A Winter Affair

by Minna Howard

  Lawrence fought to curb his temper. ‘I understand you told Gaby to return home at once, perhaps they wanted to be together.’ Lawrence braced himself for further onslaught.

  ‘She’s after his money. We all work very hard and deserve what we earn and why should we hand it out to people who are too lazy to get a job?’ Debra blazed at him as if he were accusing them of some crime.

  ‘Gaby is studying law, she can’t earn much just now, but she will, she’s determined to fend for herself and have a good career,’ Eloise said, breaking the eggs into the hot butter with a vengeance, leaning back to escape the fat as it spat at her.

  Debra opened her mouth to speak but Lawrence got in first, ‘Do you know where they are staying, Eloise?’

  ‘No, they were in Nendaz but they didn’t say where. They could have moved on. I haven’t asked them, they just wanted to meet up with us.’ She turned to Debra. ‘I’m sure if Jerry wants you to know where he is, he’ll tell you.’

  ‘Well, you have Gaby’s mobile number,’ Debra retorted. ‘So please give it to me, maybe she’ll answer me as Jerry won’t.’

  Ken hovered about like a frightened rabbit, throwing out the occasional plea to his wife to stay calm, which she ignored.

  Eloise splashed boiling butter on to the yolks of the eggs to cook them through, then she deftly tipped them into a serving dish. ‘I’ll have to ask Gaby,’ she said, intent on her task, ‘but she’ll probably still be in bed, so I better wait awhile.’

  She bustled round the kitchen, loading up the breakfast, and Vera, who looked as if she would burst with keeping her thoughts to herself, took the laden tray along to the living room, Eloise following with the coffee. Travis appeared, offering to help, and Lawrence was left alone with a fuming Debra and a silent Ken in the kitchen.

  ‘I think your cook is extremely rude trying to keep me away from my nephew,’ she snapped at him. ‘I have every right to protect him from scheming young women.’

  As she paused to take a breath, Lawrence said. ‘That’s up to you, but I’m sure Jerry, who is quite a bit older than Gaby, can look after himself. Now, breakfast is ready, why don’t you have some before it gets cold?’ He tried to steer her towards the door as if she were some mouth-foaming monster. To his relief, Ken finally asserted himself, and taking her arm and telling her he’d send a message to Jerry after breakfast and insist they meet him for lunch, he got her away from the kitchen.

  When she got back to the kitchen, Eloise asked Lawrence if he wanted breakfast in here or would he brave the living room with the others.

  ‘This has surely been one of the most traumatic chalet parties we’ve had and perhaps only your cooking has kept everyone from leaving.’ He smiled at her, feeling as if they were two of a kind, but in the cold light of day he reasoned that was only because they both were fighting for the same thing – the future of Jacaranda.

  Thirty-Two

  It was a relief to be out on the mountains and to escape from Debra. Lawrence – bless him – suggested that she go out for the much of the day to avoid her.

  Eloise met up with Saskia and the two of them went up Savoleyres, skied down the other side among the trees and took the lift up again, deciding to stop at La Marmotte for a drink before their descent to Verbier. Saskia, bursting for the loo, threw off her skis and ran inside, her hastily stacked skis clattering down in the snow, taking another pair with them.

  Eloise picked them all up and put both their own pairs together a little further away so they could find them easily when they came out again. Turning, she almost bumped into Harvey. For a second, both froze – if she hadn’t taken her skis off she’d have pointed them downhill and raced away from him, but there was nowhere to run now.

  ‘Oh… Harvey, you’re still here.’ She stared at him in dismay.

  ‘Y… yes, I leave tomorrow.’ He glanced away and she wondered if he’d just arrived here or was leaving.

  She moved away from him, ‘Bon voyage, then.’

  He put his hand on her arm to detain her, ‘Eloise, wait a second. I didn’t know you were out here. Why are you cooking at Jacaranda? I mean, I know you can cook but…’

  ‘But I’m not good enough to cook for these super rich clients,’ she finished for him. The pain at being so close to him bit deep, but anger too, anger at his leaving them and anger at him suggesting she wasn’t good enough for this place.

