by Julie Stock
‘Are you sure spending money on a new Visitors’ Centre is the right thing to do with the small amount of money you have spare?’
‘To be honest, I don’t know. There is so much to do I just didn’t know where to start. My dad was very good at reinvesting in the estate, so I was surprised when I found out that he had managed to put any money aside. My mum and I discussed what would be the most efficient use of the money he’d saved. Our priority was to use it to help us raise more.’
‘And that’s when you decided on building a Visitors’ Centre.’ It was all making more sense now but I was still worried that it wasn’t going to be a big enough budget for all he wanted to do.
We went up the stairs and I marvelled at the grandeur of the property. I could see quite clearly that it had once been a beautiful building. I stopped at one of the windows at the front of the house, to look out and admire the view of the gardens and the vineyard.
‘I’m sorry about your dad passing away. I had no idea. You’ve done a great job here. I think your dad would be proud of you.’
‘Thank you. That means a lot to me.’ He came up to stand next to me.
‘You know, in the longer term it would be a good idea to renovate the château too, and to open it up to visitors along with the winery and vineyard. I bet this old building has a tale or two to tell! How many bedrooms does it have?’ I turned to look at Didier to find him smiling broadly at me. ‘What is it?’ I asked.
‘It is you. Your enthusiasm - it is so infectious, and I was hoping you would have some good ideas about how I can manage the estate better in the future. To answer your question, there are six bedrooms. Why do you ask?’
‘Well, if you could renovate the château, you could invite paying guests to stay here. How would you feel about that?’
‘It sounds interesting but like a lot more hard work. Still, it’s something we could keep in mind, especially if we have a good harvest this year. That’s going to be the deciding factor, as always.’
We descended the once grand staircase side by side, and as I surveyed the dusty, unloved hallway below, I knew that if it was up to me, I would want to restore the château to its former glory so that it never looked like this again. We wandered back through the downstairs rooms, taking in the massive farmhouse kitchen, then passed through the old conservatory and found ourselves back outside. Glancing at my watch, I could see it was definitely lunch time.
‘Are you hungry?’ I asked on an impulse.
His eyebrows shot up at my question and I felt myself blush. ‘Er, yes I am, but I wasn’t planning to stop for long.’ He ran his tanned fingers through his unruly mop of hair.
‘You left me such a delicious selection of foods in the fridge in the cottage. It would be lovely to share it with someone. Well, with you, I mean.’
‘That would be wonderful, thank you.’
I stared at him for a moment to make sure I’d heard him right. When I didn’t move, he laughed. ‘Shall we go then?’
By the end of the first week, I had managed to establish a good work schedule. Princesse woke me every morning and accompanied me to the office where I would be thrown into the next phase of my learning curve until lunch time, when Didier and I would usually stop for something to eat at the cottage. We talked a lot about the estate and my projects, but we hadn’t discussed anything very personal since returning from the wedding.
On Friday, we sat outside the cottage once again, enjoying the last of the August sunshine. Princesse was sat at my feet, as always.
‘You know, I had been thinking about getting myself a dog once I’d got myself settled here, but now Princesse and I have become friends, and she’s spending so much time with me…’ I paused, not wanting to upset him with what I was going to say next.
He looked up from his plate of charcuterie and gave me a cheeky smile.
‘So, you want to adopt my dog now, is that it?’
‘Well, I would love to have her with me all the time but I wouldn’t want to deprive you of her.’ I tried to look sheepish but didn’t quite manage it.
‘I bought her to keep me company when Isabelle and Chlöe left. I named her for my daughter but I haven’t spent as much time with her as I would have liked. I think she really likes you and it helps that you’re here at the cottage, which she still sees as her home. So no, I don’t mind if you want to share her with me.’
‘Oh, that sounds like a good idea. One thing though…’ I hesitated again.
He rolled his eyes affectionately at me.
‘Does she have to be called Princesse?’
He burst out laughing. ‘You are very persistent. Did anyone ever tell you that?’
‘Not for a long time, no. I think you’re bringing that out in me.’ We both fell silent then as we considered my words. I knew I felt stronger after only a week in Didier’s presence. He asked for my opinion and deferred to me when I made good suggestions. My confidence was already boosted and I felt full of hope for my future.
‘Do you have another name in mind?’ he asked after a few minutes.
‘Ruby,’ I said, looking at her sleek, golden red coat. She looked up at me and whined and I reached out to pat her.
‘Now that is an excellent choice. Henri will be very pleased with that. Okay, agreed.’ He coughed slightly before continuing. ‘There’s something I wanted to ask you, actually.’ My eyes widened. ‘I wondered if you would like to spend the day with me tomorrow, visiting some other wineries nearby so I could show you what they have done with their set-ups. We could go for a nice lunch somewhere too.’
‘I’d like that very much.’
