A French Affair by Katie Fforde Read Free Book Online Page B

and they are gorgeous, but I don’t think Matthew will let you put things that aren’t antiques in the French House. I think you need a specialist shop.’
    Sally overlooked the compliments and cut to the chase. ‘You mean everything there is over a hundred years old?’ She sounded sceptical.
    ‘That is the definition of an antique,’ said Gina. ‘Look, I don’t know if Matthew stocks newer stuff, Sal, but I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t allow cushions and lampshades.’ She was annoyed to hear herself sound apologetic.
    ‘He certainly seems very set in his ways,’ Sally observed.
    Gina wasn’t as certain about this as Sally was but she kept her thoughts to herself. ‘When do you think we could go over and see what’s there?’ she said after a tiny pause.
    ‘When my darling husband can look after his beautiful girls,’ said Sally, rubbing her husband’s arm affectionately. ‘When can you make it?’
    ‘Almost any time. I haven’t got a lot of work on at the moment.’ Gina sighed.
    ‘You sound worried, hon,’ said Sally.
    ‘I am a bit. We need to make this antiques thing happen. People are just not spending money on PR at the moment.’
    ‘You can always move in with us. The girls would love it.’
    ‘That’s very sweet of you but it would drive you mad after a couple of days.’ Gina didn’t add that it would drive her mad far quicker. But she was very touched by the offer.
    ‘Well, you need never be homeless.’
    Just for a second Gina remembered her life a couple of years ago. Business was booming, she had a boyfriend, she went on mini-breaks and stayed in lovely hotels. Then the boyfriend had decided that one girlfriend wasn’t enough and somehow she had missed the signs. Apart from everything else, it made her feel so desperately stupid. And he still owed her money – quite a considerable sum actually.
    ‘I could do tomorrow, couldn’t I, my darling?’ Sally held her husband’s hand and toyed with his fingers. She liked to wrap her entreaties in little gestures of affection. ‘The girls will be at nursery in the morning, so you could get some work done?’
    Alaric raised an eyebrow. ‘So I have to pick them up?’
    Sally nodded. ‘We can’t leave them there all day, we can’t afford it. But if Gina and I could have a day to sort out this business, it would be just fabby.’
    Alaric agreed and Gina called Matthew. Tomorrow would be fine, he said with a lack of enthusiasm Gina felt was characteristic.
    She went back to the table to find Alaric had cleared it of supper and retreated to his studio and Sally was making tea.
    They sipped in silence for a few moments before Sally said, ‘You know, I find it quite hard to see Matthew and Aunt Rainey working together. She was so eccentric and off the wall and he’s so – stuffy!’
    Gina thought for a few seconds, trying to work out how Matthew and Rainey did get along so well. ‘I don’t think he’s stuffy exactly. Just a bit of a young fogey.’
    ‘Not that young. Forty if he’s a day!’
    Gina chuckled. ‘Forty is still too young to be a fogey.’
    ‘Whatever. What did our batty and unstuffy aunt see in him?’
    Gina shook her head. ‘We may never know. But she must have found something in him that was loveable. Maybe she needed someone to mother and he needed some mothering.’
    Later, as Gina settled her hip bone so it missed the hard bit of the sofabed that night, she thought about how much she valued her sister. She was fun and positive and didn’t see problems everywhere like she did. Tomorrow Sally and she would discover their Aunt Rainey had left them treasure and they would make their fortunes. Perhaps things would work out for them after all? It might even be fun!

Chapter Five
     
    ‘ I’D FORGOTTEN HOW full of old things these places are,’ said Sally as Gina led the way up the stairs of the French House the following morning. ‘When we came before I was too taken up with the girls to look around