The words ‘young’ and ‘pretty’ only reminded her of the conversation in the kitchen that morning.
“I just fancied a change.”
“Persephone it is then.” He winked at her before starting to read his paper.
It was a game they’d both played for the last two years. When he first met her at her job interview, his first words to her had been “How do you do, Pierre, but why are you dressed like a girl?”
“Because I am a girl.”
“Then why do you have a boy’s name?”
Ten minutes later he’d indicated her hair which at the time had been red and orange. “Well, you’d better have the Sand Room, otherwise all the colour clashes might cause an earthquake.” It was how he’d informed her that she’d got the job. And as Millie had mentioned two years ago, it also gave her plenty of free time. Time which Pierre had put to good use by starting her own online card business. So, notafabulous job, buttwofabulous jobs.
So, what if she was twenty-six? So, what if she’d spent last Valentine’s Day in her room watching Netflix? She wasn’t so greedy as to try for a fabulous relationship too. Not if she risked losing what she had.
As Lord Du Montfort’s personal assistant, she spent her few working hours with the seventy-four-year-old Seigneur of La Canette. A few months after she started her job, he’d retired and passed the Seigneury to his son, but the rude, grumpy, outrageous temper remained with him. Pierre was one of the very few people who never took offence. And over time, they had developed an understanding. He called her a new name with every colour change. Otherwise, he referred to her asThat Loony Bint,and she retaliated by calling himLord Mwhich he hated.
Lord Du Montfort insisted on being addressed as plain ‘Mister’ which made it confusing with his son George also being ‘Mister.’ So, George was usually referred to as ‘Mr M’ and his father as ‘Lord M.’ But never in his presence, unless one wanted a reprimand. The old man had a very sharp tongue when he wanted. Pierre wasn’t deceived; behind the rudeness and the occasionally outrageous comment, he was in fact a very kind man.
“I want you to go to the big library in the village today.” He looked up from reading an article. “And start researching what you can find about island history.”
“I don’t need the library. I have internet.” She smirked at him. This was another of their verbal games where they pretended he didn’t understand modern technology.
“What’s happened to you? Have you washed your brains away with the previous rainbow hair colour? I don’t want superficial information; I want real in-depth research. And don’t look so shocked, girl. Aren’t you an academic?”
“No.”
“I’m not senile yet, you told me you have a degree in the science of strange people. From some northern institution.”
“Nottingham University.” She corrected him. “And it’s social anthropology.”
“Isn’t that the study of communities and their strange customs?”
“I suppose.” She tried not to laugh. Lord M had that effect on her.
“And you didn’t spend three years studying so you can spend your life here delivering my newspapers and answering my letters, did you? You’re too young to waste that excellent mind of yours.”
She looked at him suspiciously. “Who have you been talking to?”
Just then, Adam walked in. The young doctor must have just finished breakfast and come up to check on Lord M.
“How are you today, Mr M?” he asked pleasantly as he set about unfolding a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope.
It was her chance to escape. She had just swivelled towards the door when Lord M called her back.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I want to make sure Nicole doesn’t need me. She’s finalising the –”
“I don’t care what she’s finalising. She gets paid enough to manage the wedding preparations. You have other things to do. Now that you’ve finished dunking your head into a bucket of green paint, you can immerse it into some anthropological research.”
“But—”
“No arguments.” Adam, stethoscope in his ears already, gave her a warning look.
Everyone was treating the old man with kid gloves today. No one wanted him to have another stroke before the wedding.
She closed her mouth.
