Precious Gifts (15 page)

The door creaked like something in a horror movie as he opened it and pushed it wide. He told Elisabeth and Véronique that his wife cleaned the house once a week, which seemed unlikely, and Véronique noticed cobwebs almost the moment they walked in, but she didn't disagree with him. There was a long Aubusson runner in the front hall. At a noise, Juliette ducked with a scream.

“Oh shit! Do you think there are bats in here?” she asked her mother, as the others laughed.

“Probably,” Véronique said, “but they sleep in the daytime.” Juliette made a terrible face, and they followed the guardian into the enormous living room. The furniture was still there, covered with sheets, and the curtains were the same, faded almost beyond recognition. There were two beautiful Aubusson rugs that had been rolled up, and an enormous fireplace. The house was still fully furnished. And the guardian opened the shutters and let the sun in. Véronique could see that it was still a magnificent room. She could instantly envision the children playing there when they were little.

There was an enormous dining room with a table that seated thirty people, several smaller reception rooms, and a library full of old books. And the kitchen was a relic from another century, with big iron kettles and a round table where she used to feed the kids.

There was a long elegant staircase, and all five women walked upstairs silently to discover a multitude of lovely bedrooms, all with views of the grounds, and the master suite, which brought back painful memories for Véronique now. She had thought they were happy there, for most of the time anyway, and now knew it wasn't true. Elisabeth and Sophie were living proof of that.

And the bathrooms were antiquated and wonderful. There were six or eight bedrooms on that floor. And above it, under the mansard roof, with oeil-de-boeuf windows, were at least a dozen smaller servants' rooms. The caretaker said there was a huge wine cellar in the basement, storage space, the furnace, and a place to hang meat.

The place looked less damaged than Véronique had expected it to, but in almost every room, she could see the evidence of leaks. The plumbing had been problematic years before, the electricity looked dubious now, the kitchen would be a nightmare to use and had to be gutted and renovated. The guardian readily admitted that the roof leaked throughout the house. And Véronique could see that the windows had almost rotted through. There was a huge amount of work to do, and no point doing it. The girls would never use it. However beautiful it still was—and in many ways, it was even lovelier than Véronique remembered—it made absolutely no sense to have a home like this for three young women pursuing lives and careers on their own. Even for her, as a single woman living in Paris part time, it made just as little sense as it did for them. Elisabeth was shaking her head as she looked around, impressed by the size and splendor of it, but it was like visiting an ancient museum, and Sophie looked on the verge of panic. She addressed both of her half-sisters as they came back downstairs to the main floor.

“For me, no no no no,” she said, wagging a finger and pointing at herself, and then spreading her arms wide, referring to its size. “Too big for me and my
maman.
” She then pantomimed vacuuming and sweeping and rolled her eyes, and the two girls laughed.

“Yeah, me, too,
moi aussi,
” Joy said immediately. “Too big, too much, too old, too expensive.” She pretended to pull at her hair, and Sophie laughed and nodded agreement.

“Trop cher à réparer,”
too expensive to repair, and her mother was nodding, too, and then turned to Véronique in admiration.

“What a beautiful château,” Elisabeth said to Véronique. “It's wonderful, but Sophie could never use it. We live in a tiny house near my office, and I'm alone there now most of the time.”

“My girls will never use it either,” Véronique said sadly, thinking that it was a shame that the house had gone unloved for so long. She couldn't imagine herself there now either. It would probably sell to a Russian, who would turn it into a palace worthy of Louis XIV. No one else would want to do the work it would take to restore it, nor could afford it. The only one who could was Véronique, and she didn't want the headache. Joy and Sophie were pantomiming a lengthy conversation about it, and seemed in full agreement, as Juliette wandered around on her own. And when they were ready to leave, to visit the stables, they couldn't find her. She had gone back upstairs. And she finally came downstairs with a dreamy look in her eyes.

