Page 8 of Secrets Beneath a Riviera Sky
Silence followed her words. Theo, about to say that was fine, caught a glimpse of Francine’s face in the mirror and stayed silent.
Francine stared at her daughter before saying. ‘Thanks for the offer, Theo, but I’ll go to Oscar’s with Zazz.’
‘I know it will be hard for you to stay in the house so please don’t bother on my behalf,’ Zazz protested. ‘I don’t need company.’
‘I know but I’m still staying in that house with you.’
‘Whatever,’ Zazz said before shrugging and turning to look out of the window.
‘I have an idea,’ Theo said breaking the uncomfortable silence that descended. ‘We park the car and go to my house, maybe a cup of coffee or have a glass of wine and then the three of us will walk up the back way to Oscar’s. Agnes can have a rest if she needs it before we go out for dinner this evening.’
‘Sounds like a plan,’ a tight-lipped Francine muttered.
Ten minutes later, after parking the car down on the harbour, Theo led them the two or three hundred metres or so across the main road and into a labyrinth of narrow roads lined with tall old houses built in elevated positions overlooking the old harbour before stopping in front of a bright yellow door at the end of a terrace.
‘Bienvenue chez moi,’ Theo said, unlocking the door and ushering them in. The downstairs of the old fisherman’s cottage had been converted and modernised sympathetically into an open-plan living and kitchen area. French doors at the end opened onto an outdoor area where a well-established, thick-trunked bougainvillea, its magenta bracts vivid in the sunshine, could be seen. Terracotta tiles on the floor, cream walls with blue and yellow Provencal splashback tiles in the kitchen area above the sink and the marble worktops. Cream curtains with a green olive print hung beneath the worktops hiding shelves and basket containers, with an under-the-counter fridge on the end. The range-type cooker was positioned near the window. A breakfast bar with more curtained shelves on the kitchen side separated the kitchen from the remaining large comfortable dining and living area.
A table with four chairs, a squishy three-seater settee and a small coffee table stood in front of the inset log burner in the living area. A highly polished black Steinway upright piano was placed in front of one wall. Bookshelves packed tightly with books and the occasional ornament and framed photo, were fixed to every conceivable free wall space.
‘This is lovely,’ Agnes said, looking around appreciatively. ‘You renovated it beautifully. I remember it was in terrible condition when you bought it. It’s the kind of house I always imagined you living in.’
‘Merci. I am happy here,’ Theo smiled at her.
‘I don’t see your saxophone?’ Agnes said, looking around.
‘I only play the piano these days. I find I’m quite in demand in the summer for the old-fashioned afternoon tea dances that are gaining in popularity.Bien! Wine, tea or coffee?’
‘Tea please,’ Agnes and Francine said together.
‘I’d prefer coffee,’ Zazz said. ‘But I’ll have the same as everyone else.’
‘Nespresso okay?’ Theo pointed to his machine and Zazz moved towards it, nodding happily.
Her coffee pod quickly pressed through the machine, Zazz opened the door and took her cup out into the yard while Theo carried Agnes’s case upstairs and showed her the room he thought she’d prefer. Francine organised three teas and brought them out and placed them on the wrought-iron table before sinking onto one of the chairs. Zazz sipped her coffee, hoping Agnes and Theo wouldn’t be too long.
‘Why are you so intent on staying in Oscar’s house?’ Francine asked quietly.
Zazz smothered a sigh. She knew she had to talk to her mother soon but she didn’t want to start that conversation here when they would be interrupted – and possibly joined – by Agnes and Theo. ‘Mum, there are a couple of things I need to tell you but can we talk later please? When we’re alone.’
Francine stared at Zazz for several seconds before giving her a quick nod in agreement as the others joined them.
10
Half an hour later Theo took a key off a board hidden in a nook in the kitchen and turned to Francine and Zazz. ‘Ready to walk up to the house?’
‘I’m sure we can find it,’ Francine said. ‘I don’t remember Le Suquet being that big so I may even recognise the way.’
Zazz opened her mouth about to agree with her mother but thought better of it.
Theo shook his head. ‘I’ll walk you up the short way this first time.’ He bent down and clipped Cerise on her lead, which prompted a lot of wriggling and tail wagging from the happy dog, before he handed the lead to Zazz.
‘Cerise and you can lead the way. I’ll take your suitcase if you can manage the rucksack.’
‘I’ll sit outside and enjoy the sun whilst you’re gone,’ Agnes said, glad of the opportunity to be alone and collect her thoughts. Thoughts that were a mix of jumbled feelings. Did she feel happy being back in the South of France? Yes, she thought she did. But what problems lay ahead in the next day or two? How would she cope with those problems when they presented themselves, as they surely would? One thing she did know though, she was glad to be staying here with dear Theo and not having to brave her old home, with its myriad of unhappy memories. Oscar might not have a physical presence there any more but Agnes knew the air would be full of him. She pushed away the thought that the house would of course have to be faced one day in the near future.
Sitting there in the peaceful courtyard, with the warmth of the sun on her body, Agnes’s thoughts drifted back once again to the wedding she’d tried so desperately to stop…
The morning after Oscar had sprung the surprise date for their wedding on her, she’d tried to talk to her mum on her own. Woman to woman. But her mother kept shaking her head. ‘All we want is for you to be taken care of. Be secure. Oscar has money, he will look after you.’
