Visiting Maxime was first on her list.
He had welcomed her with the friendly charm that always managed to make Alexandra feel better, and now she was sitting on the comfortable sofa and chairs he had in one area of his office. He had offered coffee and wine, and she accepted a glass of water.
‘So how can I help?’ he asked with his usual attractive smile.
Alexandra smiled back, wondering why she didn’t fancy Maxime. He was so much more suitable as a love object than the man who occupied almost all her thoughts.
She handed Maxime the envelope that was showing signs of having been stuffed in a bag a little bit too small. ‘Can you interpret this for me? I asked Hubert to send me something in writing about my possible inheritance. I’ve always known I wouldn’t inherit anything until I was twenty-five so I’ve never thought about it much – it so far away from being mine. But the other day, when my relations visited—’
‘The formidable cousins, the less formidable Hubert, and the very beautiful car …’
‘You were there! Well, I overheard my female cousins talking about my fortune.’ She smiled at his slightly shocked expression. ‘Being brought up from a distance, as I was, I learnt to survive by stealth. I’m afraid listening at doors was sometimes necessary. Anyway! I overheard them saying that I’d come into my fortune before I was twenty-five if I got married. Which was a bit of a shock, I must admit. I felt I really should understand my inheritance properly and asked Hubert to send me details. He has, very kindly, but I’m not much better off as I can’t understand what he’s sent me. Could you look over it for me and check there’s nothing else there I should know about? I speak French better than I can read or write it and these documents are full of words I don’t understand.’
‘Ah!’ Maxime said, raising his hands in a way that told her there was no shame in not understanding. ‘It is another language, even for a Frenchman. We learn it when we are studying to become lawyers. Would you mind if I looked now? Or would you prefer to go away and I’ll tell you what I think another time? Perhaps look at the magazines we have provided for clients? Not that you need magazines to look chic. You are always so elegant.’
Alexandra found this genuinely amusing, thinking about the dresses and boiler suits she’d bought from the market. ‘I’ll happily sit here and read. It will be good for my French.’
A little while later Maxime put down the papers. ‘There is nothing concerning in here. It says that if you were to marry, your fortune – quite a lot of money, Alexandra – now I understand the beautiful car! – will come to you. Otherwise, you have to wait until you are twenty-five. So nothing that you don’t know already.’
‘I suppose my cousins felt that if I knew I’d come into my fortune when I married, I might be tempted to accept the first boy who asked for my hand, just to get my hands on the loot, as we might say in England.’
‘Have many boys asked you?’
‘A few, but none of them were serious.’
‘So what if Antoine were to ask you …?’
‘He won’t!’ said Alexandra – too sharply, she realised afterwards. She laughed to soften her reaction. ‘Why should he? I am the nanny for the children!’
‘I hate to be the one to tell you this, Alexandra, but in France it is not unusual for the master of the house to—’
She broke in quickly. ‘Antoine is different. I am different! He would never …’ She swallowed as she realised just how true her words were. ‘He would never take advantage of me.’ While that was true, she also knew he wouldn’t be tempted. She was too young. He thought of her almost as one of the children, she was convinced. ‘Anyway,’ she said, smiling, ‘I won’t get my inheritance if I just have an affaire, will I?’
‘You are right when you say that Antoine is not like that. He wouldn’t do anything dishonourable, but he might well want to marry you. You are beautiful, his children adore you as you adore them, you would make the perfect chatelaine for the chateau.’
‘Maxime! Only in romantic novels does the hero marry the governess, or the nanny, or the serving wench. Not in real life!’
Maxime was not convinced. ‘You are not the same as other nannies. Your presence at the chateau alarms Lucinda and Véronique.’
Alexandra shrugged. ‘I am only temporary, until someone better can be found.’
‘Has Antoine been looking? I feel he would have asked me for help if so. He hasn’t asked me to help him with advertising for the post either, or with looking at candidates sent to him by an agency. I think he is very happy with you.’
Alexandra felt herself blush. It wasn’t something she was prone to, but she was suddenly certain that Maxime had guessed about her crush on Antoine. She straightened her back. Even if he did suspect, he couldn’t know for certain. ‘I certainly love the children and I think Antoine appreciates that.’ She paused. ‘Should I leave those documents with you, do you think? For you to study? Or do we know all we need to know?’
‘I think we know all we need to know for the present, Alexandra. If you consider getting married to anyone other than me, come back and we can discuss things some more.’
She smiled and got up. ‘I most certainly will.’ She put the papers he handed to her back into the post bag. ‘Now I am going to have lunch with Penelope. I do hope Lucinda isn’t there!’
Penelope was on her own and was very welcoming. Alexandra was ushered into the salon and given a glass of wine. When they’d made toasts and tasted the wine, she produced her wrapped parcel.
‘Here it is. I hope it’s all right. David wrapped it for me. He didn’t trust me to do it.’
‘This is very exciting. That little cup has been missing a handle for so long.’
They admired the shell-like bowl of deep blue with gold decoration. It was extremely pretty and when it was put back in the cabinet with its fellows, no one would have known it had been repaired.
Later, when Penelope had both thanked and congratulated Alexandra on the skill of her repair, they sat at a little table in the window of the dining room for lunch. Penelope had prepared an elegant lunch for them. She brought in plates with salad, hard-boiled eggs, ham and olives while Alexandra looked about her. Most of the room was used for playing and listening to music.