  ‘I would have thought you are. If they want designer food they can go to a restaurant. No, I mean why are you here at all?’ He let go of her arm. She moved further away from him, desperate to get away.

  ‘Desmond rang me to say Lawrence needed a chef. He didn’t understand that the Cordon Bleu course I did hardly qualified me. But I’m glad to be here, where I was once happy.’ She looked him in the eye.

  He flinched, before smiling in that way she knew so well, the smile that covered deceit. She scrutinized him, taking in each part of him, the man she had so loved, the father of her beloved children, and now she saw the weakness in him. His feeble arrogance at feeling he could seduce whomever he liked, that the women in his life should be grateful for his attentions. Eloise had shut her eyes to his selfish behaviour, wanting a stable upbringing for their children. She felt sorrow at what had been lost but also a determination to not let him ruin her future.

  She looked around her, the vast mountain, the blue sky and the line of trees scattered below them. She felt as if she had thrown off a heavy garment, her body now light and free.

  ‘Keep away from Jacaranda and Aurelia,’ she said, adamant that Harvey would not spoil the place that meant so much to her, take that from her too. ‘She’ll ruin it if she gets her hands on it, cram more buildings into the garden, spoil the atmosphere of the whole place.’

  Her voice was sharp, he frowned, ‘I… I don’t know what you mean, Eloise?’

  ‘Just don’t get involved in any plans Aurelia has concerning the chalet. When she found out about your work I suppose she hoped you could persuade Lawrence to make changes to Jacaranda to incorporate her business.’

  ‘She did mention something about it. She said they were only at the planning stage,’ he added quickly, seeing the consternation in her expression, as he confirmed her fears.

  ‘What plans, what are you plotting Harvey?’ Eloise was surprised to hear a woman’s voice behind her.

  She turned round and was face to face with a woman dressed in shocking pink. She was young, her face troubled, she half smiled at Eloise as if wondering if she ought to know her, ought, perhaps, to be jealous of her.

  ‘Nothing, Petal,’ Harvey said in his warmest voice.

  Petal? Was that her real name or a nickname he called her?

  ‘I’m just going inside. I’m Eloise, Harvey’s ex-wife, mother of his children.’ She saw the shock in Petal’s eyes, the nervous way she glanced between them. ‘Goodbye, Harvey,’ Eloise said, ‘remember what I said, Jacaranda is nothing to do with you at all, leave it be.’ She turned away from him and Petal and headed towards the restaurant. Although Harvey had confirmed her fears about Aurelia trying to muscle in on Jacaranda, she felt lighter, happier than she had for years. Poor Harvey, she felt sorry for him now, caught up in his endless circle of seduction to prove whatever it was to himself, to the world.

  It was warm and cosy inside the old wooden hut, the open fire welcoming after the chill of the mountain. She saw Saskia by the window, who waved when she saw her.

  ‘Hurry up, what happened to you? I’ve had to guard your place like a bulldog. I’ve ordered mulled wine, hope that’s what you want.’

  ‘Yes, thanks.’ She sat down, taking off her hat and gloves, putting them on the table in front of her. ‘I… well, I bumped into Harvey,’ she said.

  ‘Harvey? I didn’t see him, but then there are lots of people here.’ Saskia paused to take their wine. ‘Did you talk to him?’

  ‘He’s gone with a girl called Petal.’

  ‘Petal? What sort of name is that?’ Saskia giggled.


  Eloise giggled too and told her what had happened. ‘And now I suddenly feel free of him. The poor girl doesn’t seem much older than Lizzie.’

  ‘I thought he was after Aurelia. You said you’d seen them together.’

  ‘Apparently, she told him of her plans to use Jacaranda for her Tempting Delights, no doubt hoping he could help turn Jacaranda into a hideous complex for her business,’ Eloise said, breathing in the spicy aroma of the mulled wine. ‘I told him to keep away, he goes home tomorrow anyway.’

  ‘That’s a relief for you.’ Saskia watched her carefully.

  ‘It is. I feel I’ve said my goodbyes to him and can turn the page and move on.’ She smiled.

  ‘I’m so glad.’ Saskia squeezed her hand. ‘And it’s good to see that the avalanche didn’t spook you, hasn’t put you off skiing,’ Saskia said. ‘I had a bad accident once and it took me a while to get back to the heavy skiing.’

