A Winter Affair (26 page)

‘Jerry told me,' Theo cut in, ‘and made me promise not to tell the others. Said it was none of their business… which it isn't.'

There was the sound of the outside door opening and the draught of cold air swooping in with it. Lawrence put his finger on his lips. ‘They went for a walk,' he said quietly before leaving the kitchen to join them.

Theo crept nearer the kitchen door to eavesdrop. Eloise, on the far side of the kitchen, got on with slicing the potatoes into matchstick chips, though she itched to know what was being said. She could hear the soft hum of voices; the clump of boots being dropped and, watching Theo's expression, guessed they were giving Lawrence a hard time.

Vera came into the room, her face creased with fury. ‘That woman,' she said, her eyes flashing, ‘no surprise she is rich, she tries to make money wherever she can. She wants lawyers, to ask their advice. I'll give her advice and I won't charge her either.'

Theo looked near tears. ‘If she brings in lawyers, Dad will have to talk to his and it will cost zillions, which we don't have, and Jacaranda needs so many repairs.'

Eloise put her arm round him in sympathy, though she couldn't think how to comfort him. Even if Debra and co didn't sue, just the mention of possible negligence could ruin Jacaranda's reputation and Theo's dream of being a ski guide.

It upset her watching Theo struggling to be brave while obviously terrified that Jacaranda would be lost, and she suspected he blamed himself in part for the avalanche. She thought of Kit and Lizzie being held responsible for something out of their control and how hard she would fight for justice for them. Even though she was leaving so soon and the outcome would not affect her, she could not let Debra ruin this wonderful boy and his home without a fight. She dumped the potatoes into a bowl of water, wiped her hands and strode off down the passage. She'd had enough, she wasn't going to sit back and do nothing any more.

The group of walkers had taken off their coats and boots and moved into the living room and Lawrence was about to shut the door when Eloise put her hand out and stopped him and, to his surprise, followed him into the room. Debra, halfway to the sofa, turned and seeing it was Eloise ignored her and carried on, sitting down and picking up her iPad that lay on the table beside her. Ken and Travis were standing by the window.

Travis said to Eloise now, ‘We would like some tea and any biscuits you have, those home-made ones are delicious, and the cake if there is any left.' He gave her a tight smile, glancing round at the others to see if they agreed. Debra nodded, waiting expectantly for Eloise to go and fetch them, looking forward to a hot cup of tea after their brief walk in the cold.

Debra's attitude to her added to Eloise's anger, she may only be the cook but she would fight for what was right.

Lawrence watched Eloise with a slight frown, wary of her, suspecting that she was not here to offer tea and biscuits. ‘Is that all right, Eloise?' he said quietly. ‘Vera can bring it if you're busy.'

Eloise struggled with her feelings. She must remain calm not become hysterical, though she felt hysterical, distraught at the prospect that Debra could destroy Jacaranda if she let fly her misinformed opinions about her nephew being led straight into the path of an avalanche through negligence.

Though Jacaranda is not yours
, she reminded herself firmly. Jacaranda may be full of happy memories for her, but it was not hers, she was here as a cook and when her time was over, that was it.

‘I will fetch some tea in a minute,' she said, her stomach cramping, ‘but I want to say something about the avalanche. I was there, and none of you were. For all I know you might never have seen one before, I certainly hadn't. And perhaps you don't know much about the conditions in the mountains…'

‘Of course we do,' Debra said archly, ‘and we don't need you interfering, please fetch us some tea.' Her look was one she might give to some poor unfortunate illegal immigrant who had no business to be trespassing in such a chalet, such a life. Lawrence moved towards Eloise, his mouth open to speak, his arm outstretched as if to corral her, lead her away, but Eloise took a step away from him, Debra's words spurred her on, she turned to face Ken and Travis who were staring at her, Ken with shocked admiration.

‘I know you've already asked Jerry about what happened, but I want to make sure you know all the facts, including what I witnessed. No lawyer of any sense is going to act on just one version of the event, especially from someone who wasn't there,' Eloise said firmly.

Lawrence started to speak, but Ken broke in, ‘She has a point there, Debra.'

