They stayed there, both staring down at it, before they slowly stood.
‘Do you think this could be a dedication for your grandmother?’ Henri asked.
‘Maybe,’ Blake said, her heart pounding. She knew she couldn’t get ahead of herself, but she felt like they were suddenly so close to solving the mystery. ‘But, also, it could be for anyone. We don’t know that Evelina put this here. It could have been from her parents to one of her sisters.’
‘Maybe. Let’s find that guide and get the answer.’
They walked around for some time, and Blake was taken by how perfectly maintained the grounds were, with roses stretching as far as the eye could see. They appeared to be grouped by colour, from white to yellow, pink to red. It was as if an artist had swept their entire palette from one end of the property to the other.
They found someone who was only too happy to chat with Henri, but because they were conversing in French, Blake just stood there, nodding when the woman smiled at her, even though she had no idea what they were saying.
Unfortunately the only thing she understood from their conversation was when Henri bid herau revoir, and turned to Blake.
‘What did she say?’
‘She confirmed that the estate was left to the village, and that she volunteers here, as do others who live nearby. They’re very proud of the gardens.’
‘Did she know anything about Evelina?’
‘She did,’ he said, with a grin. ‘She told me that Evelina was the person who bequeathed the estate, because she was the last remaining family member, and she had no children.’
Blake’s eyes widened. ‘She said that?’
‘She did. She also told me that Evelina left Provins when she was very young, and that from the information they’ve been given, it was quite a surprise when she returned. They called her la recluse, which means the recluse, because she very rarely ventured into the village and mostly kept to herself.’
‘I wonder why she left Paris to come home to Provins,’ Blake mused. ‘I could understand if she’d returned to have the baby, but…’
‘I think we can only guess about how she came to have a baby in London instead of here,’ Henri said. ‘But she did say one other thing, when I told her we were trying to find out more information about the family.’
She could tell from the look on his face that it wasn’t news he wanted to share.
‘There’s a family graveyard here, at the other end of the property.’
‘Oh,’ Blake said. ‘Well, I suppose we should go and take a look then.’
‘Evelina is buried here, Blake,’ Henri said. ‘I’m sorry.’
Her heart sank. ‘I don’t know why I’m sad, because it’s not like I expected her to be alive still, but just hearing that she’s here…’
Henri opened his arms and pulled her against his body, and she folded into him, grateful for the hug. He dropped a kiss to her hair, and when she looked up at him, he gently cupped her chin and kissed her.
‘Come on,’ he whispered, kissing her one more time. ‘Let’s walk around the estate, find her grave, and then see if we can’t find someone else who can give us the answers you need.’
They walked past row after row of rosebeds, and at one point Blake couldn’t help it—she had to stop and bend down tosmell one. It was an apricot colour, and the fragrance filled her nostrils.
‘I think it’s just up there,’ Henri suddenly said, walking slightly ahead of her and calling back.
Blake stood and hurried after him, seeing where he was looking. Set well away from any of the gardens, beneath the shade of an enormous oak tree, was a simple iron fence and a collection of headstones. They exchanged glances and kept walking, and Henri opened the gate when they reached it. It creaked as he swung it back towards them, as if it hadn’t been opened in a very, very long time.
Henri used his hand to wipe the dirt from the first headstone, and they slowly made their way down the rows. Blake noted that they all shared the last name, Lavigne, but it wasn’t until the very last one that she saw the name she’d been searching for:Evelina.
‘She’s here,’ Blake said, hardly believing it.
‘She died in 1978,’ he said.
‘Evelina Lavigne,’ Blake read aloud. ‘I wish there was something else on here, something that told us more about who she was.’
‘You’re the ones who were asking about the Lavigne family?’
