‘JC, I’m sure things will work out for Mathieu. Like you I don’t think he is inherently bad – he’s just got caught up in something that’s spiralled out of control.’ She hesitated before asking, ‘Has your detective uncovered anything?’
‘Only the fact that Boris appears to be the one pulling all the strings. Apparently the police, both here and Interpol, are quietly keeping tabs on him. Unofficially the rumours are flying. There’s talk of money-laundering, a business cartel and drugs being involved.’
‘Mathieu wouldn’t do drugs,’ Nanette said instantly. ‘It has to be something else. What about Zac? Has the detective figured out where he fits into all this?’
‘Non. Other than that he seems to be pulling some strings of his own, independent of Boris. Who, incidentally, is currently in South America overseeing some business deal.’
‘I wonder if that’s where Mathieu is, too, this week. He didn’t say where he was going. Just said it was a business trip,’ Nanette said.
Jean-Claude shrugged. ‘Mathieu caught a flight to London, but he could have picked up a connection to literally anywhere in the world from there. He hasn’t rung to speak to the twins?’
‘He e-mails them most days but only phones occasionally when he’s away. I know he’s promised to be back in time for their school play next week.’
‘Good. Somehow I feel easier when he’s in town – if anything happens here in the Principality at least I’ll be around to help to sort it out.’
Jean-Claude gazed at Nanette thoughtfully. ‘I wanted you to understand that, although it all went wrong, I did love Amelia.’ He reached across and took her hand in his. ‘And until now, I’ve never come close to loving anyone else.’
There was silence as Jean-Claude gently stroked Nanette’s hand before looking up and asking quietly, ‘Do you think you could ever look on me as more than a friend?’
Nanette’s smile was warm as she smiled at him.
‘Oh, JC, you’re more than just a friend already.’
Before she could say any more the telephone rang. As she went to answer it, he sighed and began to clear the table. Nanette was still talking on the phone when he finished and he took the rest of his wine out on to the balcony to wait for her.
Nanette was smiling when she joined him a few minutes later.
‘That was Patsy. Bryan has treated her to a flight out here – she’s coming for my birthday! She wanted to know if I could meet her at Nice Airport. I said yes, of course, but I don’t have a car. Could you possibly take me?’
‘Of course.’
He placed an arm around her shoulders. ‘Nanette, I meant what I said earlier about not loving anyone since Amelia. I know Zac hurt you very badly and I don’t want to rush you into a relationship before you’re sure, but do you think we could have any sort of future together?’
Nanette turned and kissed him gently. ‘JC, I can’t promise anything. Could we carry on as we are? Take things slowly, get to know each other properly – see what happens? Now my memory seems to be returning, there are a few things I’d like to sort out. I need to finally close the Zac Ewart part of my life.’
She didn’t add the words, ‘before I can love anyone again’ but she hoped Jean-Claude understood.
The following morning, once she’d taken the twins to school, Nanette walked slowly along the embankment towards the Old Port. The envelope containing the Vacances au Soleil papers was in her bag ready to hand back to Zac. She was determined, too, that this time he would accept the fact that she didn’t want the job he was offering her.
The crew on board Pole Position were busy with routine morning chores but there was no sign of Zac. As Nanette hesitated on the quay, the yacht’s captain came down the gangway.
Recognizing her, he said, ‘Zac’s been delayed – something to do with the wrong tyres being supplied for Canada. There’s a chance he’ll not make it back here until after Indianapolis.’
‘But that’s a month away,’ Nanette said. ‘I need to talk to him before then.’
‘I can give you his mobile number if that helps,’ the captain said.
About to refuse the offer, Nanette changed her mind, saying instead, ‘Thanks. That could be useful.’
Handing her a card with Zac’s mobile number on it the skipper said, ‘I’m surprised you don’t already have this – particularly as you’re coming back to work for Zac.’
‘Who told you that?’
‘Zac did before he left for the UK.’
Inwardly furious but not wanting to discuss it with the yacht skipper Nanette said simply, ‘Oh, I see. Thanks for the number. See you around.’
