by T A Williams
She reached up and kissed his cheeks as well.
‘My pleasure, Sophie. I’m here for you any time you need me. Just shout.’ He glanced around at the others. ‘But you didn’t need me. Juan did all the hard work and you had your trusty hound to defend you. I had never thought of Jeeves as a guard dog before, but he was awesome. It’s good to know he has your back.’
Sophie dropped to her knees and hugged the Labrador to her chest.
‘Another hero. My big brave boy, Jeeves, you’re a really, really good dog.’
He nuzzled her with his cold wet nose and wagged his tail gently. He already knew that.
Chapter 20
When she woke next morning it was almost half past eight, but Jeeves was still snoozing by the bed. It was very warm already and he had climbed out of his basket and was stretched out on the cool floor, eyes closed, so she sank back down onto her pillows and let her mind roam. One thing was for sure: if she had been looking for closure with Claudio, she had it now. Between them, Juan, Dan and Jeeves had made it clear to him exactly how she felt and now she ought to be able to relax as far as he was concerned. Then she thought about the other man in her life. It was pointless agonising about Chris for now. If he succumbed to the allure of Paola, so what? She had arrived here without a man and if she were to leave the same way, that would be fine – not least if she left with half the value of the castle in her bank account.
She and Rachel had been signing in religiously every evening, the building works had been completed, the top floor had been cleared and the new kitchen was due to be fitted the following week. All that remained after that was the grape harvest, the vendemmia, which Beppe had told her would take place around the middle of September, depending on the weather. Once that was completed and October the first dawned, the castle would be theirs.
Of course they would sell it. There was no way they could afford the upkeep of something as huge and valuable as this but Sophie knew it would be a sad day when it sold, although the idea of buying a smaller place as a holiday home definitely appealed if they had enough money. Apart from being the last palpable link to their wonderful Uncle George, Paradiso had lived up to its name. It really was a little piece of paradise and it would be hard to leave. The big unknown was what would happen next – at least as far as Sophie herself was concerned. Somehow a return to London, albeit with the possibility of getting herself a much bigger and nicer flat, or even a house with a garden, didn’t have the same attraction. Once you’ve spent time in paradise, nowhere else really matches up.
On impulse, she reached for her iPad and Googled properties for sale here in Paradiso. There were only two. The first was a tiny studio apartment in the village, but the second came as a pleasant surprise.
It was Dan’s house – or, at least, the house he was currently renting. She scrolled through the details, admiring the photos, and saw that it boasted four bedrooms and two bathrooms and was on sale for half a million euros. While that would have been wildly beyond her means a few months ago, if she and Rachel managed to sell the castle for the sort of money they were hoping to get, it would be more than affordable – and probably no more expensive than getting herself a bigger flat in London. Maybe, rather than a holiday home, this could actually become her real home. Suddenly the idea of staying in Paradiso began to crystallise inside her head. But for now, first things first: they needed a new kitchen, a successful vendemmia and the sale of the castle. After that would come the beginning of the rest of her life.
The week went quickly. The third day with their Spanish guests came and went without Sophie getting even a whiff of smelly fish and she was delighted they stayed on until the following weekend. Apart from the debt of gratitude she owed to Juan for his intervention with Claudio, she found she had thoroughly enjoyed their company – even Lola who turned out to be a sensible, grounded girl beneath the glitzy exterior – and was genuinely sorry to see them leave on Monday morning. They had brought a lot of life to the castle and as they drove off, she caught hold of her sister’s arm and tugged her close.
‘A lovely bunch of people, Rach. Sorry again for my initial reaction. I should have trusted your judgement. I’m afraid I was behaving like a know-it-all big sister all over again.’
Rachel grinned back at her. ‘Thanks, but there’s no need. I should have run it past you first, but I’m really happy you like them as much as I do. You know something? I’m seriously considering settling down in Spain once I’ve got my degree.’
‘Nice idea and, for what it’s worth, I’m seriously thinking about settling here in Paradiso once we’ve sold the castle.’
