visit. She came back early, saying she hated him and never wanted to see him again but she wouldn’t tell me why. I did ask if he’d assaulted her and she shook her head but something had clearly happened. Theo brought her home as he usually did but he was none the wiser either.’
‘Does she know why you ran away in the beginning?’
‘She was young, seven years old when it happened. I certainly wasn’t going to tell her the truth at that point. It wasn’t until she was old enough to visit Oscar on her own every summer that she started asking questions.’ Agnes paused. ‘And then I admit I gave her a toned-down account – a versioncensuréeif you like, of why I had left her father.Maissince then, I tell her the truth.’
‘Mum called him evil the other day,’ Zazz said.
Agnes nodded. ‘Evil is one word that describes him, immoral is another. The world is a better place now without Oscar Agistini in it, is all I can say.’
Zazz, hearing the tremble in her gran’s voice quickly moved to her side and hugged her. ‘Oh, Gran, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.’
Agnes, taking a deep breath and visibly pulling herself together, gave a weak smile. ‘It’s easier not to speak of these things even now but I’m glad we’ve had this conversation.’
‘So am I,’ Zazz said. ‘Thank you.’
‘Donc! Time to get thepissaladièrein the oven,’ Agnes said. ‘I always think it tastes better warm.’ As she turned to go into the kitchen there was a bark at the front door. A second later it opened and Cerise rushed in, followed by everyone, and chaos reigned for several moments. Zazz quickly told her gran she’d see to thepissaladièreand feed Cerise who had dashed through to the kitchen and was already sat by her food bowl waiting to be fed.
The two families had literally bumped into each other twenty metres from the front door and had quickly introduced themselves. Once indoors, Rachel took Serge across to introduce him to Agnes.
‘My son, Serge,’ she said.
‘BonjourMadame Agistini.Enchanté,’ Serge said, shaking her hand as Agnes tried not to stare at him and keep her emotions under control. At first glance it could have been a young Oscar himself standing shaking her hand. Tall like his father, he’d inherited the Agistini Italian good looks but, like his newly acquired Uncle Theo, there was no harshness in his face, and his eyes twinkled with gentleness as he smiled at Agnes.
‘Not a single doubt in my mind who your father was,’ Agnes said softly. ‘But I feel your maman was correct, you are not like him. You do not have his hardness of the eyes.’
‘Merci, madame, I would not wish to be like him in any way,’ Serge said, his Italian accent adding a delightful lyrical note to his spoken French. ‘And thankfully my own son, Albert, shows no sign of inheriting any characteristics from the past.’
‘That’s good,’ Agnes said, smiling.
Zazz, coming out of the kitchen with the warmpissaladière, faltered as she saw Albert standing next to Serge. Avoiding both his and Theo’s surprised glance she quickly placed the plate on the table.
‘Albert, would you give me a hand with fetching some water glasses from the kitchens’il vous plaît?’ And she disappeared back into the kitchen.
‘Excuse me,’ Albert said to Agnes and everyone. ‘It seems my new cousin has need of my help,’ and he followed Zazz into the kitchen.
‘Push the door to. I can’t believe it’s you,’ Zazz said. ‘I have yet to tell my mother about the party where we met. She’s going to be mad as hell with me when I tell her about it. If she asks you tonight where we met, could you just say we met briefly at a party somewhere in Cannes. Please don’t mention it was at Oscar’s. I need to tell her that particular bit of information myself.’
‘Okay.’
‘Thank you.’ Zazz gave a sigh of relief. ‘I have to ask – did you know you were Oscar’s grandson that night?’
Albert shook his head. ‘Non. I wasn’t sure why I was invited to be honest. Not my usual crowd to hang around with. Now, were you serious about water glasses?’
‘Top shelf,’ Zazz said, pointing. ‘If you can manage half a dozen, I’ll fill a jug with water.’
Back in the sitting room Theo had begun to hand glasses of champagne around and tentatively Agnes suggested a toast, ‘Pour forger de nouveaux liens familiaux. To family.’
Francine, sipping her champagne, regarded Serge and his mother over the rim of her glass. Rachel, a slim and quietly elegant woman whom Agnes had greeted with a kiss, was a million miles away from the woman Francine had imagined her to be. As for her newly acquired half-brother, he seemed to be a nice man. Not that you can always tell from first impressions of course, but she was prepared to try and get to know him. And Zazz was happily chatting away to Albert, her newly acquired cousin.
Once the initial awkwardness had worn off, talk turned to the serious business of Oscar’s will.
‘I will tell Monsieur Caumont that the affidavit Rachel signed is sufficient evidence that you are Oscar’s son,’ Agnes said. ‘We do not need to double-check with DNAs. He only has to take a good look at you to see you’re telling the truth.’
‘Thank you,’ Serge said.
