A French Affair
Authors: Katie Fforde
Contents
Gina and Sally Makepiece have inherited a stall in the French House – an antiques centre nestled in the heart of the English countryside.
Gina is determined to drag the French House and its grumpy owner into the twenty-first century. Bearing all the attributes of a modern-day Mr Rochester, Matthew Ballinger is less than happy with the whirlwind that has arrived on his doorstep.
The last thing either of them want is to fall in love.
But will a trip to France change their minds?
Katie Fforde was born and brought up in London but has lived in Gloucestershire with her family for the last thirty years. Her first novel,
Living Dangerously
, went on to be chosen as part of the WHSmith Fresh Talent promotion. There have been over eighteen novels since, as well as some grandchildren. Her hobbies, when she has time for them, are singing in a choir and flamenco dancing. Katie Fforde is President of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.
To find out more about Katie Fforde visit her website at
www.katiefforde.com
, join her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter
@KatieFforde
.
Living Dangerously
The Rose Revived
Wild Designs
Stately Pursuits
Life Skills
Thyme Out
Artistic Licence
Highland Fling
Paradise Fields
Restoring Grace
Flora’s Lot
Practically Perfect
Going Dutch
Wedding Season
Love Letters
A Perfect Proposal
Summer of Love
Recipe for Love
To everyone who loves antiques whether
they make a living at it or not.
This book needed a lot of people to make it happen and I’d like to thank them here. From the beginning, the lovely and very helpful Sheena Rand who gave me the original idea by telling me about her inspiring father Colin Rand, and how she and her sister Jill inherited his spot and took on the challenge of becoming antiques dealers when they knew very little about them. Then, by coincidence, my friend and neighbour Jonathan Earley took me to the antiques centre where Sheena and her sister Jill have their pieces. There I met the quietly spoken but utterly charming Peter Collingwood who was inspirational.
A chance meeting at a literary festival took me to the delightful and enthusiastic Natasha Roderick-Jones. She agreed to be my research assistant and took me to Newark Antiques Fair and introduced me to the very helpful Di and Ron Aldridge (where they argued about the language of antiques dealers and taught me how to bargain). I still don’t know anything about antiques but I still yearn to learn more.
Later on, when I needed to visit France for research purposes, Jo Thomas told me about Chez Castillon,
took me there, where I met Janie Millman and Mike Wilson. They have to be the most welcoming and nurturing and generous hosts ever. They helped with my research and gave me space to get a lot of writing done. The fact that I was there with Judy Astley, Kate Lace and Jane Wenham-Jones did not make it any less creative or indeed less fun. (Considering the wine, it’s amazing we all got so much done.)
If you’re thinking about a writing course, do check out the Chez Castillon website,
www.chez-castillon.com
Desmond Fforde, Briony Fforde and all my family do so much to make my life easier. I am truly grateful.
I also must thank my wonderful publishers for their continued support. In no particular order, Georgina Hawtrey-Woore, Selina Walker, Charlotte Bush, Amelia Harvell, Jen Doyle, Sarah Arratoon, and everyone else at Cornerstone who seem to devote their lives to looking after me. Also, Richenda Todd who picks up the dropped bricks with such tact – thank you.
Not forgetting endless support from Bill Hamilton and Sarah Molloy at A M Heath – I am so lucky to have you!
Writing a book is quite hard enough but without the love and support of everyone listed and a lot of people not listed, it would be quite impossible. Thank you.
‘
I’M SAYING THIS
more in horror than in anger, sweets, but are you really going like that?’
Gina shot her sister a look that combined irritation, amusement and a touch of exasperation. They were in the car on the main road to Cranmore-on-the-Green and turning back to revamp her outfit was not an option. Sally’s little girls were asleep in the back and Gina found it easier to drive if they were not singing and squabbling and spilling cartons of juice in her car. She wanted to get as far into the journey as possible before they woke up.
Now, she said, ‘Seeing as we’re actually on our way, I
am
going to go like this. What’s wrong with what I’m wearing anyway? I’ve got a jacket in the boot.’
Sally, eighteen months younger and making the most of the Indian summer, was wearing a long skirt, drapey top, gladiator sandals and a great many beads. She brought off the hippy-chick look irritatingly well. Gina felt herself being judged.
‘It’s very corporate,’ Sally pronounced. ‘A black trouser suit and a crisp white shirt might be fine for your business meetings but this—’
‘It is a business meeting.’ Gina glanced at the sat nav. ‘Anyway, most of my clothes are still in those cardboard boxes the men give you when you move. At least the shirt is clean and ironed. Nothing else I currently own is.’