‘You mean, set up home here with Chris?’
‘Or on my own – with Jeeves. Somehow, I fear Chris is long gone.’ The Pyrenean retreat had finished on Saturday and he still hadn’t called.
‘Still no word?’
‘Nope.’
‘And you aren’t going to call him? You should do, you know. Or I’ll call him if you like.’
‘Please don’t. Besides, you’re a fine one to talk. What about you and Gabriel?’
They both lapsed into silence.
They didn’t have much time for introspection as a large van drew up in the square and a man with a clipboard leant out of the window.
‘Signora Elliot? We have a new kitchen for you.’
Rachel explained how to get round to the back lane while Sophie hurried off to open the rear gates. From there the van was able to back right up to the kitchen door. After that both girls dashed back into the kitchen and joined Rita who was already hard at it, emptying the kitchen cupboards and carrying everything through to the gym for now, as the dining room table was unavailable, being piled high with items ready for next weekend’s antiques fair. The rest of the day was spent hanging dustsheets across doorways, making coffee for the men, and doing their best to stop Jeeves getting in the way. The kitchen fitters took a distinct liking to the Labrador and when this extended to sharing their mid-morning snacks with him, he was forever at their heels. Sophie wouldn’t have been surprised to find him inside one of the new units sooner of later.
In between all this, Sophie returned to her book which was going well. Taking her inspiration from recent events, one princess had to resort to the court champion to frighten off a former suitor who wouldn’t take no for an answer. The other princess, on the other hand, was still pining for her beloved who had gone off to war before she had had a chance to tell him she loved him. She realised she was smiling as she typed. Her Creative Writing lecturer’s mantra had been ‘Draw on your own experience’. She was certainly doing that.
A few days later, after the kitchen fitters had finished for the day, she and Jeeves were splashing about in the pool when she heard whistling. She looked up to see Dan appear through the bushes and she beamed up at him.
‘Hi, Dan. Come on in. The water’s lovely.’
He gave her a smile and a wave. ‘Hi, Sophie, it’s just too damn hot today. I’ve been sitting at the computer for three solid days and I feel like I’m melting.’
He dropped his towel, shrugged off his shorts and T-shirt and dived in, surfacing alongside her where he was immediately assaulted – in a very friendly way – by Jeeves. After playing with the Labrador for a bit, he paddled across to Sophie.
‘Have your guests gone?’
‘Yes. They’ve been replaced by the kitchen fitters, so never a dull moment here at the castle.’
‘And the antiques fair’s at the weekend, isn’t it? I was wondering if you’d like some help. I gather from Beppe it can get really busy.’
‘We’d love that, thanks.’
‘Have you heard from Chris? How was his week in the mountains?’
‘He hasn’t called.’ Sophie shook her head sadly. ‘I’m afraid I’m fearing the worst.’
‘What? That he’s fallen into the clutches of the antiques siren?’ He snorted. ‘No chance. You’re the one for him, I’m sure.’
‘You are? I’m not holdi
ng my breath.’
A bit later on, she persuaded the dog to leave the pool and she settled down on a sunbed while he rolled around from side to side on his back, trying to catch his own tail in his mouth while a puddle of water spread out around him. A few minutes later Dan came and lay down beside her. They chatted and it turned out that he had visited the church in Santa Rita to good effect.
‘That baptismal font is mightily important for my research. The carvings look as if they really are representations of Saracens. You and Rachel have done me a great favour in finding it. It must have been left over from the original church that was destroyed in the earthquake.’ He rolled onto his side so he could catch Sophie’s eye. ‘I’m not exaggerating if I tell you it might become the single most important indication I’ve found so far to support the main thrust of my thesis. Thank you both, so much.’
‘I’m delighted we could help. Rachel and I had a lovely time that day and the church was a fascinating place for us to visit.’
‘By the way, I’ve been meaning to say – you and Rachel look very settled now. There was an air of tension between you when I first met you but that seems to have cleared.’
‘You’re right. We’ve done a lot of talking and I can honestly say that things are back to normal between us now.’
