What Happens in France

by What Happens in France (retail) (epub)

  ‘Yeah, in the hotel bar,’ whispered a voice in the shadows.

  The autocue started again.

  ‘And thanks to the magic of technology, we’re going to be able to see who’s won the What Happens in… prize. Jim and Oscar, you won the general knowledge quiz. Let’s translate those points you won onto our board.

  The yellow and black car moved in a jerky fashion towards the finish line. Oscar clapped his hands together again in excitement as he watched the car inch forward until it came to a halt almost a fifth of the way across the board.

  ‘That’s a good start, isn’t it?’

  Oscar tapped his knuckles together, face alight with expectation.

  ‘Let’s see how the other car did – 2CV Furby, start your engine!’

  The other car lurched across the board and stopped a short way behind the first car.

  ‘Bryony and Lewis, you won the What Happened in France section. Let’s see where that takes your car.’

  The brown car edged forwards, past the black and yellow, stopping ahead of it.

  ‘Gosh this is close. I can feel the tension in the room. Jim and Oscar, you won the category quiz earlier today. Can your car overtake theirs?’

  The yellow and black car eased away again. The crew encouraged the participants by making ‘ooh’ noises. Oscar joined in vociferously. The car puttered close to the halfway point and came to a stop.

  ‘Let’s add Bryony and Lewis’s points. The little brown car shuddered onwards, failing to reach the lead car.

  ‘Bryony and Lewis, what can I say? It was a shame you got your last question about The Last Supper wrong in that round. A correct answer might have brought you almost neck and neck with Jim and Oscar.’ Potts waited for a reaction but Lewis stared unblinking at him while Bryony looked at her feet. He turned back to his autocue.

  ‘Earlier in the week, the team completed other challenges that saw them physically challenged on inflatables, driving blindfold around a course with eggs in the boot of their car, up a hill climb circuit and the fastest time around this beautiful region on a treasure hunt. Once again, we’ve converted all their points into distance. Will either of the cars cross the line and reach the What Happens in… treasure chest? Let’s see.’

  The little cars set off at the same time. The furry car continued advancing and was soon right behind Oscar and Jim’s car. The bumblebee car stopped. The brown car overtook it and also stopped. Oscar’s hands flew to his mouth in surprise. Potts raised his eyebrows and opened his arms in mock surprise.

  ‘This is a such a close contest now. Let’s add in final points for collecting treasures during the treasure hunt challenge. Could the cars rev their engines for the last time?’

  The cars crept forward almost neck and neck. Oscar began to bounce up and down muttering, ‘Come on, come on.’

  Both cars were within two spaces of the finish line when the furry car drew to a standstill and the yellow and black car hopped over the line. Oscar squealed and threw his arms around Jim, whose eyes were wet with tears.

  ‘We did it!’ cried Jim. ‘We did it!’

  Bryony’s heart lifted at seeing their excited faces, and she cheered and applauded loudly along with the crew. Lewis stuck his thumb up. ‘Congratulations!’ he yelled.

  Potts waited for the kerfuffle to calm and then adopting his by now familiar grin, he waved a large key at them and said, ‘Oscar, Jim, please come forward and unlock the treasure chest. You have won the bounty inside. Hats off to you both and, of course, commiserations to the other team. It’s been enormous fun having you on the show and I hope you’ve all enjoyed being part of What Happens in…!’ he proclaimed.

  Jim’s vision was blurred with tears of joy, and with a trembling hand he unlocked the chest. The crew and contestants cheered. Together with Oscar, Jim pulled out handfuls of notes, waving them at the camera, grinning like crazy.

  ‘Cut!’

  Laura emerged from the darkness and embraced the winners. ‘I’m genuinely happy for you. Congratulations. You were amazing. Jim, I don’t think I’ve met anyone who knows as much about all sorts of things as you do. Of course, you can’t keep hold of that cash. It’s fake. We’ll ensure the real winnings are deposited into your bank accounts. I’ll get the details in a minute.’

  ‘Okay!’ barked the man with the grumpy voice. ‘It’s all looking good. We’re happy with the shots. We’re done. Time to clear out, everyone.’

