‘I will then,’ he said. ‘We’ve settled on the South of France. Valentina has friends who have just decided to sell their villa in Sainte Maxime, and she thinks it could be perfect for us. Fromwhat she’s told me of it, and what I’ve seen online, I’m inclined to agree.’
Next to her Danny whistled. ‘Sounds amazing.’
‘Where exactly is it?’ asked Jenna. ‘What’s it near?’
‘It’s not far from Saint-Tropez,’ answered Irina before Alastair had a chance to reply. ‘We used to stay there as children,’ she added, ‘the owners are old friends of our father.’
‘Sounds very chic and exclusive,’ said Callum.
‘Yes, makes poor old Linston End sound a bit dull, doesn’t it?’ muttered Simon into his wineglass.
‘Not dull,’ said Alastair, ‘just different.’
‘Will you definitely still have us all to stay?’ asked Rachel.
‘Of course. And my guess is you’ll have a lot of fun there. The weather will be better for starters. Oh, and the villa has a swimming pool.’
‘It gets better and better,’ said Frankie with a smile. ‘You’ll be inundated with guests.’
‘When do you think you’ll move there?’
Alastair laughed. ‘Can’t get rid of me soon enough now, can you, Rachel?’
She laughed at Alastair’s words, but her eyes, Sorrel noticed uneasily, were fixed firmly on Nikolai, and his on hers. Until now he had affected a manner of looking on with sardonic indifference.
‘I’ll help you pack if you like, Uncle Al,’ Rachel said.
‘I might hold you to that,’ said Alastair. ‘But first, Valentina is taking me to see it, so we can be sure it’s right for us.’
‘When will that be?’
‘After your holiday here.’
Yes, thought Sorrel, get rid of us and off you go to Shangri-La.
‘Well,’ said Danny, ‘it so happens Frankie and I also have an announcement to make. Not that it’s in the same league as yours, Alastair, but we’ve decided after years of mulling it over to leave Suffolk and move here to the Broads.’
‘Goodness!’ exclaimed Jenna. ‘When did you hatch this little plan?’
Frankie laughed. ‘This afternoon. Your father sprang it on me, not unlike the time he proposed.’
Danny laughed too. ‘Let’s hope it works out just as well as that did.’
‘Are you sure it’s such a good idea?’ asked Sorrel. It sounded completely barmy to her.
‘In what way?’ asked Frankie.
‘Given Danny’s health problems,’ she said bluntly.
‘Sorrel has a point,’ agreed Simon. ‘Is it wise to up sticks when you’ve only just recovered from, well, you know, it’s not as if you’re out of the woods and who knows what—’
‘Simon, Frankie and I have discussed the point you’re trying so hard to tiptoe around,’ Danny interrupted him, ‘but you know what, just as Alastair has come to realise we have only the one shot at life, we’ve also come to the conclusion that we shouldn’t waste a single minute of ours.’ He turned to look at the younger generation around the table. ‘Don’t ever pass up the chance to seize the day, not when there’s no guarantee you’ll have a tomorrow.’
‘Oh, for God’s sake, now you’re just being melodramatic!’ exploded Simon, reaching for the bottle of red wine in front of him.
‘No, I disagree,’ said Nikolai from the other end of the table, ‘I think we should be greedy for life. We should experience everything before it’s too late, and take as many risks as possible. And most importantly, we should never regret anything. That’s my rule in life. It’s what you and Papa always used to say, isn’t it, Valentina?’
His stepmother nodded. ‘It was a lesson I taught myself when I was a young girl. Regret is such a waste of one’s energy, it’s what makes so many people so very unhappy.’