Stopping at the first pavement café she reached, Nanette ordered a cappuccino. Her hand was shaking as she spooned the froth off the top and she took several deep breaths trying to steady her nerves.
Zac was unbelievable. Back to his old tricks of assuming he could browbeat her in to doing what he wanted. How dare he tell his crew that she would be working for him again, especially as she’d already told him she wasn’t interested?
Opening her bag she took out the envelope to slip the card inside with the other papers. Tempting though it was to ring him, Nanette was determined to confront him face to face even if she had to wait another month to do it.
A shadow fell across the table and Nanette looked up in surprise.
‘Bonjour, Nanette.’ Mathieu sat down beside her. ‘Join me for another coffee?’
Nanette shook her head. ‘No thanks. What are you doing here? We weren’t expecting you back until at least the weekend.’
He shrugged. ‘A couple of my business appointments were cancelled so I decided to come home early. How are the twins? Still practising for their concert?’
‘Yes. They’ll be pleased to see you.’
‘I’ll meet them from school this afternoon if you like,’ Mathieu offered. He took a sip of coffee before asking, ‘Spoken to Zac recently?’
Nanette shook her head. ‘I was hoping to see him today, to sort some things out, but he’s not here.’
‘I know,’ Mathieu said quietly. ‘I was supposed to be meeting up with him in the UK but he had to take an early flight to Canada.’
He glanced at her. ‘Do you still have the papers he gave you about Vacances au Soleil?’
‘Yes. They’re in my bag. I was going to give them back this morning.’
‘Could I have a look at them please?’
‘Oh, Mathieu, I don’t know,’ Nanette protested.
‘Are they marked private and confidential? Did Zac ask you to keep them to yourself?’ Mathieu pressed her.
‘No.’
‘There may just be something in them that would help me,’ Mathieu said quietly.
‘Help you do what? It’s only papers outlining Zac’s business and what I would be expected to do.’
Mathieu was silent for a few seconds. ‘I need a certain piece of information and there’s a possibility it will be in those papers. Please, Nanette. I promise you Zac will never know you showed them to me.’
Nanette stood up. ‘Mathieu, I’m not happy doing this, but I will let you see them, only not here. Back at the apartment.’
‘That stuff tastes vile,’ Ralph said, as Vanessa handed him some diluted Sangre de Grado to swallow. ‘Do I have to?’
Vanessa nodded. ‘Yes, you do. And I need to rub some of the ointment onto the last of your bruises too.’
Three days after his accident and to Vanessa’s relief, Ralph was a lot better. Whether it was the smelly concoctions that the head shaman had given her to administer on a regular basis or whether he hadn’t been as badly injured as at first feared, Vanessa didn’t know. She was just relieved he was alive.
‘I don’t know what’s in this stuff,’ Vanessa said, as she rubbed the reddish sticky ointment into Ralph’s body, ‘but it’s certainly worked.’
‘Seems to take the pain away too,’ Ralph said. ‘Can’t believe that something so primitive has such great healing proper
ties.’
‘Don’t forget the TLC I’ve given you will have made a difference too,’ Vanessa teased.
Ralph caught hold of her hand. ‘I know,’ he said seriously. ‘I’m sorry things haven’t worked out as we planned. Nick and Harry were in here earlier saying that as they can’t do any filming near the dam, they’ve persuaded Luigi to take them to film the young pink dolphins for a couple of days. I know it’s a long trek but why don’t you go to?’
Vanessa shook her head. ‘Rather be here with you. Besides, I’ve promised Angela I’ll help her and the other women this afternoon.’
‘If you’re sure. With a bit of luck we might see some dolphins on our trek northwards when we finally leave here anyway. Ah, here comes Matron and the consultant doing their rounds,’ he added sotto voce as Angela and the head shaman appeared at the entrance to the hut.
After the medicine man had pronounced himself happy with Ralph’s progress he said something urgently to Angela before leaving.
‘He says you can get up today,’ Angela said. ‘There will be a feast in the village tomorrow night to celebrate your recovery.’