  ‘Thank goodness. I must get off,’ Potts said, checking the time on his Patek Philippe watch. With that he removed his earpiece, barked instructions at a technician and marched off.

  The group gathered in front of Laura for the final time.

  ‘I’d like to thank you all once more. You’ve been superb contestants. You were really fantastic. I’ve really enjoyed working with you and thanks for making the show such a success.’

  She spotted Roxanne in the doorway and nodded at her. ‘I’ve got to get off but I’ll leave you in Roxanne’s capable hands. She’s got the details for your return journey. The jet is on standby and you’ll be driven directly to the airport from here. Remember nobody will see the final show and the grand finale until tomorrow night when both will be broadcast, so you must keep the results quiet. You can tell your loved ones but nobody else. It must remain secret until the show and the results show both air. We don’t want the press to find out before then. Have a good trip back, everyone, and thank you for being such wonderful contestants. Hope to meet you all again on another show in the future.’

  ‘Where’s Potts?’ Lewis asked the floor manager.

  ‘Changing room. Getting his make-up removed.’

  Lewis turned on his heel and stomped in the direction of the make-up room – Bryony not far behind.

  ‘Lewis,’ she called.

  He ignored her and strode through the open doorway into the room where Potts was standing, hands on hips, an arrogant sneer on his face. Mattie was searching through the clothes rail. Bryony drew to a halt by the door and watched the proceedings, heart thudding.

  ‘Ah, it’s Lucas the Loser. Have you come for my autograph?’ Potts asked.

  Lewis’s face reddened and he leant towards Potts, close enough to speak to him with vehemence without causing Mattie to turn around and stare.

  ‘I’ve come to give you a message, from Maxwell.’

  Potts maintained his smirk. ‘What does that stupid tart have to say?’

  ‘This,’ Lewis replied and raised his fist in readiness.

  Bryony anticipated the movement and punctuated the air with a wail. ‘Lewis, no!’

  He paused, fist in mid-air. ‘He deserves it,’ he growled.

  ‘Don’t do it. He’s the sort to bring charges against you for assault. You could get into all sorts of trouble. He’s not worth it.’

  Mattie looked up briefly at the commotion then ducked out of the room into a side room, to leave them to it.

  Potts scoffed. ‘Bryony’s right. I’ll make sure your face is plastered across every newspaper in the UK. Can you imagine the outrage when my adoring fans hear that a Neanderthal like you hit me because of jealousy over a woman – a woman who lost interest in you because you were such a loser?’

  ‘I’m no loser, Potts. You were living with her in my luxury penthouse flat – losers don’t own property worth a few million. I’m better than you any day and not because I have money. I have standards and decent morals. I wouldn’t break up with a woman because she thought she was pregnant – pregnant with my child. I wouldn’t tell her I wanted nothing to do with any baby and tell her to get rid of it. I most certainly wouldn’t then slander her and ensure she was fired from a job she was good at. I ought to expose you for the heartless bastard you really are. Still, maybe I won’t need to. I was wearing my microphone when Maxwell called me and told me what happened between you and her. I’m sure someone here will have picked up on the conversation.’

  Potts paled. He puffed out his cheeks in a show of bravado and squeaked, ‘I�
�ll make sure you and anyone who takes me on is sued for libel if anything untoward comes out.’

  ‘One day, Potts, you’ll get what’s coming to you. Bryony is right. You’re not worth it.’ He poked Professor Potts in the sternum with his forefinger, causing the man to take a step back. ‘I’ll be waiting and watching to see you tumble from your lofty, sanctimonious position because you will fall one day. People like you always do.’ With those words he turned and strode towards Bryony.

  ‘Sorry you had to witness that. He really did have it coming.’

  She shook her head in confusion. ‘Why, Lewis? Why would you consider hitting him?’ She backed away into the corridor.

  ‘Maxwell—’ he began.

  ‘No, don’t try to justify it. Maxwell is no longer your girlfriend. She was horrible to you and left you for that beastly man. It’s good you want to stand up for her regardless of what she did to you, but are you doing it for the right reasons? Do you still have feelings for her, Lewis?’