‘George would have been so pleased. He told me how upset he was that the two of you had lost contact.’
Not for the first time, Sophie realised that Dan must have been a really close friend of Uncle George’s to know so much about the family. She wondered whether to tell him Rachel’s version of why she had fled the country, but decided to leave that to her if she ever felt like telling anyone else.
‘Yes, I’ve got my sister back and that’s great.’ At that moment her phone started ringing. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw it was Chris. Her immediate reaction was delight, tempered by apprehension.
‘Chris, hi. It’s good to hear from you. All well?’
‘Hi, Sophie. It’s all been a bit manic since coming back to work. Sorry it’s taken me so long to get round to calling you.’
‘So, how did your week in the Pyrenees go?’ She didn’t actually cross her fingers, but she did find herself holding her breath for a moment.
‘It was great, thanks. I now know what to do if one of my colleagues decides to sexually assault me.’
‘You what?’ Sophie could hear her voice go up in pitch. ‘What’s happened?’
She heard him laugh. ‘Nothing’s happened. It was part of our CPD update. A guy from HR gave us a lecture about it. For the record, if something like that happens I must report it at once to my line manager.’
Sophie felt a combination of relief and mortification at jumping to the wrong conclusion. She tried once more to adopt a neutral tone. ‘Good for you. I hope you never have to report anybody.’
‘Speak for yourself.’ He laughed again. ‘Anyway, look, I’ve been meaning to phone you for the last three days.’ This sounded promising, but as he continued it turned out to be less romantic than she had hoped. ‘The music memorabilia auction’s coming up next Monday and your LPs are in the catalogue with guide prices around the one-to-two-hundred-pound mark. I’ll give you a call next week and let you know how it goes.’
‘Oh, great, thanks.’ Interesting as this was, what she really wanted to know was what had taken place in the Pyrenees. ‘How about you? Did you have a good time in the mountains?’
‘I had a great time. The good news is that the weather, after the first two days, was great – not too hot, not too cold – and we went hiking in the high mountains most afternoons.’
‘We?’ Sophie didn’t feel ready to mention Paola’s name.
‘Me and some mates. It’s absolutely gorgeous up there. I’ll send you some photos. I was going to do it yesterday but I’ve been crazy busy here at work. I’ll let you have them later in the week.’
‘Great, thanks.’ She took a deep breath and went for it. ‘Did Paola have a good time?’
He laughed. ‘Paola had a very good time. I’ll tell you all about it when I see you.’
That sounded sinister but she did her best to rise above it. ‘I can’t wait to see you. Any clearer idea of dates when you might come back here?’
‘Yes, that’s the other reason for calling. I’ve booked the last week of September if that’s still okay with you. I should arrive on Saturday the twenty-fourth and leave again on Sunday the second of October. I’ll fly in and out of Nice and rent a car from there. That way I thought I could be there with you for your final day when you officially become the owners of a castle.’
‘Terrific. I look forward to seeing you. It’s Rachel’s birthday on the first of October. We’ll have to have a big party to celebrate both events.’
‘Sounds like a great idea. It’ll be really good to see you again. I’ve been missing you.’
‘Me, too.’ Had he meant he had been missing just her, or her and her sister? ‘You’ could be singular or plural, after all. The English language could be annoyingly ambiguous on occasions. But she had to concede that it did sound as though he had at least been thinking about her.
After ringing off, she looked across at Dan who had no doubt heard her half of the conversation. She relayed what Chris had said, in particular his comment about Paola having a very good time. Dan was quick to offer encouragement.
‘But he didn’t say who with, did he? Surely if he and she had hooked up he’d have said we had a good time. Don’t worry, Sophie, I know it’ll be all right.’
Sophie wasn’t so sure.
