A Winter Affair (7 page)

Not until he was older had he really understood. He adored his mother but she'd always felt distant, in a world of her own, and when Desmond met Maddy, such a warm and loving person, Lawrence found himself gravitating more towards her, which filled him with guilt, but whenever he was with his mother there were such dramas. Men were always falling in love with her and she, like a child with her toys, picked them up, played with them a little, before becoming bored and discarding them. She'd had two more children, his half-brother Nathan and half-sister Tia, with whom he got on well when he saw them. They lived in the US now, where their fathers – both different – lived. Both his mother and Maddy were dead and, he admitted with a touch of guilt, he missed Maddy far more than he did his own mother.

Yes, he thought as he came to the path that led to the chalet, he'd encourage Desmond to come here in the summer. He hadn't seen him since the summer before last when he'd visited him in Antigua. He knew Desmond, hated not being able to ski as he used to any more, but surely he could walk on his beloved mountains among the alpine flowers? Perhaps it would not be too difficult to persuade him to visit, especially as it would give him a chance to see Theo again.

Thinking of Theo made him think of Georgia. They too had been badly matched. They'd met at university and had a brief but passionate affair that had led to Theo's arrival. Despite their love for him, they both agreed it wasn't enough to sustain a marriage.

Georgia now lived in Italy and she and Lawrence kept in touch about Theo and were always pleased to meet up with each other, though now that Theo was old enough to travel on his own they hadn't seen each other for over two years. Georgia was happily married with two little daughters, Theo's half-sisters, who adored their older brother. He liked Fabien, Georgia's husband, and when they were all together they got on well; such was the mix of modern families.

He skied across to the chalet as far as he could, then took off his skies, clanking them together to shake off the snow before hoisting them onto his shoulder and walking the last bit. Knowing he wouldn't be skiing again that day, he put his skis in the shed outside before going in and taking off his boots in the hall. A warm, sweet aroma wrapped itself around him, a scent of fresh baking, oranges and brandy filling him with a feeling of well-being and, absurdly, of being at home.

It was not the Cordon Bleu Foundation course but her grandmother who'd taught Eloise how to cook Christmas pudding. In Granny's day it would have been thought a disgrace to buy such things ready-made, if you could buy them at all. In contrast, her mother always bought the Christmas puddings as, she said, she had better things to do than boil up a pudding for eight hours.

Eloise had no idea what the Christmas puddings would be like here, or even if they sold them, as they were a British, not European tradition. After the cake episode she did not want Aurelia turning up with one of hers, which she suspected would probably come in a gold pudding basin stamped with her name and proclaiming
Tempting Delight
, which sounded more like an aphrodisiac than a homely pudding.

The guests who'd arrived late last night had finally left the chalet with Theo to go down to the ski shop and get kitted out. The men of the party were up early prowling around like hungry lions impatient to be off, while the women seemed more relaxed and said as it was their first day they'd rather get up there for lunch and ski afterwards. Theo also prowled about, longing to be free of his duties of settling in these guests, keen to get on the slopes himself. Bert too was restless and kept barking to go out.

‘Lawrence promised I could go when they have got everything, but it looks like I won't get there until it's dark,' Theo moaned, picking at the raisins and candied fruit marinating in the brandy for the mince pies.

‘I expect they are tired after their journey. There's nothing worse than sitting around for hours waiting for a plane to arrive. Travel stress is exhausting,' Eloise said, ‘and this lovely air is apt to make one feel soporific as well.' She wondered how it must feel for Theo, always having to share his home with strangers, new people arriving every week or so.

‘S'pose.' Theo dug his fingers in the mixture again, so she had to move the bowl out of his way. He was just like Kit and Lizzie, hovering round her in the kitchen, sampling her food before it was even ready. Kit said he preferred uncooked cake mixture to cooked so she needn't bother with putting it in the oven. She thought about them now and hoped they were all right out in the wide world. She realized that she was grateful to be here with lots to occupy her, to take her mind off worrying about her children.

