‘There are always different ways of doing things,’ he said gently. ‘But it is the wine that is the most important.’
‘What sort of changes do you envisage?’ For a moment Luc glimpsed a hint of worry in her face but he couldn’t lie to her.
‘Marthe, we have to move forward. There are lots of modern techniques.’ He knew that his ideas on wine making went against her fiercely traditional views. Her generation believed that wine was all about the grapes and theterroirwhereas he believed that wine was made by the winemaker.
He was going to have to tread very carefully.
‘What about the winery?’ she snapped.
‘Don’t worry, I have no plans to make any immediate changes to the building.’ He didn’t have the money but as soon as he did…
‘Make sure you don’t. Not in my lifetime anyway. Once I’m gone I don’t care what you do.’
‘You’re not going anywhere,’ said Luc, deliberately seizing on the change of subject.
‘Not in this damned chair I’m not. Too many bloody steps everywhere. But as you’re here you can take me to the wedding.’
‘Yvette and Bernard’s?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ she said irritably. ‘Who else’s would I be talking about?’
‘You mean you don’t know?’ Luc was genuinely surprised that she hadn’t heard the news about the château. ‘My father’s business partner in London has hired the château for the summer for a wedding at the end of July.’
Marthe raised her grey, rather wild eyebrows and frowned. ‘Ah, now I see. That is what has set the fox to mind the geese. Yvette popped by first thing this morning and was in one of her wild moods.’ Her mouth wrinkled. ‘That explains everything.’
‘It does?’ asked Luc.
‘Yvette has her heart set on celebrating her wedding in the vineyard. Let’s hope the dates don’t clash.’
‘When is Yvette’s wedding?’
‘The twenty-fifth of July.’
Luc’s vision went black for a second and then he spat an expletive out.
Marthe rose a reproving eyebrow.
‘It’s the same day as the wedding at the château.’
‘Oh dear,’ said Marthe, with a sudden malicious twinkle in her eye. ‘That is very bad timing. Someone is going to be very unpopular.’
Luc closed his eyes and shook his head, tension pinching with spiteful fingers at his shoulders.
‘I’m glad I’m not walking in your shoes,’ said Marthe with a wry smile. ‘I’d be more worried about Yvette and what she’ll do when she finds out. I predict trouble ahead.’
Luc gave a grim smile. It didn’t take a crystal ball to tell him she was bang on the money.
ChapterFive
‘No!’ shrieked Yvette. ‘No! No! No!’ She picked up the coffee bowl from the draining board and hurled it across the kitchen.
Solange’s hands fluttered in distress as it crashed onto the floor and shards of china ricocheted across the floor.
Then Yvette burst into noisy sobs and her mother put her arms around her, giving Luc a helpless look. He sighed and exchanged a quick glance with Alphonse, who for once was being uncharacteristically diplomatic and not winding his sister up. That had gone well then. Thank goodness there was no sign of Hattie. She’d settled in well over the last week, or at least he assumed she had; he’d barely seen her as he’d been out with Alphonse every evening. He’d caught sight of her cycling into the village a few times. Luc hoped she was out and not somewhere in the château to witness Yvette and Solange’s dramatic homecoming from Brittany.
‘I’m sorry, Yvette.’
‘Sorry!’ she screamed. ‘Sorry! You’re going to ruin my wedding day.’
