Sky's the Limit

by Janie Millman

  ‘No, it can’t be true!’ Claude leapt up. ‘I suspected something but never believed it.’

  ‘Ah, so you do know.’ Philippe was surprised.

  ‘How could she do this?’

  ‘Well, I was asking myself the same question.’ Philippe paused. ‘What first alerted you?’

  ‘The matches,’ Claude replied.

  ‘The matches?’ Philippe was bewildered.

  ‘But he’s young, he’s Luc’s age, he’s far too young for her, it’s obscene.’

  Philippe stared at him. ‘Claude, what the hell are you talking about?’

  ‘Celine and Michel.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I saw the Hotel de Paris matches in her car, Michel had an identical box, I saw him light a cigarette with them and then…’ He got no further.

  ‘Claude, don’t be so damn ridiculous.’ Philippe was astonished. ‘Michel and Celine aren’t having an affair. You honestly cannot have believed that?’

  Claude sat back down. ‘She’s having an affair with someone.’

  ‘Not with Michel, you idiot, he’s pursuing the young receptionist.’

  ‘Then who?’

  ‘I suspect it’s the owner,’ Philippe said quietly. ‘He has also been selling our wine.’

  In a few succinct sentences Philippe explained what had happened. Claude sat clutching the crystal glass, drawing comfort from its familiar solidity whilst his world disintegrated.

  ‘I had no idea, Philippe,’ he said at the end. ‘No idea at all.’ He looked up at his cousin, his childhood friend and close companion. ‘You believe me, don’t you?’

  ‘Of course I believe you.’

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  Celine was not having a great evening. She was desperately worried about the sudden coldness from Arnaud. She had rung him and put forward her suggestion, but instead of leaping at the chance to spend more time together he had hesitated and made some excuse about wanting to be around for a possible business meeting with this Parisian lady. It could be very useful for him, it was very important he told her, it could be the chance he had been looking for to put his hotel on the map.

  She hadn’t really listened, she’d been too angry. She wasn’t used to being rejected. It had happened only once before and the memory of that was still excruciatingly painful. She had sworn never to put herself in that humiliating position again.

  She was angry and frustrated, there was no reason for her to be here. Her father was not in any danger and was coming home tomorrow. She was now trapped here without transport, with no means of escape and an evening alone with her mother. It was not a pleasant prospect.

  Her mother had never forgiven her for marrying Claude when she knew Celine could have had the choice of anyone. She had been led to believe that Philippe Fontaine was the man who would be waltzing down the aisle with her daughter, indeed had hinted to more than one acquaintance that an alliance with the Fontaine family would soon be formed. When Celine had announced her engagement to Claude, the poor relation, the younger cousin, Nadine had been incandescent with rage.

  In public she’d put on a brave face but deep down she burned with humiliation. She had never understood the reason Claude had been chosen over Philippe, Celine had never explained and the relationship between mother and daughter had never recovered.

  Celine resisted the temptation to ring Arnaud again. She didn’t want him to think she was chasing him. He had made it quite clear that tomorrow was out of the question. She tried to remember exactly what he had said. Something was nagging at her, something was making her feel uneasy but she couldn’t figure out what.

  ‘So your friend is unable to collect you tomorrow?’ Nadine and Celine were picking at some bread and cheese, neither of them were very hungry. Nadine stressed the word ‘friend’ and looked at her daughter knowingly.

  ‘He’s a business partner,’ Celine was quick to correct. Her mother was sharp and she didn’t want to give her any reason to suspect anything. Not that her mother would care, in fact she would probably encourage it, but Celine needed to be careful.

  ‘What line of business is your business partner in?’ Again the same slightly sarcastic stress on the word ‘partner’.

  ‘The hotel business,’ Celine said briefly, unwilling to say too much. Why was her mother suddenly so bloody interested?

  Nadine was enjoying watching Celine squirm a little. Her daughter was normally so controlled and composed, never giving anything away. Clearly this business partner, whoever he was, had got under her skin. She would probe a little further.