  ‘I felt a bit scared at first, but Gaby and Jerry wanted to meet up and they didn’t want to ski anywhere near where Debra might see them so we had to ski up at the top, so I thought if they could put it behind them then so could I.’ Eloise remembered the shaft of fear as she got back on the snow that first time out after the avalanche, but they’d had to ski down straight after it and that had helped her nerves. It was like the proverbial horse, get straight back on after a fall before you lose your nerve, and how terrible it would have been to have spent her last days here cooped up inside.

  ‘You’re right, and we’ve had a great time today.’ Saskia grinned at her. ‘I do like having you here, can’t you stay longer, for the season even? Get a job cooking somewhere else if Lawrence has really got another chef coming out.’

  Saskia’s words twisted painfully through her. She knew the deal, cook at Jacaranda over Christmas and then go home. The next chef – a proper one – was already lined up and Eloise couldn’t afford to stay out here if she had to pay for herself and find somewhere else to stay. She stared out at the snow-filled scene. Verbier and the mountains had taken her back to a comfortable place in her life, it had given her the strength to move on from Harvey, get on with her new life with optimism.

  ‘I don’t think it would be possible to stay on here.’ Lawrence might let her stay at Jacaranda if there was a spare room but it wouldn’t be the same, and the last thing he or jacaranda needed was a lame duck hanging around.

  ‘Lawrence ought to keep you on as a chef, or do you have a job to go back to at home?’

  ‘I’m a picture restorer, but I took some time off. It’s quite relaxed and I’d finished the project I was working on. I could take more time off, stay here, but not if I can’t stay at Jacaranda, and I can’t do that because the new chef will need my room,’ Eloise explained.

  ‘You could stay with us, Quinn wouldn’t mind,’ Saskia said.

  ‘That’s kind, but you know what they say, guests and fish go off in three days,’ she laughed. ‘Anyway Jacaranda’s bound to change for the worst if Aurelia gets her way and I’d rather not be here for that.’

  ‘You could help fight for it,’ Saskia said. ‘Apparently Aurelia’s been going round saying Lawrence ought to build another chalet for him and Theo to live in, or more likely her and Lawrence with Theo dumped somewhere else, so they can let out Jacaranda.’

  There was a heavy feeling in Eloise’s stomach. ‘Where does Aurelia live now?’

  ‘In a miniscule apartment near Les Esserts, she spends her money on Tempting Delights, but now she wants a bigger place, a place where she can entertain, and Jacaranda would be perfect. Good for her business, I’d say,’ Saskia said. ‘And I suppose, whatever you think of it, it could help Lawrence financially too.’

  ‘I don’t think Lawrence wants to do that,’ Eloise said hopefully, though why wouldn’t he if it meant he could keep Jacaranda, especially if he needed money to pay for lawyers if Debra got difficult.

  ‘I don’t suppose he does, but nor does he want to lose the chalet, though I think he makes a reasonable living from it as it is. Aurelia wants to attract a completely different kind of client with oodles and oodles of money but who are only here because they think it’s the fashionable thing to do and often they have no love or understanding about the mountains and the resort. Aurelia also wants,’ Saskia paused regarding her intently, ‘to get her mitts on Lawrence.’

  Eloise had suspected this but it hit hard. She wanted Lawrence to be happy, to have a woman in his life who loved him, but Aurelia was not the right person – it was not Lawrence or Theo she cared about, Aurelia wanted Jacaranda. She may even get rid of Bert; Eloise had never seen her speak to him or pet him.

  Saskia was watching her carefully, an annoying smile on her lips. ‘Think about it, Eloise,’ she said. ‘Lawrence needs to work in a loving partnership for his own good as well as Jacaranda’s. Who do you think is best to do that?’

  ‘Certainly not Aurelia,’ Eloise burst out.

  ‘So stay here and fight,’ Saskia said, finishing her mulled wine and saying they better be off before it got dark.

  Following her to the door, Eloise thought over her words. She was about to question her further when Saskia was greeted by a couple of friends who were also leaving to ski down and they suggested they all go down together. Did Saskia mean that she must stay here and fight for Lawrence and Jacaranda? It was madness and impossible, and yet was she going to just go home and leave them both to be ruined?