‘It’s not exactly a business meeting,’ said Sally, having cast an eye over her children to make sure they were still asleep. ‘It involves a significant letter. From our mad Aunt Rainey.’
Gina felt she should suppress Sally’s excitement just a bit. ‘It is business. Our dear departed aunt had a space in this guy’s antiques centre. That’s business, isn’t it? The letter is just something about that. Probably.’
Sally tutted at Gina’s down-to-earth attitude. ‘Yes, but it’s contact from beyond the grave.’ She said this as if she was Yvette Fielding announcing an especially spooky edition of
Most Haunted
.
Gina giggled. ‘Rubbish! We just got letters from her solicitor. It would only count as being beyond the grave if we had a séance.’
‘Do you think that’s a good idea?’
Gina was laughing properly now, even as she shook her head. ‘Honestly, Sal, you’re barking. I do not think a séance is a good idea. Besides, it’s completely unnecessary because we have letters. Actual paper, here-in-the-real-world, letters.’ She sent Sally a loving if somewhat despairing look. ‘I do wonder sometimes if being an artist and a stay-at-home mum has rotted your brain.’ She paused for a second. ‘Not that you don’t do a brilliant job keeping it all together on no money. But some of your ideas are a bit out of left field.’
‘Well, you have to keep yourself amused somehow when you’re hunting for little garments under the bed
and stopping the girls from killing each other.’ Sally sighed.
Gina felt a pang of guilt for the brain-rot remark. ‘You’re such a brilliant mother, Sal, really you are. The girls are a real credit to you.’
‘But? I feel a but coming on!’
‘Nothing about you, but I do think this meeting will just be signing a document so the antique centre can get the space back or something. It won’t be anything exciting.’
‘So, you don’t think there’ll be actual money then?’
Gina shook her head. ‘I don’t see how there could be. You saw Aunt Rainey more often than I did but I think we’d have known if she was rich, surely? She didn’t own a house and she never seemed to have much cash.’
Sally sighed again. ‘I miss her, you know. Aunt Rainey was a real character, always talking about the Beatles and all those old bands as if they were her best friends, but she was a lot of fun. I wish I’d seen more of her really but having the twins so soon after we moved down here, it wasn’t easy.’ She smiled. ‘She came to tea a couple of times, always dressed like an ex-rock chick, and I thought how much the girls would love her when they were a bit older but, well, she died.’
‘She was a lot of fun and quite eccentric. And if you’re not careful, you’ll end up just like her,’ Gina added.
‘I wouldn’t mind. She was great.’
‘I know. It was a compliment. Sort of.’
Sally regarded her sister as if not knowing quite how to take this. Eventually she changed the subject. ‘So, what was he like? This Matthew Ballinger?’
‘I haven’t met him, have I?’
Sally waved a hand, as if this was a minor detail.
‘But you spoke to him. What was his voice like?’
‘OK. Nice, even. Although he sounded a bit grumpy . . . You’re doing it again, aren’t you?’
‘What?’ Sally’s outraged innocence reminded Gina of her nieces when confronted with some huge mess or other.
‘Matchmaking,’ said Gina, trying to sound firm. ‘That’s why you’re fussed about what I’m wearing. You’ve got to stop this.’
Her sister looked out of the side window, possibly slightly embarrassed. ‘Well, it’s time you had a boyfriend again.’
‘No it’s not. I’m on a break from men. The last one was a real disaster, who actually took money from me as well as all the other crap you know by heart now.’ Gina paused. Being lighthearted about her failed relationship wasn’t yet easy, even if she was well and truly over him. ‘That was part of the reason why I moved down from London, in case you’ve forgotten. I’m not going there again, not for a long time.’
‘Where? London?’
Her sister growled.
Sally allowed Gina a second to calm down. ‘That wasn’t the main reason though. After all, London is massive. You could have avoided Egan if you tried.’
‘Oh, I tried! But when you know all the same people you’re bound to run into the one man you really don’t want to see.’
‘That’s just an excuse. You really moved because you wanted to see your nieces grow up,’ said Sally comfortably.
Gina smiled in agreement. ‘I do. And there’s the fact that business is so dire and my only big client left has come down here too. Also the rent on my flat had shot up and with the recession I had to regroup. All of which you know.’
‘You’ve missed out “and you pestered the life out of me”,’ said Sally.
‘That too.’ Gina laughed.
‘You’ll love it down here though. I know you will.’
Reluctantly, Gina agreed. ‘I know I will too. I already love waking up in my cottage and seeing fields at the bottom of the garden instead of the back end of a dodgy fish and chip shop.’
‘There will be things you’ll miss though,’ said Sally generously. ‘You were in the seething metropolis and now you’re—’