  ‘A shame I won’t meet him tomorrow. What is preventing him from coming?’

  Celine was taken aback. ‘A meeting, he has a meeting with a hotelier from Paris, apparently she is in the area with her chef and they…’ She stopped mid-sentence. The colour drained from her face.

  Christ, how could she have been so blind? How many Parisian hoteliers were in the area? She desperately tried to remember exactly what Arnaud had said? She should have paid more attention. She was sure he had mentioned a chef, yes, he had definitely mentioned a chef. Mon Dieu, it had to be Beatrice and Nick, it was too much of a coincidence otherwise.

  What the hell was Beatrice doing sniffing around the Hotel de Paris? Surely she couldn’t suspect anything? What the hell did she want with Arnaud? What was all this about a business meeting? Unconsciously her grip tightened on the wine glass.

  That woman had ruined her life once, she wasn’t going to let her do it again. Celine felt the familiar tightening in her chest as the rage coursed through her. How she hated her. The hatred had grown over the years until at times she felt it would stifle her. She forced herself to breathe. Her heart was pounding. She had to warn Arnaud. Beatrice was dangerous, very dangerous, and she could spell trouble.

  ‘Maman, excuse me, I need to make a phone call.’ She walked out of the room quickly, leaving Nadine more intrigued than ever.

  She had never seen Celine so emotional. Her daughter was verging on hysteria. She had observed her white knuckles clutching the wine glass, indeed had worried that it might shatter. She’d heard her quickening breath and watched the blood flush her normally pale face. Whatever it was, it was something very important. It certainly wasn’t concern for her father, Nadine knew that neither parent would cause this reaction in their daughter.

  Arnaud was not answering his phone. Celine left a message but she knew that it was garbled and confused. She really needed to speak to him.

  She had to get home, she had to get to the bottom of exactly what was happening. She would ring Claude, make up some forgotten meeting and demand he come and pick her up. But there was no answer at home. Where the hell was he? No doubt he was staying at the damned chateau. She tried his mobile but got no joy from that either.

  Thrusting her phone back into her bag she stormed into the kitchen. Her mother was busy putting the food away.

  ‘Maman, I need your car tonight, it’s urgent.’

  Nadine slowly turned to face her daughter. There was a look of contempt in her eyes that Celine had never seen before. ‘Out of the question, Celine,’ she said quietly. ‘In case you had forgotten we are collecting your father from the hospital tomorrow.’ She paused for a moment to study her daughter. ‘May I remind you, Celine, that your father has been very generous to you over the years, very generous indeed, and I think you would be wise to remember that.’ She poured herself a glass of water. ‘I’m going to bed now, Celine, it has been a long day and I’m rather tired.’ Without even stopping to kiss her daughter goodnight she left the room.

  Celine poured herself a large glass of wine. She sat down at the table. Things were really not going her way, her plans had been thwarted. She felt powerless and for the very first time in her life rather scared.

  Arnaud listened to Celine’s message with growing annoyance. What the hell was she talking about? It made no sense to him at all. What was all this nonsense about people not seeming to be who they were? She sounded
faintly hysterical, maybe this business with her father had upset her more than he realised. He glanced at his watch. It was getting late, he would ring in the morning. He certainly didn’t feel like talking to her right now.

  Arnaud was buzzing with various plans for Beatrice. He had laid out a business plan, he’d done a lot of research and outlined various proposals. Everything was sitting in a smart folder ready for her perusal. He was an ambitious man and he felt excited at the prospect of furthering his career. He was good, he knew he was, he had a quick mind, he was sharp and he was business-savvy. He was very much looking forward to seeing her again and he didn’t want anything or anyone to get in the way.

  Claude had no intention of speaking to Celine either. He was, as she had rightly surmised, staying at the chateau in their old comfortable room. The room to where he had first brought his young bride, he remembered, thinking he was the luckiest man in the world. He was now thinking the exact opposite.

