Page 50 of Secrets Beneath a Riviera Sky
‘Family,’ they all echoed.
‘You all right, Mum?’ Zazz asked quietly as Denice followed Agnes into the kitchen. ‘You look a bit dazed.’
Francine smiled. ‘I don’t think our lives are ever going to be the same again with Denice in them.’
Edwin’s phone pinged at that moment and with an apologetic look at everyone he excused himself and went outside to answer it.
When he returned five minutes later he whispered to Francine, ‘I have to leave tomorrow.’
‘Will you come back down? Or shall I leave tomorrow with you?’ she asked quietly.
‘I should only be away for two days at the most and I was planning on coming back down to spend more time here with you.’
‘I’ll stay and wait for you to come back then,’ Francine said. ‘Then we can go home together in maybe a week or ten days.’
* * *
Zazz, up early to go for her now routine daily run with Mel, said goodbye to her dad before leaving. He was waiting for the taxi to take him to the airport for his morning flight back to the UK, having declined Theo’s offer to take him so early in the morning.
Mel was waiting for her in their usual meeting place and soon they were running along the quay. ‘So how was the long-lost aunt yesterday?’ Mel asked.
‘She’s great.Flamboyant extrovertbest describes her, I think,’ Zazz said. ‘Would you believe she ran an escort agency for years? You’d never lose her in a crowd. Complete opposite of Granny but you can see they’re sisters. She was really interested in my social media stuff. Said she was going to look me up, follow me and tell all her Parisian friends about me and this is the exciting bit.’
Mel glanced at her.
‘She has a contact with the Press Office at the Palais des Festivals and she’s going to try and get me a general pass as a “Content Provider”, which, I didn’t realise, is another form of publicity the Press Office uses these days for all the events at the Palais, not just the film festival. I’ve promised to love her forever if she can pull that off.’
‘Talking of love, my brother is wandering around with a silly look on his face,’ Mel said. ‘Very similar to the one that appears on your face when his name comes into the conversation.’
Zazz laughed. ‘I’ve told you – we’re just friends, for now,’ she added. ‘Right, time to turn round and buy the breakfast croissants. Got to keep Mum company for breakfast as Dad’s gone back home for a couple of days.’ It was too soon to admit to Mel, or anyone, exactly how she felt about Dominic.
43
Late Saturday afternoon, Agnes and Theo were preparing to go for a walk to soak up the atmosphere of the penultimate day of the festival when Monsieur Caumont rang.
‘I have received a very good offer for the house from a cash buyer and I would advise you to accept it,’ he said. ‘The buyer would like completion within weeks rather than months, which I don’t think is a problem for you? The time scale is more a problem for me than you.’
Agnes thanked him, accepted the offer and said the early completion date was not a problem for them. In fact, they’d welcome a quick completion date.
As they left for their walk Agnes and Theo talked about how quickly the house had sold. ‘And for such a high price. I know Monsieur Caumont said it was a desirable property but it’s a lot of money.’
‘Property down here is expensive,’ Theo said. ‘And the fact that the house hasn’t been on the market for years does make it desirable in people’s eyes.’
‘It’s such a relief to know that soon it will be someone else’s and out of my life for ever,’ Agnes said.
‘Will you stay down here while it all goes through?’ Theo asked quietly. ‘Or return to Devon and come back here for the final signing on completion day?’
‘I think I’ll—’ Agnes stopped. ‘I don’t know. It sounds as though the sale might go through quicker than usual so it might be better to stay. But at the end of the day my life is over there and I will have to return at some point.’ She shook her head.
‘You’re happy down here, aren’t you?’ Theo said quietly.
‘Yes, I am.’
‘Then please stay. Change your life to over here.’
‘I don’t think it’s that easy a decision to make,’ Agnes said. ‘There’s Francine and Edwin to consider as well as Jasmine.’
‘Jasmine is already living over here,’ Theo pointed out. ‘And probably intends to stay for as long as possible, Let’s go home. I need to do something.’
