‘I suppose we must,’ said Alexandra reluctantly. ‘But maybe they’ll prefer the hotel in town. I’ll tell them there is no room in the chateau and that everything is very rustic in the stables. Just the word “stable” might be enough to put them off.’
‘Will you have the wedding here, like Grand-mère and Jack?’ asked Stéphie.
‘Of course,’ said Antoine. ‘Where better? Unless Alexandra prefers somewhere different?’
‘Oh no,’ she said. ‘It has to be here.’ Her voice constricted with emotion. ‘It’s our home.’ She cleared her throat. ‘So, was Grand-mère and Jack’s wedding wonderful?’ she asked.
‘A bit,’ said Stéphie. ‘But it would have been better if you had been there.’
‘My mother took charge,’ said Félicité. ‘She didn’t let me invite Jules.’
‘Or Milou,’ said Stéphie. ‘He and the kittens had to stay locked in a stable all day!’
Antoine looked at Alexandra. ‘I officially invite Milou and the kittens to our wedding. They are a very important part of our lives.’
‘Penelope and Jack looked very happy,’ said David. ‘And they were so thrilled to be celebrating in the orangery. All Jack’s relations were very impressed.’
Later, when Maxime was saying his goodbyes, Antoine took Alexandra aside. ‘I’m going to stay with Maxime,’ he said. ‘For form’s sake.’
Alexandra huffed and sighed but she knew he was doing the right thing. ‘I’m going to see how soon my English friends can come and stay,’ she said. ‘Then they can chaperone me. Lizzie wants to make my dress and Meg will want to do the cake, even if she doesn’t do all the catering.’
Antoine kissed her cheek. ‘We will let her make the cake with pleasure, but not do all the cooking. She will be a bridesmaid, non? She will need to look after you.’
Alexandra laughed. ‘I suppose so.’
She was woken very early the following day by Stéphie, who got into Alexandra’s bed but couldn’t settle. Now Alexandra was awake she found she couldn’t either.
‘I know,’ she whispered to Stéphie although no one was in earshot. ‘Let’s get up and make your papa a cake. He is coming early because he said he’d bring bread and croissants, but wouldn’t it be fun to have a cake for him?’
Stéphie got out of bed and jumped up and down. ‘We haven’t made a cake together for simply ages! Let’s go!’
‘What sort of cake shall we make?’ asked Alexandra as she and Stéphie walked through the yard having collected the eggs.
‘His favourite is lemon,’ said Stéphie, ‘but I like chocolate.’
‘He likes chocolate too, I’m sure,’ said Alexandra. The cake-making project was for Stéphie; her papa would be delighted with anything his youngest daughter produced.
It was still only half past eight when they heard a car. Alexandra and Stéphie exchanged excited looks. ‘But the cake isn’t ready!’ said Stéphie.
‘It very nearly is,’ said Alexandra. ‘When it’s cool, we can put on the ganache, but if we do it too soon it will all just fall off.’
They heard the front door open and footsteps travelling across the hall. The kitchen door was opened. But instead of Antoine it was Lucinda.
Alexandra’s beaming smile froze and Stéphie said, ‘Oh!’ her disappointment evident.
‘Good morning, Lucinda,’ said Alexandra. ‘We were expecting you to be Antoine, with breakfast.’
‘Sorry to disappoint you. I am early because I have a car booked to take me to the airport. I have to leave very soon. I have come to say goodbye to my children!’ She said this with a dramatic toss of her head.
‘Oh,’ said Alexandra. ‘I don’t think they’re up yet …’
‘I’ll go and wake them,’ said Stéphie, aware this was what was wanted.
When they were alone, Lucinda said, ‘So you got what you wanted: a ring on your finger, a count and a chateau. Pretty good going for a nanny.’
Alexandra heard the bitterness and decided to ignore it. She was the winner here; she could be magnanimous. ‘Indeed. So where are you off to?’
‘Back to my husband in Argentina. I only left to teach him a lesson, really.’