  His mind was in turmoil. He hadn’t mentioned the bank statement to Philippe. He needed to confront her with it, he needed to hear her explanation. It was clear that that she had been deceiving him for quite some time, had been deceiving them all, and he felt a sudden surge of anger.

  She could make a fool out of him but how dare she make fools out of his family. The family who had brought him up, who had given him everything, who had been so generous to them both. How could she have cheated them? What was she planning to do with all the money?

  He wondered how long the affair had been going on. How many affairs there had been before that? How long after their marriage had they started? How could he have been so blind? How could he have been so naïve as to think that she could be content with him?

  The anger suddenly left him and he felt numb, devoid of all emotion. His wife didn’t love him and his daughter was almost a stranger. He felt a total failure.

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  I was having trouble sleeping. I’d come to bed early after dinner but my mind refused to shut down. My thoughts were skidding all over the place. I was re-running the conversation I’d had with Nick and speculating about his opinion that Miles was not for me. I was confused as to my sudden acceptance of them as a couple even though I still felt hurt and betrayed. Added to which was the unfolding wine scam, and last but not least I was thinking about my next lot of paintings.

  I was chuffed with my work so far. I’d enjoyed the challenge of designing the wine labels and it had been fun working with Emmie, she had great imagination and, as I’d said to Philippe, an outstanding knowledge of wine for one so young. I needed to perfect the rough ideas but there was a lot of potential there. I was absurdly pleased at Philippe’s reaction to my paintings so far. I wasn’t sure why I craved his approbation so much, but then again he was paying for me to be here so maybe it was only natural.

  I glanced at my watch and wondered if it was too late to ring Gail. I suddenly felt in need of a friendly voice. I wondered if Tariq had mentioned the idea of coming here, it would be so lovely to see them again. Beatrice had said he was planning it as a surprise.

  Deciding to risk it I dialled her number.

  ‘Gail, it’s Sky, have I woken you?’

  ‘Oh, God, Sky you’re telepathic, I was just debating whether to ring you.’

  ‘How is everything? How are the injuries? Are you still on the subs’ bench?’

  ‘Sadly very much so,’ Gail replied. ‘I ache everywhere, I’m miserable and irritable. I’ve made Sonny cry and I’ve upset Tariq. I need someone to lift my spirits.’

  ‘What happened with Sonny?’

  ‘He was misbehaving, I shouted at him, I lost my temper. Poor Sonny, he’s had so much thrown at him, he’s every right to be confused and frightened. I should have reassured, instead I just yelled, I feel like the worst mother ever.’

  ‘Gail, you are a wonderful mother.’ She sounded so upset, I was desperate to calm her down. ‘You can’t be perfect all the time, there are bound to be tricky moments, a lot has happened.’ I paused. ‘When is Tariq coming over?’ I was longing to know if he’d said anything about France.

  ‘Tomorrow.’ Gail paused. ‘He said he had a surprise for us. He was so happy and I completely ruined it by being so foul.’ I could tell that she was close to tears. ‘Poor Tariq, he sounded so hurt, I just don’t know what’s the matter with me.’

  ‘Gail, you’ve been through quite an emotional time.’ I leant back on my pillows. ‘Your whole life is about to change, you’ve got a thousand and one decisions to make, of course you’re feeling anxious and worried.’

  ‘I just seem to be getting everything wrong.’ She was sobbing now. ‘I feel out of control, everything is happening so fast, I feel so afraid, I know it’s pathetic but I can’t seem to help it.’

  ‘Hush now, Gail, deep breaths, calm down.’ I hated hearing her like this. ‘You’re tired and you are in pain. You can’t think straight, you need some sleep.’

  ‘I’m so sorry, Sky, this is probably the last thing you wanted to hear.’

  ‘Oh, Gail, don’t be daft, you don’t have to apologise,’ I laughed. ‘Now go and ring Tariq back and tell him you can’t wait to see him and that you are in suspense about the surprise. Then take Sonny into your bed and fall asleep with your arms around him. That’s my order.’