“Please don't tell me you're falling in love with it,” Joy said with visible irritation. “Did you see the leaks in every room and the windows? They're about to fall in. And Mom says the guardian said the roof leaks like a sieve. We need to sell it,” Joy said with determination, and she knew that Timmie, even without seeing it, would agree with her. “I can't take this on,” Joy said with a look of panic. “I live in L.A., and I can't afford it, and neither can you.”

“It would make a fabulous hotel,” Juliette said as they walked to the stables through tall overgrown grass.

“Not unless you put millions of dollars into it,” Joy said practically. Juliette was always the dreamer, but this was one dream Joy wanted no part of, and neither would Timmie. “Stop looking like that. We have to sell it,” she said sternly.

“Dad loved this place,” Juliette said sadly.

“The hell he did. He hadn't been here in thirteen years. He didn't want the headache either. Even Sophie agrees with me.” She pointed at her new half-sister, who understood what they were saying and nodded vehemently. She had been terrified they would expect money from her to do repairs, and Elisabeth had been worried about that, too. They couldn't afford it. They could barely afford the tiny house they lived in.

They visited the stables, and all the cottages and buildings, including the guardian's cottage, which was a mess and smelled of some kind of stew. And three hours after they'd gotten there, they had seen everything, including some old chandeliers that had been stored in the stables, which Véronique remembered buying and never using, and was surprised to see again. Paul had done nothing since she left.

They headed back to Elisabeth's office, where she said she had patients to see that afternoon, and Joy confirmed to Sophie and her mother that there was no question, they would be selling the Château de Brize, and hoped Sophie agreed, which she did. Joy promised to stay in touch with them, and Sophie kissed both her sisters on both cheeks and Véronique with an awed, respectful expression. They were even more beautiful than she expected and had been far nicer to her than she'd hoped. The meeting had gone very well, given the possibilities. All five women were civilized and nice people, and Elisabeth and Véronique shook hands. Véronique liked her much better than she wanted to, and felt sorry for her again as they left. Paul had given Elisabeth an even worse deal than he had given her. He had done nothing for her at all. And Sophie was obviously a lovely girl. Paul had lucked out again, surrounding himself with people who were nicer than he deserved.

Véronique and the two girls headed back to the Hôtel du Cap, as Joy commented on the condition of the house, and Juliette was suspiciously quiet, as she gazed at the countryside with a faraway gaze. Véronique was feeling nostalgic after seeing the house, but was totally in agreement that they should sell. Everyone agreed. It required way too much work, and there was no rational reason to keep it.

“I still think it would make such a beautiful hotel,” Juliette said wistfully, staring out the window, and looking at neither of them, as though talking to herself. “It's close to St. Paul de Vence, and half an hour from the coast. The location is perfect, and it can't be
that
much work,” she said, turning back to Joy.

“Are you insane? Did you see the condition it was in? I thought the roof was going to fall on our heads. The kitchen is out of the dark ages, and looks like witches should be cooking there, like in
Macbeth.
And the windows are ready to fall out. Don't give me that look, Juliette. This is not a sandwich shop in Brooklyn. This is a château we can't afford to own, and Dad couldn't either. Let's get rid of it as fast as we can. I'd rather have the money, and so would you. Timmie wants it to help start her shelter, and it sounds like Sophie needs it, too. I don't want to hear some crazy plan about turning it into a hotel. If you want a hotel, buy one. But count me out on this.”

Juliette had tears in her eyes as she listened to her sister, and she was silent when they walked back into the hotel. Joy called Timmie immediately and told her all about the meeting with Sophie and Elisabeth and how nice they were. Timmie sounded relieved and asked about the château.

“It's a mess,” Joy confirmed to her. “I hope we can get rid of it. Someone will have to want to sink a fortune into it.”

“Can you list it with a realtor before you leave?” It sounded like a good idea to Joy, too. She was still talking to Timmie, when Juliette walked into her mother's room. Véronique was sitting on the terrace, thinking about the château. It had been a sad déjà vu for her, and an emotional meeting with Elisabeth and Sophie, more than her daughters seemed to realize.