Didier
We set off early the next day to visit some of the local wineries. There were lots of people milling around as we arrived at the first vineyard, which surprised me for a Saturday morning in late August. We were never that busy by this time in the month. We joined the tour and Fran made a few notes as we went round. The first winery wasn’t as big as ours but it was just as modern. Once again, I could see that caring for visitors was big business. This tour included a visit through the bottling area, which wasn’t something we offered our visitors.
After the tour was over, we emerged into a wine tasting room, where we sampled some of the wines before going through to the shop. I was drawn immediately to the wines for sale. I left Fran to wander round the shop in her own time while I went to study the display of vendanges tardives. I loved these sweeter, late-harvest wines and it had been a long time since I’d indulged myself by buying one.
‘Have you found something you like?’ Fran asked as she came up alongside me.
I laughed. ‘Of course, I would like to buy them all but I might just have to buy only the one bottle today. There is a lovely half-bottle of Gewurztraminer in this display that I would love to try. How about you? Have you finished taking notes for now?’
‘I’ve taken so many notes, it will take me ages to tell you everything I’ve had in my mind.’ She pulled a face.
‘Well, we’re not going to go through your notes today. We’ll do that next week when we’re properly at work. For now, I want to buy this wine, and then go and find somewhere nice for lunch.’
We left a few minutes later, driving away from the little village and deeper into the Alsatian countryside. Everywhere we looked there were idyllic villages, with churches and castles all set among the vines, rivers and forests for which the region is famous. I heard Fran sigh.
‘You sound like you’re deep in thought. Are you okay?’ I asked.
‘Yes, it was a good sigh. I just feel happy to be back home after so long away. I didn’t know if it was the right decision to come back at first, you know. I used to find life in the countryside so dull but now that I’m here, I’m beginning to enjoy it.’
I glanced at her to find her blushing slightly at her own admission but I didn’t question her. I remembered only too well how keen she had been to escape to London.
I turned into the entrance of a small est
ate shortly afterwards and drove slowly along the gravel driveway. I pulled up in front of a beautiful country house, which was on two floors and covered with window boxes full of flowers. It was enchanting as always, and I couldn’t wait to take Fran inside. I got out of the car and went round to her door to hold it open for her. Then I extended my hand towards her to help her out. As she stood up, I felt the warmth of her body next to mine and her intoxicating perfume filled the air. Her eyes explored mine and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. I let go of her hand and turned away from her, afraid to let things go any further. As I approached the restaurant, I was overwhelmed by the strength of my feelings towards her.
CHAPTER NINE
Fran
The restaurant was located at the back of the house, overlooking an isolated piece of land that faced out onto lush green vineyards, stretching as far as the eye could see. We sat at a table on the wide terrace and Didier ordered two glasses of Crémant d’Alsace. While we waited for the drinks, I struggled to think of what to say to break the ice a little after our close encounter outside. Didier beat me to it though.
‘As I said, I don’t want us to talk about work while we eat lunch, if that’s okay with you?’ I nodded gently. ‘I think it’s time we talked to each other properly, like we did last weekend.’
The drinks arrived giving me a breathing space, and Didier raised his glass to mine.
‘Santé!’ he said, giving me a broad, confident smile.
‘What do you want to talk about?’ I asked, trying my best to look calm while my insides were churning.
‘I want to know more about what happened to you in London. You’re not the same person you were before you left. Some of your spirit has gone and I wondered why.’
‘I told you, I split up with Paul and your job seemed perfect for me. There was nothing left for me there, except my friend Ellie.’ I dropped my gaze and began fiddling with my wine glass.
He shook his head. ‘Come on. You’ve been working with me a week now. I think we’ve rebuilt our friendship enough for you to trust me.’
I sighed and turned to study the view of the vineyards, biting my lip as I did so. When I turned back to Didier, the understanding look in his eyes was enough to reassure me I could confide in him.
‘Paul was…very controlling and you’re right, I changed a lot during my time with him. I stopped doing the things I wanted to do, and did what he wanted instead. He could get very jealous if I spent time away from him. So my visits home became less and less frequent after I met him. My parents have no idea really what he was like.’ I paused and took a deep breath. Didier’s kind face encouraged me to go on, helping me overcome my embarrassment. ‘I felt humiliated when I discovered him cheating on me but it opened my eyes so I could see him for who he really was and break away.’
‘I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say.’ Didier’s answer was restrained but when I looked into his eyes, I could see he was angry. ‘You already seem different after just a week here, if you don’t mind me saying,’ he continued. ‘You seemed quite fragile when I first saw you again but now you are regaining your confidence, I think.’
‘I am, yes. That’s partly thanks to you.’ I smiled at him and he gave me a heart-stopping smile back. ‘I feel free for the first time in years to do what I want to do and not what someone else wants me to do. I gave in to Paul, rather than standing up for myself. I know now that I need to find my own identity again. Do you understand what I mean?’
‘I do understand and I think you are already well on the way to finding yourself.’
‘Yes, in the short term, I think I’ve taken the first step towards a new life by coming home. I don’t know if this is what will be best for me in the longer term though. It’s still early days.’