  ‘Sky, thank you.’ She managed a shaky laugh. ‘I’m so glad we met.’

  ‘So am I, Gail.’

  I really meant it. I felt remarkably close to Gail, we’d shared so much together in such a short time that it felt like I’d known her for years. I did have plenty of female friends but not one particular best friend. I’d always had my sister and Nick. But right now Iona was on the other side of the world and Nick and I still had some way to go.

  I hoped Tariq would persuade Gail to come over here, if only for a couple of nights before we all went our separate ways once again. I was absolutely dreading the thought of returning to London. In fact I couldn’t bear to think about it, so I clambered out of bed. I’d concentrate on my work for a few more hours. It was clear that sleep was not going to be an early visitor tonight. My folder was in the kitchen so I threw on my kimono and headed downstairs.

  Claude was boiling some milk for a hot chocolate when I walked in.

  ‘A guilty pleasure of mine.’ He smiled at me slightly sheepishly. ‘It was a toss-up between this or another armagnac, the hot chocolate won.’

  ‘When we were kids my father used to put brandy in our hot milk. Brandy and cinnamon, we never knew about the brandy of course and I remember thinking in later life that it was a shame hot milk never seemed to taste the same as when we were children.’ I smiled. ‘He’d be hauled into the police station these days for such irresponsible behaviour.’

  ‘Sounds very responsible to me.’ Claude indicated the armagnac bottle. ‘Want to try some?’

  ‘Hot chocolate and armagnac, how very decadent, yes please.’ I nodded. ‘So can’t you sleep either?’

  ‘I’m usually out like a light but sadly not tonight.’ He sounded very weary.

  ‘A lot on your mind?’ I sympathised.

  ‘You could say that.’ He handed me a mug. ‘Amongst many other things I think my wife is having an affair,’ he said bluntly.

  ‘Oh, Claude, I’m so sorry.’ I was surprised he was being so open.

  ‘I feel rather stupid,’ he said. ‘Stupid and sad.’

  ‘I know exactly what you mean,’ I replied with feeling. ‘You wonder if you were the last to know. You wonder why you didn’t see the signs. You wonder what the hell you did wrong.’

  Claude looked at me, astonished. ‘Sky, I cannot believe anyone cheated on you?’

  ‘Believe it,’ I said drily.

  ‘But look at you, you’re beautiful, young and extremely talented.’ He was shaking his head in disbelief. ‘Your husband must be blind.’

  ‘No, just gay.’

  Claude’s jaw dropped to the floor and I actually giggled at the sight of his face. ‘Did
Philippe not tell you?’ He shook his head. ‘My husband is having an affair with my best friend. My best friend is Nick.’

  ‘Mon Dieu.’ Claude was astounded. ‘No, Philippe never breathed a word, well not to me anyway.’

  ‘Well that was kind of him, or maybe it would have been kinder to warn you?’

  ‘Maybe. Sky, I have to admit I like Nick, I wish I didn’t now, but I do.’

  ‘Everyone loves Nick,’ I said. ‘Including me, and that is what makes it so damned hard.’

  ‘And do you still love your husband?’

  ‘Claude, I’ve no idea what I feel towards him.’ I shook my head. ‘Some people think that I never really loved Miles.’ I paused. ‘I was furious at first but I’m starting to think that maybe they were right.’ I looked at him. ‘Does Celine know you know?’

  ‘Not yet,’ Claude said. ‘It’s not a conversation I’m looking forward to.’ There was a short silence as we both concentrated on our chocolate.

  ‘You have a wonderful daughter,’ I said after a few minutes. ‘She’s just gorgeous, you must be so proud.’

  ‘Probably not as proud as I should be, Sky,’ he said slowly.

  ‘She showed me around, she loves it here, she knows every inch, every nook and cranny.’ I smiled.

  ‘Yes she does love it here, loves it far more than her home.’

  ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…’ I was confused, had I been tactless?