After a bit of urging the women to hurry up from the men, the party finally left with Theo. They had all skied before so they knew the form, and with luck, Theo said, he hoped he could leave them to it, though he had to hang about until they were all kitted out and ready to go.

‘I do remind them, but they often leave their passports or even money behind, or once,' Theo raised his eyes, ‘a woman forgot to change into her ski boots and had to come back here and fetch them, holding everyone up even more.'

There seemed to be no such dramas today and at last Eloise and Vera were left in peace in the chalet and sat down to a cup of coffee and a slice of lemon drizzle cake. Aurelia's show-off chocolate cake would do for tea. Just the sight of the box upset her, not because of the cake but because Lawrence thought she'd been ungrateful for Aurelia's ‘kind' deed and slighted this woman, whom she suspected was trying to take her place.

‘You good cook.' Vera took another biscuit. ‘Proper home cooking, not fancy stuff.'

‘Thank you,' Eloise said, ‘it's what I like best.' She got up to go and check on the Christmas puddings. She hoped she'd have time to go down to the village and get her boots and skis sorted out and find time to ski tomorrow. She didn't dare leave the Christmas puddings cooking to go skiing today – though it was so bright and beautiful –she couldn't risk them boiling dry if she got held up on the mountain. No, she would wait at the chalet with Vera. She didn't want to give Lawrence or Aurelia any more reasons to criticize her.

She wondered how old Vera was. She could be anything from fifty to seventy, or even older. Despite her small stature, she possessed great strength, she'd seen her heave the heavy furniture away from the wall to sweep behind it, and when she'd offered to help, Vera had waved her away, saying she could manage.

‘So how long have you worked for Lawrence?' Eloise asked with a smile, not wanting to seem too inquisitive but longing to know.

‘Four years,' Vera said, getting up from the table and collecting up their mugs and taking them to the sink to rinse them out. ‘He is a good man,' she said, ‘I would die for him, in fact I might have died without him.'

Before Eloise could question her further they heard the back door open and the sound of someone clumping in.

Lawrence came into the kitchen, his face flushed by the cold, his hair standing up like burnished feathers on his head. ‘I can't resist the smell of your baking, Eloise,' he said, ‘hope there is some I can eat. I'm starving.'

‘Of course, help yourself.' Eloise wondered if he was trying to be friendly after their contretemps over Aurelia yesterday.

‘I will make you a coffee. Was the skiing good?' Vera said, drying her hands before grappling with the coffee machine to make more coffee. Eloise pushed the biscuits towards him. Perhaps he'd rather have a slice of Aurelia's cake, though she wouldn't draw attention to it and remind him of his reprimand of her ingratitude.

‘What else is cooking, smells like Christmas pudding?' he asked her.

‘Yes, I thought I better make them as I didn't know what kind they sell in the village, or if they sell them at all.'

‘Aurelia sells them, she makes all the things the Brits don't seem to be able to live without,' he said, smiling at Vera as she handed him his coffee.

She would, Eloise thought, wondering if she'd appear with a whole hamper of festive goodies.

‘We Brits are an odd race,' Lawrence went on, ‘we love to travel, but we don't like so-called foreign food and prefer to take our own. You should see the laden cars of some the Brits coming here who self-cater, bringing marmite, cereals, even Cadbury's chocolate when Switzerland is the home of chocolate.'

‘And yet your guests seem to expect the highest quality of food, not just spag bol and sausages,' she said.

‘But they are different. They have money to spare and are used to eating in all the top restaurants throughout the world.' Lawrence took another biscuit before making for the door. ‘See you later.' He lifted his mug to them in a salute and both women listened to him going along the passage and down the stairs to his office.

Half an hour later Saskia rang. ‘Can we meet up, Eloise? I'm not skiing today and Quinn is playing bridge with his mates and I want to catch up with all your news.'

‘I'd love it, but I've got the Christmas puddings cooking,' Eloise explained.

Saskia laughed, ‘But surely you buy them? They take forever, don't they?'