“Can I talk to you for a minute, Mom?” Juliette asked as she sat down on the terrace. “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine. It was just kind of an emotional overload going there today.”

“I'm sorry.” Juliette paused for a long minute, wondering if it was the wrong time. “I know this sounds crazy, but how much do you think it would cost to buy the others out of the château?”

“I don't know,” Véronique said seriously. “We'd have to have it appraised. It's probably not worth much in the condition it's in. There's a lot of work to do.”

“I know,” Juliette said seriously. She had fallen in love with it, and her mother could see it in her eyes. “Would you lend me the money to buy it, against my inheritance? I could use the money Dad left me to fix it up, and maybe sell the sandwich shop, and do some of the work myself, if I could find someone locally to help me do it. What do you think? Is that something you would ever do? Help me buy it, I mean? I just felt like it was calling to me to love it.” They were almost the identical words Paul had used with her when he wanted her to buy it. It was yet another déjà vu. “Could I afford it from my inheritance?” Juliette asked her, and Véronique nodded. Easily, but she didn't say it to Juliette.

“If that's what you really want to do. I think you should think about it, and be sure. You don't live here. You'd have to consider how much you'd use it.”

“I'd probably have to move here,” Juliette said, as though that made sense. “I couldn't do the work from far away.”

“Would you really want to live here?” Véronique was startled. None of them had ever wanted to live in France. It was a battle getting them to come over for a week a year.

“Maybe I do. I think I've finally found the place I want to be.”

“Give it some thought before you make any serious decisions,” Véronique advised her, and then smiled at her. Juliette looked happier than her mother had ever seen her. “What did you think of Sophie?” she couldn't resist asking.

“She's really sweet,” Juliette commented. “She's like a little kid. And she looks just like Dad, doesn't she?”

“And like Timmie and you,” Véronique said with a sigh.

Juliette went back to her own room a few minutes later. Joy was off the phone by then and glanced at Juliette suspiciously. “What are you up to?” She didn't trust her not to go off on one of her tangents, just like when she had given up her career plans in art history and bought a bakery in Brooklyn. In Joy's opinion, she was always doing crazy things, like taking in lame guys.

“I think I might want to buy it,” Juliette said seriously, and Joy could see she meant it. “It would make a beautiful hotel.”

“You don't know anything about running a hotel,” Joy reminded her, irritated by how unrealistic her sister always was.

“I didn't know anything about running a bakery either, and it's worked out pretty well.”

“What about the money Dad gave you for the sandwich shop?” Joy asked her pointedly.

“Dad gave us each the money to fulfill our dreams. Timmie so she could start her own homeless shelter. You for your acting career, so you could hire the right manager, get a better agent, and take acting lessons so you can get better parts and stop waiting on tables. And if my dream turns out to be turning the château into a hotel, I don't think it's so terrible, it's still my dream. What's so wrong with that?” Joy fell silent as she listened to her, and could see that she meant it, and then she shook her head.

“I love you, but I think you're now officially crazy. It'll cost a fortune to fix that place up. How the hell are you going to do that?”

“I could do a lot of the work myself, and Mom could lend me the money, if you all agree to let me buy you out.”

“You're serious about this, aren't you?” Joy looked at her with amazement. Juliette nodded. She had never been as serious about anything in her entire life. She felt as if it were meant to be, a final gift from their father who wanted her to do more with her life than make sandwiches in Brooklyn, and now she would. She could turn the Château de Brize into a beautiful small hotel, and run it herself. Maybe she'd even run the kitchen and do the baking. Her mind was going in a million different directions, as they changed and went out to the pool. Véronique joined them a little while later, and they sat in the cabana for a while, relaxing and lying in the sun, while a waiter brought them cold drinks. It was a totally luxurious life and good to be together. And Aidan called Véronique that afternoon when she got back to her room.

“How did it go? Did you meet them?” He sounded worried about her.