  His mouth opened and shut again. She took it to mean he still liked Maxwell in spite of everything she’d done to him and everything he’d said about her. Bryony’s heart sunk at the look of confusion on his face. How could she have been so foolish as to think he’d prefer her to the stunning beauty who’d pouted and winked at him on screen and told him how proud she was of him? She’d been such an idiot to think he’d choose her over Maxwell. It was a no contest. Maxwell was now a free agent and wanted her man back. Bryony couldn’t compete with her. She bit back bitter tears. ‘You shouldn’t feel the need to rise up like some shining knight when she beckons you – unless she means more to you than I believed she did. I thought after what happened between us, we had the beginnings of something special. Apparently, I was wrong.’ She rushed down the corridor towards the restaurant.

  ‘Bryony, hold up,’ he called. ‘I need to…’

  Roxanne approached from the opposite direction, slowing Bryony to a halt. She called out, ‘Lewis, there you are. I’ve managed to change your flight home as requested. You’ll be able to catch the three o’clock Ryanair flight to London. I’ve booked you on it.’

  Bryony shot a look at him. ‘London. To see Maxwell?’

  Lewis opened his mouth to speak but she walked off once more. She couldn’t listen to any excuses. He’d made his decision. Lewis attempted to follow her but Roxanne was blocking his path as she stood with paper and clipboard, waiting for his signature for an airline e-ticket. He sighed. Bryony would have to wait.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  SATURDAY, 29 JULY – AFTERNOON

  Bryony headed directly to the boot room where they’d left their luggage and dragged her bag outside, where she sat down on the steps of the château wishing she could spirit herself home. She’d made an idiot of herself. She’d allowed her guard to drop. How could Lewis have broken through her defences? She thought they were two of a kind – both nurturing secrets and hurt. He’d convinced her of his affection. He’d caressed her unlike any other man and had made love to her in a way that surely had been more than purely sexual. Then less than twenty-four hours later, he had dropped her unceremoniously to race back to his ex-girlfriend. She concluded theirs had been no more than a trifling holiday romance, a distraction, and a passion born from being together in beautiful France. She shouldn’t have allowed it to happen. Life had been so much better when they were just friends.

  She chewed the inside of her cheek, admiring the garden laid out in front of her – it was like taking a step back in time. It was the perfect place for sanctuary and peace. She wanted to hide here and cry – cry for a very long time. Her adventure, so full of promise and excitement, had terminated abruptly and unhappily. The emptiness she now felt had nothing to do with the competition ending or Jim and Oscar walking away with the prize. She’d lost more than that. A rustling alerted her to the arrival of someone and a wet tongue licking her leg made her look up. Biggie Smalls snuffled beside her then sat on her feet, gazing at her with a furrowed brow. Oscar, who had followed the animal, dropped down beside her with a contented sigh.

  ‘It’s beautiful here,’ he observed. ‘I’d love a garden like this and a château, of course.’ He glanced over at Bryony. ‘You look like someone who’s lost a fortune. I hope you’re not depressed about losing the game. I would hate that.’

  ‘Far from it. I couldn’t be happier for you and Jim. You were right and I was wrong. Jim needed this more than any of us. The look on his face when you won was priceless. I just fancied some “wind down time”. It’s been hectic the last week and I had to collect my thoughts before we return home. It’s come to an end so abruptly and we’ll all be going on our separate paths again.’

  ‘I’ll miss you. It seems sort of stale now the show’s over. I’ve said my goodbyes to the crew and judging by the clearing up going on in there, it’ll soon be as if none of this ever happened. Jim’s on his way out too. He’s got his phone back and is probably having a quick chat to Cathy. There ought to be a party or some other way to celebrate having been part of this experience. It shouldn’t end so flatly. I’ve got all your numbers though, so I’ll ring you and maybe we could all meet up in Birmingham for a post-show celebration.’

  ‘I’d really like that. Thank you.’

  Jim emerged. ‘The minibus is on its way,’ he said. ‘Only the three of us are going home in the jet. Lewis is returning on an ordinary plane. He’ll miss out. A taxi came for him a couple of minutes ago and he left via the back entrance to catch his flight to London. It’s manic in there now. They’re running about gathering up cables and whatnot. It’s like we were never there. That is apart from that nice, fat cheque that’ll go into the bank eh, Oscar?’ He gave a hearty chuckle.