‘Yes, but I think they're worth it. I suppose I could leave them for a little while, if I don't go too far away. I'd love to see you.' Eloise felt a sudden fondness towards her, longing to see someone familiar even though they hadn't seen each other for years.

‘Let's meet at Carrefour, have a drink and a quick lunch, or do you have to make lunch for everyone?' Saskia asked.

‘No, I just cook the dinner.'

‘Great. Meet you there in about half an hour, then,' Saskia said.

Making sure the puddings had enough water to stop them drying out for a few more hours and asking Vera if she could check on them, Eloise put on her snow boots and ski jacket and set off. She said nothing to Lawrence, not wanting to disturb him in his office, and after all she was free to make her own decisions over planning her cooking and going out.

Carrefour was a restaurant perched at the top of the Rouge, a slope for beginners, and a welcome stop for skiers coming down from some of the main runs after a day's skiing. Saskia was already there when Eloise arrived. They ordered a croque monsieur and a glass of wine and Saskia began at once to quiz her about how her life had panned out since they'd last seen each other.

‘You and Harvey always seemed so happy, together,' she said. ‘I'm so sorry it ended in divorce.'

Eloise wanted to put their divorce behind her and not keep resurrecting the pain, prodding the wound by retelling the story, but it would sit between them, so it was better to tell Saskia and hope that would be the end of it.

‘I suppose everyone but me knew he was sleeping around. I guessed it, especially when he was away on business, but I loved him and he was always loving to me and, more importantly, I wanted to give the twins a secure upbringing.'

‘Did he go off with someone else then?' Saskia asked.

‘He said he had someone, but now I can think more rationally about it, I suspect he couldn't bear to be stuck with me in the “empty nest” once the twins left.' Her eyes glazed with tears.

That day would remain with her forever, Harvey, recently back from a trip, explaining that he felt trapped, wanted to fly free, his face taut with injustice, making her feel she had imprisoned him against his will.

She must fly free herself but talking about it pulled her back into the misery of it instead of propelling her forward into a new life.

Saskia squeezed her hand. ‘Going through a divorce is hell, even if you hate your partner,' she said, ‘you sort of hope you can somehow switch on the magic the relationship once had, all that love gone in a puff of smoke.' She clicked her fingers.

‘It's true. I was so shattered by his announcement. I knew he was unfaithful, played around when he went on his trips to holiday resorts, but somehow I never thought he'd leave. He went almost at once, as if he had a taxi ticking by outside.' She tried to joke. ‘Then the divorce papers arrived and I came to my senses. Although I still loved him, I accepted that the marriage was over and I must let him go. We met up to discuss selling the house but we were like two strangers,' she shrugged, ‘who didn't even speak the same language. We never really said goodbye, just packed up our marriage and walked away. Perhaps if we had talked it through, it would be easier to come to terms with now.' She stared out of the window at the slope beside her, watching a class of children struggling down.

‘And horrid for you losing the twins as well, not that you really have
lost
them of course, but them going off on their gap year is hard, especially over Christmas,' Saskia said.

‘They'd been planning it for ages and everything was set up. They're going to uni next year, so they couldn't put it off, though they did suggest they would if I needed them to stay with me.' Eloise remembered their crestfallen faces at the thought of cancelling their plans, and yet they were decent enough to suggest that they would stay behind with her, and she knew that if she'd wanted them to, they would have done so, but she wouldn't ask it of them. Hard though it was, she'd get on without them, without Harvey.

‘Well, you're here now, and if they were still at home and you were still married you couldn't do this job,' Saskia said cheerfully. ‘Are you happy here? Not that you've been out here for long.' She studied Eloise's face intently as if to winkle out any distress.

‘It was all a bit sudden and I worry that Lawrence will not think me a good enough cook, or rather
chef
,' she emphasized the word with an ironic grin, ‘for his discerning guests. I'm here under false pretences, you see.' Eloise told her about Desmond's misplaced pride in her cordon bleu credentials. ‘I'm cooking the sort of food I do when friends come to dinner and I had no complaints from them, but then they weren't paying for it. Lawrence is running a business.'