His smile faltered. I wanted to reassure him but I had no idea whether I could settle back into rural French life again after living in the city for so long.
‘I’m so pleased we can be friends again,’ I continued. ‘And what about you? What happened between you and your wife that led you to decide to separate?’
Didier leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his wine. I kept my eyes on his as I waited for him to speak.
Didier
‘Not long after you left for London, I met Isabelle at a wine tasting in Strasbourg, where she lived. She was trying to break into modelling and her assignment that evening was at the vineyard where the tasting was being held. Things became serious quite quickly between us and it wasn’t long before I was spending a lot of time at her apartment. She was very much a party animal and wanted to be out every night, having a good time. In the beginning, that was fine.’ I paused, remembering those happier times when I’d first met her. ‘Then she fell pregnant and it seemed like the natural next step for us to get married. We were really happy for the first few months after Chlöe was born but then Isabelle started to get bored with being at home on the estate all day with no-one but a baby to talk to. She became angry that she was so far away from the city and couldn’t maintain the social life she’d had before Chlöe was born. She’d kept her apartment but we hardly ever had time to get back there once I had to take full charge of the vineyard, and so resentment began to set in.’
I stopped and took in a deep breath. I found myself thinking about the way both Isabelle and Fran had found country life stifling, and how they couldn’t wait to get away from it. ‘We worked things out between us so Isabelle could get back to work. Then her career started to take off. Once she got herself an agent, she was getting jobs that involved travel across Europe and, later, across the world. I understood she wanted to further her career but soon she was hardly ever at home, and both Chlöe and I were missing her. We argued a lot in those days. Isabelle just responded by spending more and more time away from home. I didn’t know what to do to bring her back, to restore the balance.’
I took a sip of my wine, finding it hard to talk about such difficult times. ‘Then, after one particular trip away, she told me she’d had enough of the boring life we were leading out in the country and, just like that, it was all over. She moved out, taking Chlöe with her back to the apartment in Strasbourg. I was devastated. That was the last thing I wanted them to do. A few days later, she asked me to take Chlöe so she could go to an assignment, which I did without hesitation. And that’s been the situation ever since. I never know when I’m going to see Chlöe because Isabelle won’t agree to a regular arrangement. What I’d really like is for Chlöe to be with me all the time.’
‘I’m so sorry. You’ve had a terrible time of it. Is there nothing you can do to gain custody of Chlöe?’
‘Well, we’re not even divorced yet, although it’s been on my mind more and more to ask her about it. It’s just that divorce is so final and I’m worried about doing what’s best for Chlöe.’
She lay her hand on top of mine on the table, trying to give me some comfort.
‘Love always seems to be complicated,’ she said with a weak smile. ‘When are you next seeing Chlöe?’
‘Technically next weekend, but who knows?’
Shortly after this conversation, we made our way back to the car and drove to the next vineyard on our itinerary. We didn’t get another chance to talk during the afternoon. The journey home seemed much shorter. I’d really enjoyed being in Fran’s company and I knew that would end as soon as we arrived back at the vineyard. I pulled into the courtyard and we walked together towards the arch.
‘Thank you for a lovely lunch. I’ll write up my notes from the visits and we can talk about things again on Monday, perhaps?’ Fran seemed awkward now it was time to say goodbye and I felt the same.
‘Thanks, Fran. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and I’ll see you on Monday.’ I kissed her softly on the cheek and walked away.
Fran
I spent a bit of time on Sunday making the cottage feel more like home. I rearranged the furniture a little so it suited me more. Downstairs, I moved the two armchairs so that they faced th
e window, which allowed me to move the sofa next to the fireplace. I filled up some of the bookshelves with the few books I’d been able to bring with me and I moved the small breakfast table from the kitchen to the back of the living room, freeing up a lot more space in the kitchen. I didn’t have time to start on the upstairs, but I would have to get round to it during the coming week because Ellie was coming at the weekend. We had enjoyed a long catch-up call together the previous evening and I was so excited about her visit.
‘At long last!’ she’d cried, when she answered the phone. ‘I thought I was never going to hear from you again.’
‘Oh, don’t be mad at me please,’ I replied, smiling at her high drama, ‘I’ve had a lot going on and I have so much to tell you.’
‘Well, come on then, don’t keep me waiting!’ And so I filled her in on everything that had happened since the last time we’d spoken. I confirmed that I had accepted the job as soon as I’d seen the cottage and then I moved on to the wedding, telling her what I’d learned about Didier’s life during my absence. ‘I can’t believe he married someone else, Fran. I thought he was madly in love with you!’
‘If he was, he didn’t ever say so,’ I said with sadness. ‘I knew I was in love with him, though. Perhaps if we’d told each other how we really felt, it would have made all the difference to our decision to part. But it’s too late for regrets, now. It’s all over and done with.’
‘It sounds like things are going quite well between you now.’
‘Well, we’re friends again, at least. Anyway, after all we’ve both been through, love should be the last thing on our minds.’ I sighed, thinking about the gentle kiss Didier had given me yesterday.