  Bryony gave Jim a smile in spite of the hurt that burned in her chest. Lewis had left without so much as a goodbye. How could he, after all they’d been through? She seemed to be making a habit of losing people who meant something to her. Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to get home and be with Melinda. Melinda would laugh and joke and shake her out of her mood. Thank goodness she had Melinda.

  CHAPTER FORTY ONE

  SATURDAY, 29 JULY – LATE EVENING

  Freddie, with his large eyes shining, offered a cheeky smile exactly like his father’s, opened the door to her and shouted, ‘Briny! Come and see my animal park.’ He clasped her hand and tugged at it, leading her to the sitting room where Sean sat cross-legged on the carpet surrounded by hundreds of Lego bricks. He jumped to his feet and yelled for Melinda before wrapping warm arms around her. Melinda peered around the kitchen door and yelped.

  ‘What are you doing here? We were watching you on telly only an hour ago. The final show isn’t until tomorrow evening. You should be in France. Nothing serious has happened, has it?’

  Bryony shook her head. ‘We’ve finished filming. It’s a recording tomorrow.’

  Melinda surged forward and grabbed Bryony by both hands leading her to the settee.

  ‘Come on. Tell us, did you win?’

  Bryony adopted the cheery look she’d practised on her way over. ‘No. We lost.’

  ‘Oh, what a shame! You were absolutely brilliant, wasn’t she, Sean?’

  He nodded. ‘We were sure you’d ace it. Where’s Lewis? I suppose he’s unpacking or unconscious. Must be worn out after all those challenges. You really were fantastic. My goodness, we couldn’t stop laughing at that game on the inflatables. I thought he was going to strangle that wretched inflatable rodeo bull. Melinda’s recorded all the shows for you so you can watch them.’

  Bryony gave a restrained grunt and was grateful when Freddie spoke.

  ‘Look, Briny. This is my animal park. The people are going on the train around the park.’ He chugged the train from the house to a squared-out area containing the bear. ‘Daddy and me made enclosures,’ he pronounced the new word with care, ‘for all the animals, and a special house for the snakes so they don’t get out.’ He pointed towards a small red-brick house. ‘And this is my dinosaur.
’ He picked up a multicoloured stack of bricks and roared.

  Bryony smiled at the boy and marvelled at the power of a child’s imagination. To an adult eye it was nothing more than a scattering of green bricks and houses but to Freddie it was a magical park where people could visit dinosaurs and snakes in a blue train.

  Sean and Melinda exchanged glances. He leant across and ruffled his son’s hair. ‘Come on, champ. Time for bed. It’s very late. How about I read you a bedtime story while Bryony and Mum have a girlie chat?’

  His son chuckled – a musical sound that filled the room. ‘They’re not girls,’ Freddie laughed.

  ‘Oh, they are. Trust me, son. They are. Come on.’

  ‘Night, Briny. Night, Mummy.’ He hugged both in turn. Melinda planted a kiss on his forehead. ‘Sleep well, love you.’

  ‘Love you too,’ He raced away. Sean winked at Bryony.

  ‘For what it’s worth, you were spectacularly good. I’ll let Melinda tell you what’s been happening while you’ve been away. It’s all pretty mind-blowing,’ he added.

  Once he’d left the room, Melinda shifted closer to her friend.

  ‘It must have been a close contest. You should have won. The other contestants seemed nice though.’

  ‘They were. We got on really well.’

  She studied her friend’s face and grinned. Words tumbled excitedly. ‘Come on, girlfriend, what was it really like? You looked fantastic all the time, by the way. I thought I’d just tell you that first. Apart from when you were screaming at Lewis to slow down in the furry car. Jeez, that was hilarious! You wait until you see it. I recorded everything although the best bits are on YouTube. Hang on. We need celebratory wine.’ She jumped to her feet and beetled off into the kitchen returning with two generous glasses. She passed one to Bryony and clinked hers against it. ‘Right, now you must tell me all about what really happened in la belle France. Oh first, have you checked your emails and blog yet?’