Early that afternoon Vanessa left Ralph writing in his journal and reviewing the plans for the next part of their adventure. Making her way towards the hut where the women were working at the far end of the village compound, she listened to the now familiar exotic chorus of birdsong from high in the surrounding trees.
She stopped to watch a crowd of yellow crowned Amazon parrots squawking and bickering over some spilled seeds whilst the village pig rooted in some undergrowth just yards away. The small monkey who’d taken her banana the very first day they’d arrived in the village ran towards her chattering excitedly, weaving in and out of her legs as she approached the hut.
Angela was busy sorting through a haphazard pile of muddy boots and dangerous looking machetes and smiled her welcome at Vanessa.
Standing in the entrance of the hut, Vanessa watched as several of the village women began sorting through the remains of the Brazil nut harvest. She was surprised by how few nuts there were.
‘We have to sell most of the harvest,’ Angela explained. ‘And this year was not very productive. I hope next year will be better but then the aviamento will have changed too.’ She shrugged. ‘We know already we will be paying a higher price before the next harvest.’
Vanessa looked at her questioningly. ‘Aviamento?’
‘It’s the system that provides these,’ Angela said, gesticulating towards the boots and machetes.
‘We get the stuff necessary to do the harvesting on the understanding that this middle man will buy the nuts from us at a low price. He will sell them on and take any profit we should have had.’
‘That’s terrible. Can’t you sell the nuts direct?’
‘No. We need the equipment to gather them and don’t have the money to buy it.’
‘The government farm where you got the seedlings from – can’t they help?’
Angela shook her head. ‘In the past they talked about helping us to change the system but nothing happened. And now this foreign guy’s man from Rio has muscled in on the nuts as well as the dam.’ She glanced up. ‘Luigi thinks we’ll end up being forced to leave. We don’t need a lot of money to survive here but we do need land and food. Brazil nuts give us both our flour and oil.’
‘Is there enough there for the villagers until the next harvest?’ Vanessa asked.
Angela shrugged. ‘Depends on how well they keep. It’s difficult to stop them going mouldy in this humidity as we don’t have proper storage.’
There was a short silence as both women looked around, each lost in their own thoughts.
It was Vanessa who broke the silence. ‘Do you want a hand cleaning those machetes then? Or is there something else you want me to do?’
‘Be careful how you handle them,’ was all Angela said, as she handed her a piece of rag.
As she carefully cleaned the lethal tools, Vanessa couldn’t stop thinking about the problems the villagers faced. There had to be an answer.
Ambling back through the compound after the work was finished, Vanessa found Ralph waiting for her outside the large communal hut.
‘You don’t look very happy,’ he said, taking her hand as they walked towards their own hut.
Vanessa sighed. ‘I just feel so sad for this place. Everyone knows the rain forest is dying because of the way agriculture is taking over, but the people are dying too – if not physically, by being forced to move out of their villages. Give up their traditional way of life. Even Angela is talking of leaving.’
Ralph was silent as a frustrated Vanessa aimlessly scuffed up some earth with her foot.
‘I’m hoping my film will make people sit up and take notice. Do something about the problems,’ he said quietly.
‘I know you came to film the true story of the natives,’ she said squeezing his hand.
‘I just hope it isn’t too late and it just serves as archive material for the way it all was.’
There was a short pause before Vanessa deliberately changed the subject. ‘How are you feeling? It’s lovely to have you up and about again, but you mustn’t overdo it. I must ask Angela to show me how to make that ointment before we leave and take some home with us. The twins are always falling over getting bruises and.…’ She stopped in her tracks and pulled Ralph round to face her.
‘That’s it,’ she said excitedly.
‘What?’
‘I’ve thought of something we can do to help the villagers and preserve their way of life. We’ll help them form a cooperative to sell their natural remedies and their produce including the Brazil nuts. With a co-operative at least the villagers will be in control themselves and not some sleazy middle man.’