  Thirty-Three

  When Eloise got back to the chalet after her day’s skiing with Saskia she was surprised to find Gaby racing round the garden with Bert, with the exuberance of youth. She seemed to have thrown off her feelings of despondency and was actually back here at the chalet.

  ‘There you are at last. I didn’t want to miss you,’ Gaby said as Eloise got out of the jeep. Gaby ran over to her with the eagerness of a child and hugged her. Her face was flushed and shining from her scrap with Bert and Bert barked encouragingly, his tail wagging, limbs alert, poised for her to continue with their game.

  ‘It’s good to see you but why are you here? I thought’ – Eloise threw a furtive glance towards the chalet, bracing herself for one of the party to appear to banish Gaby like in Victorian times, throwing fallen women to their fate – ‘you were lying low.’

  ‘We were but Debra insisted that Jerry come here and see her and he begged me to come with him, though I stayed out here with Bert in case she thrusts my return ticket at me and orders me home.’ She frowned. ‘It’s all getting a bit hairy.’

  ‘Does she know you’re here?’ Surely Bert’s excited barking would alert everyone to her presence. ‘What’s happening with you and Jerry?’

  ‘Debra hasn’t seen me yet, but I expect Jerry will tell her I’m here.’ She linked her arm through Eloise’s. ‘I tried to explain to Jerry that I don’t want to be tied down yet and it would be best to break up, but he won’t hear of it. I’m worried…’ she sighed, ‘that having already paid so much towards my tuition he thinks he owns me and I owe it to him to marry him and have his children.’

  She had a point, Eloise thought. Being used to buying what he wanted, there was a possibility – even if he didn’t realize it – that he was buying Gaby.

  ‘It’s usually kinder to leave a relationship that’s going nowhere sooner rather than later,’ Eloise said, knowing she had not obeyed this piece of advice herself, hanging on, turning a blind eye to Harvey’s cheating for so long – too long – though it was a bit different, as she had been fighting to keep the family together.

  ‘I know and I despise myself for staying on,’ Gaby said. ‘I should have gone straight home on Debra’s ticket and broken it off there and then.’

  ‘Maybe, but you can’t just disappear, I don’t know how Jerry would take it,’ Eloise said, fetching her skis from the jeep and lugging them over to put away in the ski shed. She was cold and she had to get back to her cooking. Perhaps Gaby could come inside, lurk in the kitchen, though it would be impossible to continue their conversat
ion in case they were overheard.

  ‘I’ve tried to talk to him but he won’t listen,’ Gaby went on. ‘I’ve thought of a way out that might work. One of my teachers at school told me I might get a scholarship to the US, but I didn’t want to leave Mum, be so far away, so I didn’t follow it up, but now she’s got Roger, perhaps I can. What do you think?’ She stood before her, her young face creased with anxiety, and yet there was a light in her eyes, a surge of excitement at taking on something new.

  Eloise hugged her. ‘You must do what you think is right, Gaby, but don’t be afraid to leave home and go and study somewhere else. It will look good on your CV.’ Eloise smiled at her. ‘I’ll get in touch with your mother. I’d love to catch up with her again, I’m sure she’ll understand. Now is probably the only time in your life you are free to travel wherever you want.’

  She thought of how much she missed Kit and Lizzie, the huge void in her life now they had gone. Hard though it was, she was glad they had not stayed behind to support her. She said this to Gaby, adding, ‘What I remember of your mother is she’d be the last person to stop you taking these chances. Don’t worry; we mothers can cope without you, though of course we miss you terribly. Do whatever you think is right,’ she repeated firmly.

  ‘Thanks Eloise, I will.’ Gaby shone with enthusiasm. ‘I did think of doing part of the course there but then I thought Mum… but no, you’re right she’ll be fine and perhaps she and the boys could visit, there are sometimes cheap deals around.’

  The door to the chalet opened and Jerry came out; he looked slightly awkward when he saw her. ‘Oh, hello, Eloise, all well with you?’ He held out his hand to Gaby who, bending over and patting Bert, didn’t seem to notice.