Debra dismissed him with a toss of her head. ‘They were taken into danger. That my nephew was not killed or severely injured was just good luck. All night it snowed heavily, they should not have been there at all.'

Eloise snapped back, ‘The people in charge here, the sécurité des pistes, obviously have good knowledge of snow conditions, their reputation relies on it, if there had been any great danger they would have stopped the lifts or closed the run and they did not. It was a fluke accident and, though very scary, not a great avalanche, in fact the locals would probably describe it as a snowfall.'

Lawrence said, ‘That is the truth of it, Debra, and we haven't heard Gaby's side of the story yet, I'll get my lawyer on to it if you wish, but I think we'll find it a waste of time and money. If any of the people involved want to take action that is up to them.' He finished, ‘Now Eloise, perhaps you could arrange some tea.' He smiled at her but she could see the warning in his eyes: you've done your bit now back off.

Ken said, ‘We must get hold of Jerry and Gaby, hear all sides of the story.'

Debra, realizing that her word on the matter would not be enough, turned to Eloise and said coldly, ‘As you seem to know where they are, you can tell my nephew to come here ASAP. He can leave that girl behind, she wasn't even caught in the avalanche, so we have no need of her side of the story. She is no good for him, a leach after his money. I've paid for her ticket home. Tell her she must leave as soon as possible.'

‘My dear, that's a little harsh,' Ken bleated. ‘I mean, Jerry…'

Debra ignored him, glaring at Eloise. ‘I expect him here within the hour.'

Catching Lawrence's eye, Eloise bit back her retort that surely it was up to Gaby and indeed Jerry when Gaby went home. ‘Theo is in touch with him, I'll pass on your message.' She turned to leave the room, but not before she saw Debra's furious expression at not getting her own way, but there was also a look of determination there.

‘And one thing more,' Debra's voice stalled her escape. ‘Take off that ridiculous apron, it's hardly professional to appear with such a vulgar slogan written across it.'

In her haste to fight for Jacaranda, Eloise had forgotten to take it off. She caught the gleam of laughter in Lawrence's eyes. It did not comfort her; Debra held Jacaranda's fate in her hands. She was very much afraid she'd made it worse, a mere cook daring to question Debra's judgement.

He couldn't sleep. Lawrence pulled on a thick jersey and went onto the balcony outside his bedroom. It was freezing, the air like icy smoke gripping his face. The sky was black, deep as velvet, and dotted with stars, brilliant against the darkness. Beneath him splashes of light coming from some of the chalets hit the snow. All was still, like time suspended. High above the village as they were, any sounds from the clubs and bars rarely reached them.

He had sat here in all the seasons feeling comforted yet awed by the beauty and majesty of the world around him and the realization that whatever his problems they were puny compared to this universe. But what if he couldn't sit here any more, immerse himself in the power of the landscape? If he lost Jacaranda, he would never come back, he couldn't bear to see what others would do with the chalet, how they would change it, ruin its atmosphere. If he lost it, he would never set foot in Verbier again.

It was Eloise that had kept him from his sleep. He was tired, exhausted, and it was well past midnight, but he couldn't settle, his mind was full of her. The way she'd stood up to Debra at teatime, tried to explain that the avalanche was an act of nature out of their control, though Debra had not seen it like that. He couldn't help but admire Eloise. He'd seen her as a chef, his father's goddaughter whom he'd thrust on him to fill the vital service of providing meals to his guests. But if he were honest, he felt she was more than that, he felt drawn to her; but she was going home in a matter of days, and she'd surely be relieved to get away from here and go back to her friends and her life.