Chapter 21
The antiques fair was every bit as busy as Beppe had predicted. From the moment the first visitors started arriving shortly before ten o’clock in the morning, it was non-stop all day. Sophie and Rachel had set up their table right in front of the main gates of the castle and it was piled high with everything from copper pans to hundred-year-old silk knickers. In the course of the day they sold most of the items and took a lot of money – so much so that they had to keep dashing back inside to lock the cash away as the little tin they were using as a cashbox filled with notes. The icing on the cake was the arrival at the end of the afternoon of the very canny owner of an antique shop in Monte Carlo, no less, who offered them a flat amount for everything still unsold. After a successful bit of haggling by Rachel, he got himself some bargains and they got rid of everything.
That afternoon Beppe had turned up in a borrowed van and ferried the junk pile by the back door to the dump, so the top floor was now clear. After the fair had ended, Sophie and Rachel took Beppe and his wife, Rita and her husband, and Dan out to dinner at the Vecchio Ristoro, to celebrate having ticked off another one of Uncle George’s tasks, and they had a great night.
It would have been even better if Chris hadn’t sent an email with half a dozen photos of spectacular mountain scenery. The trouble was that Sophie couldn’t miss the fact that Paola, wearing short shorts and a broad smile, was in most of them, and in one of them her arm was affectionately draped around Chris’s waist. Still, Sophie told herself, as long as her best friend was happy, that was all that counted.
Wasn’t it?
Chris followed this up with another phone call on Monday, after the music memorabilia sale in London.
‘The good news is that your handful of LPs has made over fifteen hundred pounds, even after the deduction of commission charges. Not bad, eh?’ He was sounding very cheerful.
‘That’s brilliant news. Added to the almost three thousand euros we made at the antiques fair yesterday, that’s amazing for a load of old junk.’
‘What’s junk to one person is a treasure to another.’
They chatted for a few minutes without Paola’s name being mentioned until the subject of the antique arms auction came up.
‘That’ll be just before I come over to stay, so I hope I can bring you more good news. Paola was going on about your musket and mace at great length last week. She’s confident both items will do well.’
‘Will she be coming over to London for the sale?’ Sophie tried to sound only casually interested.
‘Oh yes. I’m looking forward to seeing her again. We get on really well together.’
Sophie grimaced. She had already got that message – loud and clear.
To reinforce her conviction that the hook-up between Chris and Paola was a done deal, she got a phone call the next day from Paola herself. This was to inform her that a courier would be coming on Thursday to pick up the musket and the mace and take them over to the UK for cleaning in readiness for the auction that would take place on the twenty-third of September. Along with this message came another that was unequivocal.
‘Have you spoken to Chris? Did he tell you how much fun we had in the mountains?’ Paola sounded decidedly bubbly.
‘He certainly did. And he sent me some photos. It looks like you all had a wonderful time.’
‘It’s a great hotel and the food was as amazing as ever. Apart from all the hiking, there was lots to do and, like I told you, it all got a bit naughty in the evenings.’ Sophie heard her giggle. ‘Well, I certainly did.’
‘So you enjoyed yourself?’
Paola giggled again. ‘Yes, and I wasn’t the only one.’ Possibly remembering that she was talking to a client, her tone changed. ‘Anyway, it was a great week. Get Chris to tell you all about it next time you see him.’
Somehow Sophie didn’t think she would. She gritted her teeth and did her best to remain cordial. At the end of the call she turned to Rachel, who was sitting on the other side of the dining room table with books strewn around her. ‘Well, that’s it, Rach. The eagle has landed, cherry red talons first. She’s got him.’ She was unable to disguise the disappointment in her voice.
‘I’m sorry, Soph. What a bummer.’ Rachel got up and headed for the door of the gym which was their temporary kitchen. ‘I’ll make tea.’ She stopped and checked her watch. ‘What the hell, it’s almost six. I’ll get a bottle of wine.’
They took the bottle of cold white out into the garden behind the castle and sat in the shade while Jeeves wandered off to check that his territory was clear of cats, squirrels, lizards and other undesirables. He had developed the habit of barking at any he saw but he couldn’t be bothered to do more than that. Clearly he was also feeling the heat. Rachel poured the wine and passed a full glass over to Sophie.