The Chateau. Karen Aldous
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She’s not one to gossip anyway.’
Gina blew out a sigh of relief. ‘Well, yes, please. Tell her it’s rather delicate just now. And, my mum may need a bit of persuading to go out at all at the moment. So while it’s a great idea, I’m not sure she’s ready to socialise. I’ll let her know. I’ve got to go. Speak to you later.’ She rang off.
Adrienne appeared robed in her dressing gown, her face pale and her wet hair brushed back. Gina had to admit that she did look brighter despite her lack of make-up.
‘Morning, Mum. Did you sleep better last night?’
‘Not too bad. Probably slept too much yesterday though. Who were you talking to?’
‘Ollie. He asked us to go over, well, his mother invited us to hers later.’
‘I’m really not…’ Adrienne began.
‘Mum, we don’t need to go for long. It would just be Ollie and his mother. His father’s in Basel.’
‘I don’t have the energy to chat to strangers,’ Adrienne said, then peered at the table lain with confectionary and bread, her eyes, Gina observed, drooling over the pastries. ‘Oh, they look nice. You’ve been out already,’ she added as she scooped up an almond slice.
Gina flashed a warm smile. ‘I woke early,’ she said, delighted food was finally reaching her mother’s mouth. ‘I was hungry.’
‘Mmm, gorgeous,’ Adrienne said as she munched on the sweet pastry. ‘I do fancy a walk this morning, if you’d like?’
‘Great with me.’ Gina tried to hide her smile. ‘Perfect. Fresh air will do you good.’
After breakfast they strolled along the lake towards the centre of town, Adrienne’s arm looped through her daughter’s. The mist curled mysteriously and slowly over the water for a while until the sun eagerly burned through.
Gina breathed with some satisfaction that her mother had made some progress from yesterday. She was washed and fed with even wore a touch of make-up. As they neared the centre, a steamboat moored up and passengers disembarked along the gangplank, herding along to the well-known statue of Freddie Mercury. They walked past the tourists hovering around the statue and a Japanese couple stopped them.
‘Please, photo,’ they asked.
Visitors often came from the other side of the world to pay homage to the Queen star and take the Freddie Mercury tour. Gina took the camera while the couple stood below the statue, freezing their faces in eager smiles. Then an English couple made a similar request and Gina obliged. As she dashed back to where her mother stood she peered up and felt her heart skip. Ollie and his mother emerged from the other side of the market square, clutching supermarket bags and heading towards them. As they approached Gina gave a shudder, grabbing her right arm suddenly with the other hand. It felt like someone had gripped it with a freezing cold hand then let go leaving an imprint. Not again!
‘Are you OK?’ her mother asked, peering at her.
Gina furrowed her brow as she lifted her elbow to inspect it. ‘Yes, I’ve got an itch, that’s all.’
She tried to remain cool but internally her mind was racing. A pressure remained on the arm as though someone was leaning on it. She dropped her eyes to her sleeve and brushed it hard trying to erase the pressure. God, what on earth was this? She wanted to scream, to run. Something or somebody was around her, she was sure. Maybe the lake was haunted.
Ollie came up beside her and kissed her cheeks. Gina immediately felt a warm flush run through her veins. The pressure eased off. Ollie introduced his mother and Gina recognised her from James’s wedding. Adrienne gave a smile.
‘Good morning, ladies, this is my mother Celine Martin,’ Ollie announced.
‘Bonjour, Adrienne, Gina.’ Celine Martin gleaned a bright smile and greeted them both.
‘Bonjour, Celine. Yes, I remember you. And, we, George and I, met you and Didier at the golf club party a couple of years ago, I believe.’
‘Yes, that’s right. And the wedding, it was so beautiful. We didn’t get to chat. You must come along this afternoon. Come along about four. Ollie and I would like to get to know our neighbours better,’ Celine insisted.
‘That would be lovely.’ Adrienne smiled.
Gina gave a wide-eyed glance at Ollie in disbelief. Celine was charming and very difficult to refuse. He mirrored her surprise and Gina grinned. It would give her mother something different to focus on.
As they continued their walk, Gina could sense her mother’s agitation but said nothing. Her mother had made an unexpected response to Ollie’s mother and she just prayed she wasn’t just being polite and then would change her mind. She hoped she wouldn’t, she needed friends and distraction. Gina needed help too. She would have to get back to London and her business soon and, more importantly, away from these strange occurrences and nightmares.
Ollie couldn’t hide his pleasure as the evening drew to a close. His plan had gone much better than he’d dared hope. Both their mothers had chatted in his mother’s conservatory like old friends and even discussed their relationship difficulties, which gave him an excuse to offer Gina an escape to the sitting room so that he could steal some time alone with her.
He found her exciting to be around and he was hungry to get to know her. Yes, she had expertise in the property business but she was far more than that. She lit his world when she appeared, her beautiful olive green eyes shone straight into his heart. As he’d sat opposite her listening to her speak of Max, he could only feel envious of this man who had secured her love, her attention. How he longed to run his fingers through that long dark hair and take her in his arms, claim her as his own. And, even though she was off limits and looking forward to starting a family with Max, she was a real tonic to be around and that was all he would ask, for now at least. She wasn’t married after all. He couldn’t help but sense a mutual attraction. What he had to do now was relax, keep calm. Try to act mature. There were surely no excuses for being shy at his age. He might have thought he was as a boy but he was a man now, for God sake. And she was too precious. He was sure it wasn’t just one-way. Plus, he’d made headway; she’d made him feel useful admitting she was grateful for his help.
Up early the next morning, Ollie, still wallowing in his pleasant memories of the night before, almost forgot his camera. He shot back to his apartment and picked up the rucksack placed on his chair. He strolled along the promenade to his site with more bounce in his heels than a ball. Feeling the cooler autumnal air steal warmth from his cheeks, he breathed in the beauty of the still lake and watched as ripples began to stir it. The mist was clearing and hazy beams dashed the sky through heavy cloud. It appeared threatening but Ollie knew only too well how the lake and mountains thrived on drama.
‘Bonjour, Thomas,’ he said, reaching the site and clambering over newly dug turf. ‘Good to see the landscaping’s started,’ he said, shaking hands with the hefty redhead, whose hands nearly crushed his.
‘Yes, they’ve only been here an hour and mapped it out already.’
‘Good. I would like to get some images as soon as I can. I’m enlisting some help to sell them.’
‘Do you need help? There seems a lot of interest in them already.’ Thomas shot Ollie a frown.
‘Well, I thought a wider audience might increase demand, drive prices a bit more, so they’ll be marketed from London too.’
‘Would this have anything to do with a certain young lady you were telling me about last week?’ smirked Thomas.
Ollie winked and produced a devious smile. ‘One can try.’
‘Ollie Martin, it will end in tears. She’s virtually married, you said.’
‘Yes,