Stéphie exhaled, obviously feeling thoroughly cheated. ‘Well then, Papa must marry Lexi. Then she’ll get her fortune and there’ll be plenty of money!’
Alexandra wanted to disappear into her chair and it was obvious that no one else at the table was happy either. Several people started to speak at once but it was Véronique’s voice that cut through the hubbub.
‘Stéphanie! You must not tell lies! Alexandra is not a fairy princess with a fortune to solve everyone’s problems.’
‘Yes,’ said Lucinda. ‘I think rather too much has been made of this fortune. It’s probably not very much at all.’
‘She definitely gets it when she marries,’ went on Stéphie, her clear voice audible to everyone. ‘I heard her talking about it on the telephone to her friend.’
Alexandra got up and left the room. She wasn’t easily embarrassed but now she was ready to die of it. ‘Indigestion!’ she said when she got to the door, hoping this explanation would satisfy the party.
Penelope found her five minutes later, leaning over the washbasin, her hands at her temples, hoping to soothe the headache that suddenly felt like knives. If only they’d come in two cars as she’d wanted, she could have gone home.
‘Oh, Penelope!’ she said in English. ‘What can I do? This is a disaster!’
‘Phff!’ said Penelope, also in English. ‘Why a disaster? A little girl has mentioned something everyone knew about anyway. And as for suggesting that Antoine marry you, no one will take that seriously. You have no reason to worry.’ She paused. ‘It probably was wise to let Antoine deal with the slight uproar Stéphie has created but really, child, it’s a storm in a teacup. Take a few moments now and then come back in. No one will be surprised if you’ve had une petite crise de foie – it’s traditional. I’ll find you a Vichy tablet. Eat it and then join us in a few minutes for the pudding.’
‘I do hope you’re right,’ said Alexandra.
‘My dear girl, I would be disappointed in you if you were bouleversée by such a small social upset. I’ll see you shortly.’
When Alexandra went back into the dining room everyone was eating and chatting merrily. Stéphie got up and ran over, flinging her arms round Alexandra’s waist. ‘I’m so sorry, Lexi! I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Papa said I did?’
Alexandra hugged her back. ‘Don’t worry, darling, I just needed a moment because I had a pain in my stomach. Do you know …’ Alexandra crouched down so only Stéphie would hear what she wanted to say next. ‘Grand-mère gave me a tablet and I ate it, and then I burped!’ She gave this word so much emphasis that Stéphie giggled. ‘I feel much better!’ she added. ‘Now, are the desserts delicious?’
They went back to the table together and Alexandra accepted a macaron, offered to her by Jack with a small bow and a big wink. She didn’t say no to another glass of champagne either.
Alexandra was up early on Christmas morning. She hadn’t slept well and now wanted a soothing cup of hot chocolate. She had spent a lot of the night wondering how soon she could leave the chateau; Stéphie’s question had made her feel very exposed. And when she wasn’t worrying about that, she worried about how to make Christmas Day special for the family. There were no favourite routines for this day as they usually completed all their celebrations the night before. She wanted to produce an English Christmas for them.
There was still the crib to look at and complete. Stéphie had been asleep when they got back the previous night and everyone had felt it was a shame to put the baby Jesus in place without Stéphie there.
There were presents to be opened. Although Penelope and Lucinda’s presents had been given and opened after supper, Alexandra, Jack and David had insisted on holding theirs back to make Christmas Day more like it was in England. Antoine withheld his, too, and so did Véronique.
Alexandra was whisking hot chocolate in a saucepan when David appeared. He was wearing his Noël Coward dressing gown and was sleepy but determined to wake up.
‘Happy Christmas, honey,’ he said. ‘How was your evening?’
Alexandra told him, including every detail, every blush and slightly exaggerating her rush from the room. She found that telling David made it all less awful somehow.
‘My poor little chicken!’ said David. ‘How crushingly embarrassing for you. And I don’t think that even I knew that about you getting your inheritance on your marriage. I thought you had to wait until you were twenty-five.’
‘I only found out about it myself when my cousins came, and I wouldn’t have then if I hadn’t overheard them talking about it. Stéphie was with me, and she now seems to have got into the very bad habit of listening at doors. But, as she frequently reminds me, I started it.’
‘But Penelope rescued you? She grows on you, doesn’t she? When I first met her I thought she was all prunes and prisms, to quote my favourite writer – starchy as all get out. But since she and Jack have been reunited she’s really softened.’
‘She was very kind. When I was lying in bed during the night, thinking about it, I thought it was so embarrassing I would have to leave, but now, well, maybe Penelope is right. It was only Stéphie saying something she shouldn’t.’
‘That’s my girl!’ said David.
‘And how was your evening?’ asked Alexandra, taking a sip from her foaming cup.
‘Delightful,’ said David in a way that did not invite further questioning but set Alexandra’s heart at rest; at least that had gone well!
‘So, Christmas!’ she said.
‘Yes! I didn’t get up at this ungodly hour for my health. I need to make a proper plan.’
‘David! You’ve been making plans for days!’