He'd had reservations at taking her on as a chef – cook, as she preferred to label herself – her being Desmond's goddaughter, and the added difficulty of getting rid of her should she have been a disaster. But having been let down so badly by Denise and then those other girls, and it being so close to Christmas, there hadn't been any other options, except for Aurelia's expensive takeaways. To his relief, and surprise, he had to admit after she'd told him straight out that his father had exaggerated her cooking skills and she'd only cooked for her family and friends, Eloise had done well. There'd been no complaints. Her food – especially the puddings – was good, not top restaurant quality like the qualified chefs produced, but then as she said, the guests could go to a top restaurant for that. She just cooked good food with good ingredients and a bit of flair and the guests had been more than content with that. Even these difficult guests – though to be truthful only Debra was difficult – voiced complaints about various things, many he had no control over like the weather, and the service in one or two bars or restaurants, but no one had criticized Eloise's cooking. He'd heard Debra say there was too much sugar in the puddings and yet he'd noticed that she ate them quite happily.

Ken and Travis were easier to please and Radley seemed emasculated by his mother, though he'd noticed that he and Pippa kept out of her way as much as possible. He suspected that Debra had decreed that they would spend a family Christmas together and so they had all been forced to come along, though she had no love for Pippa, and even less for Gaby, perhaps because of the murky past Vera had referred to, though she didn't seem like that to him. He suspected that Debra despised women who didn't have a career, who sat back feeding off rich men, though he'd since discovered that Pippa was a qualified teacher and Gaby was studying law, but perhaps Debra was jealous of their youth or annoyed they had the full attention of her son and nephew. He wished he could have got rid of them at once, but despite their concerns they did not want to leave, probably because all the best places here were full to bursting. It would be a relief to see the back of them, or anyway Debra.

But Eloise. The way she stood there in the living room calmly telling it how it was. She knew the mountains and the dangers that lurked there, and she had put Debra firmly in her place. Travis and Ken had also been impressed and had tried to convince Debra to let the matter drop, but she, perhaps unused to having her views ignored, or more likely annoyed by a mere cook telling her how it was, insisted she was taking her lawyer's advice on how best to deal with the situation. She had told Travis to track down Jerry at once as Eloise could not be relied upon to pass on her message that she must see him and hear his side of the story.

He had not imagined that Eloise held such fire, but then she'd come here to Jacaranda over the years, and Desmond was her godfather and no doubt she was fighting to save it for him. She was a kind, thoughtful woman, but he knew she was vulnerable too. He'd been affected by Eloise's obvious pain when Aurelia had brought Harvey round. It was the main reason why he had sent them packing. What shocked him most was that Aurelia knew they'd only recently divorced. How could she be so insensitive as to bring him unannounced to the chalet, knowing that Eloise was probably there preparing dinner?

He shivered; the cold crept into his bones, he'd freeze to death if he stayed out here much longer. He let his gaze linger a moment longer on the view he knew and loved so well. How much longer would it be his if Debra pushed ahead with her threat to take legal action over the avalanche? Despairing, he went back inside and got into bed still wearing his jersey and tried to sleep.

He woke late the next morning, showered and dressed quickly. He was halfway down the stairs when he heard the raised voices in the kitchen.

‘I demand to know where Jerry and Gaby are staying, you have no right to keep the whereabouts of my nephew from me, I expected him here yesterday, I told you to tell him to come.' Debra was obviously on the warpath and he hurried on down, hearing the quieter tones of Ken's voice telling her to calm down. ‘Go away, Ken, I can deal with this,' Debra said.

Lawrence nearly collided with Ken as he hurried to the kitchen.

Ken took his arm. ‘She gets like this when she wants something, I've hardly slept a wink, she's been tossing and turning all night, determined to find out where Jerry is,' he mumbled, not looking at him. He seemed shrunk and at the end of his tether. Lawrence felt a mixture of sympathy and impatience for him for being so weak. Debra was a formidable woman, but surely he could stand up to her sometimes?

‘I don't know where they are staying and I doubt Eloise does either,' he said, wanting to save her from Debra's anger.

Ken wouldn't let him go. ‘She's got it into her head that Eloise set the whole thing up, found them somewhere to stay in the village so she and Gaby could meet up. Gaby is a friend of Eloise's children and Debra…' He stopped, gave a frantic laugh, ‘Well I'm sure it's not true, but Debra feels that Eloise is encouraging her not to go home and to hang on to Jerry.'

‘I'm sure it's not quite like that but I'll find out.' Lawrence managed to shake him off at last and get to the kitchen, with Ken following closely behind.