It was late in the afternoon of Nanette’s birthday and she and Patsy were out on the balcony of Mathieu’s apartment arranging a magnificent bouquet of flowers from Jean-Claude.
They’d spent the day mooching around Monaco old town and entertaining the twins before returning to the apartment. Mathieu had now taken Olivia and Pierre off swimming and the sisters were finally catching up on each other’s news.
‘These are beautiful flowers,’ Patsy said. ‘Jean-Claude must be really fond of you,’ she added with a sideways look at her sister.
‘It was so good of Bryan to treat you to this holiday,’ Nanette said, not rising to the bait. ‘Shame he couldn’t come with you.’
‘Wrong time of year for a farmer to take a holiday,’ Patsy said ruefully. ‘What with silage and haymaking, not to mention baby calves arriving. I’m sure Helen is enjoying looking after him though.’
‘Getting in practice for the new arrival?’ Nanette teased.
Patsy groaned. ‘Don’t. I’m really quite fond of her and I know she’s excited at becoming a grandmother, but she does have this tendency to try and take over.’ She glanced at Nanette. ‘You will still be able to come back and be with me when “the bump” makes its appearance? I’ll understand if you can’t though.’
‘I’m going to do my best,’ Nanette answered. ‘It all depends.’ She paused and concentrated on carefully pushing the last orchid into the arrangement. ‘I may end up bringing the twins with me.’
Patsy gave her sister a quizzical look. ‘I get the feeling something is clearly going on down here – and not just with Jean-Claude either. Tell me all!’
Nanette blushed, but decided to ignore her sister’s remark about Jean-Claude for the moment.
‘We think, no, we know, Mathieu and Zac are embroiled in something illegal. And can you believe Zac wants me to work for him again?’
‘I hope you’ve told him no way!’
‘I tried to, but he wasn’t listening to me. And now Mathieu says it would help him if I did.’ Nanette shrugged helplessly. ‘But JC is against it, even to help Mathieu.’
‘Does Vanessa know about your worries over Mathieu?’
Nanette shook her head. ‘No. She’s too far away to do anything
and I don’t want to worry her unless I have to.’ Nanette glanced across at her sister. ‘There’s another thing. I’m starting to remember things about the accident.’
‘That’s good,’ Patsy said. ‘Isn’t it?’
‘Not sure. Yes, it’s good that my memory is fully functional again but some of the things I’m remembering are frightening.’
‘Not started the nightmares again?’
‘No.’
‘That’s all right then.’ Patsy said comfortably. ‘Now, I’m sure this Mathieu business will eventually sort itself out and anyway, there’s nothing you can do about it. What I really want to know about is you and Jean-Claude. He’s very attractive.’
Before Nanette could answer, Florence, the housekeeper, appeared with another large bunch of flowers.
‘The concierge just sent these up, with this card,’ she said, handing an envelope to Nanette.
Even before she tore open the envelope, Nanette knew who these particular flowers were from.
Happy Birthday. Sorry about missing our dinner date. Will ring you this evening. Hope you’ve had a great day. Zac.
Exasperated, Nanette said. ‘They’re lovely flowers but I wish he hadn’t sent them. I’m going to have to say thank you and the last thing I want to do at the moment is thank Zac Ewart for anything. And why is he going to ring me this evening?’
‘We won’t be here anyway, will we?’ Patsy said. ‘Aren’t we going out to dinner in’ – she looked at her watch – ‘about an hour, with Jean-Claude and Mathieu to celebrate your birthday in style?’
‘Heavens, is it that late already? We’d better get ready.’ Nanette took Zac’s flowers out to the kitchen and asked Florence if she’d kindly find a vase for them.
Mathieu, arriving back with the twins from swimming just then, handed Nanette a small package.
‘Olivia and Pierre thought you’d like this. Happy Birthday from us all.’
‘This’ turned out to be a beautiful silk scarf from one of the designer boutiques on Avenue de Monte Carlo.
‘Thank you,’ Nanette said, gently fingering the luxurious material. ‘It’s lovely. I shall wear it this evening.’
Follow Your Star Page 11