Finding Margo
Page 31
***
“Are you sure?” she had asked incredulously as they sat in the van staring at the painting.
“Of course I’m sure,” Jacques had said. “That art dealer wouldn’t take that one. He said it was too difficult to copy and impossible to sell unless it was purchased legally. He wouldn’t touch it.”
“Did François know that?”
Jacques shrugged. “I have no idea. I’d say he thought it was a fake. Why else would he have given it to you?”
“I think it was very nice of him all the same,” Margo murmured as she looked at the painting again, lifting it up to see it properly. “It was painted in 1538, you know,” she continued. “In Milan. The Duchess Christina was one of Henry VIII’s prospective brides, and Holbein was sent to paint her.”
“How come you know so much about it?” Jacques asked.
“I read about it in an art book while I was at the château. I was so taken with this painting, and I wanted to find out who this woman was.” Margo peered at her face. “Have you noticed how she seems to move towards you as you look at her? Her face is so alive. I wonder if Holbein wasn’t a little bit in love with her. It’s a beautiful portrait,” Margo continued. “Really exquisite. But I suppose I’ll have to give it back.” Something fluttered to the floor of the van as she turned the painting. “Look,” she said, bending to pick it up. “There’s something here. An envelope.” Margo opened it and unfolded the stiff pages. “Looks like some sort of document. The French is very difficult. I can’t quite make it out.”
“A certificate of ownership,” Jacques said, peering over her shoulder. “Signed by François and witnessed by a lawyer. My God, he knew it was the real thing.”
“And the owner is...” Margo looked at the letters, trying to understand the legal terms in French.
“Madame Margo Hunter,” Jacques read. “Who’s that?
“Me, you dummy,” Margo said. “He’s given it to me.”
“Mon Dieu, c’est incroyable! He’s given it to you?”
“Yes. This is what he was talking about when he said he was preparing a gift.” Margo looked at the painting again, unable to understand the full impact of it.
“What’s in the other envelope?”
“Which one?”
“That one on the floor.” Jacques picked it up. “It was attached to the other one. Here, you read it.”
Margo opened the envelope. “It’s a card.” She opened it. “Dear Marguerite,” she read out loud. Hope you like my little gift. I thought you both deserved a memento from the family. All my love and best wishes for the future. It’s signed Paquita,” Margo said, “and dated two weeks ago. How sweet. He must have planned this a while ago. He must have guessed you would come back for me.” She looked down at the painting again. “If I sell this, it will be a considerable nest egg. But I don’t think I could bear to be parted from it now it’s mine.”
“Even if you don’t sell it, it could be excellent collateral for a loan,” Jacques said casually.
“Really?” Margo said, lifting one of her eyebrows.
Jacques laughed. “You looked just like my mother when you said that. But we better get going,” he said and started the engine again. “You’ll miss your train at this rate.”
“I think I’ve already missed it,” Margo said, looking at her watch.
“I’m sorry. What are you going to do now? Do you want me to take you to the station and try and get the next one?”
“No,” Margo said. “I have a better idea. Take me to Le Havre. I can get on a ferry there. And it’s near Deauville, so—”
“What?”
“Well, it wouldn’t hurt just to look,” Margo suggested.
***
“We should be at the exit soon,” Jacques said.
“Yes, I think so,” Margo said dreamily.
“You sound sleepy.”
“Yes, I am.” Margo suppressed a yawn. “It was a rough night.”
“There’s a motorway station up ahead. Do you want to stop for coffee?”
“No! I really don’t,” Margo said, a hint of panic in her voice. “I hate those motorway stations.”
“All right. We’ll keep going then. But I’d like you to try and wake up and have a look at the map. I’m not sure which exit to take.”
“Just keep going for a while,” Margo said. “There’s quite a bit to go yet.”
“All right.” Jacques turned his attention to the road, and Margo relaxed again, looking at the view and thinking about the past few months. “You know,” she mumbled, “I was thinking that if the baby is a girl, I might call her Gráinne – as a middle name of course,” she added hurriedly when she saw the look on Jacques’ face.
“Hmm,” he muttered.
“She’d love it.” Margo suddenly smiled. “And God, how she’d laugh if she had been there last night. I can’t wait to tell her who was spying on us when—” Margo stopped. “No, maybe not.”
“I should think not,” Jacques murmured. “Look, it says Caen over there. That can’t be right.”
Margo picked up the map. “No,” she said, “it isn’t. We’ve gone wrong somewhere.”
“What?” Jacques demanded. “We’ve gone wrong?”
“Yup, that’s it.”
“Merde.”
“Couldn’t agree with you more.”
“Shit,” Jacques snapped. “Don’t you know how to read a map?” He glanced at her sideways, his mouth pinched into an angry line.
Margo looked thoughtfully at him, then down at the map. “No,” she said. “As a matter of fact, I don’t.” On an impulse, she picked up the map and began to tear it deliberately into small pieces.
“What are you doing?” Jacques exclaimed.
“Getting rid of this.” Margo wound down the window and scattered the pieces like confetti behind the van. “Find your own way. I’m going to sleep.” She closed the window, leaned her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes. “Wake me up when we arrive,” she muttered sleepily.
There was no response from Jacques. Margo half opened her eyes and met his glance. “What?” she said.
Jacques’ smile was tender. Then he started to laugh. “Nothing. “Just je t’aime, mon amour.”
THE END
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hope you enjoyed my book. Since this one was published, I have written ten books in this genre. You might like my Kerry series, set on the west coast of Ireland. You can find them here: http://www.susanne-oleary.co.uk/thekerryromanceseries/ Or, if you want to stay in France, I’d recommend my Rivera romance series, which I am now completing, the first of which is ‘Selling Dreams', the second ‘Borrowed Dreams’. All of my books can be found on my website: www.susanne-oleary.co.uk
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Also by Susanne O'Leary
The Kerry Romance Series
Hot Property
Hot Gossip
Hot Pursuit
Hot Wishes
The Riviera Romance series
Selling Dreams
Borrowed Dreams
Standalone
Duty Free
Sonja's Place
Silver Service
Finding Margo
Susanne O'Leary-Romantic comedy collection
Swedish for Beginners- a novel
Villa Caramel
Fresh Powder
Frischer Schnee
Irish Romance- The Kerry Romance box set
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Watch for more at Susanne O'Leary’s site.