by Jill Mansell
Seth appeared at the top of the stairs. He raised his dark brows a fraction and waited.
“We’ll do our best,” said Lainey.
* * *
As the sun sank lower in the sky, flooding the horizon with shades of gold, the music was turned down, and Richard tapped a fork against the side of his glass to gain everyone’s attention.
“Right, so if you lot thought you were going to get away without having to listen to a speech, I’m afraid you’re sadly mistaken.”
Cries of mock horror went up, and he continued, “Luckily for you, this isn’t the Oscars, and I’ll be brief.”
Lainey, standing beside Seth, caught her breath as she felt their fingers slotting together as if they were a perfect fit. Would this simple gesture always have such an effect on her? Oh, she hoped so.
“So, thank you all for coming. After a lifetime of debauchery, it’s a miracle I’m still here, but there you go. I’m eighty today, and the Grim Reaper hasn’t caught up with me yet.” Richard chuckled and paused in an actorly way. “Life’s had its ups and downs, but overall I’ve been a lucky bugger. I have the most wonderful family anyone could wish for, and I love every last one of them.” His gaze swept around the lawn, encompassing each member in turn, and Lainey’s heart gave a squeeze of affection as she saw him include Nerys with a discreet nod and a wink. “I’ve also had more than my fair share of friends—”
“And wives,” called out the husband of an elegant actress called Evelyn who’d been briefly married to Richard in the 1980s.
“Some of them were even my own,” Richard riposted, provoking more laughter. “And I could still add to the total. So, Evelyn, if you ever get tired of him, you know where I am.”
“Eurgh,” India whispered in Lainey’s left ear. “He’d better not be talking about sex. That’s gross.”
Serious now, Richard continued. “The greatest sadness in my life, of course, was losing Tony, and when that happened, I wondered how on earth we’d all get through it. But somehow we did, and I’m lucky enough to have the best daughter-in-law in the world, as well as four wonderful grandchildren.” He paused to blow them a kiss. “I love you all, and I’m so very glad to still be here, sharing my life with you. So here’s to family.” He raised his glass, and everyone followed suit. “And here’s to all of us, and the absolute miracle of me reaching eighty.”
* * *
Seth had discussed it with the girls, and they’d decided between them that the time for keeping secrets was over. Well, maybe not every secret, but as many as possible.
Once the party had wound down and Harry had gone up to bed, he gathered the family for a nightcap in the living room. It was unfair to expect India and Violet to keep what they’d learned to themselves, which meant Majella needed to hear the story too; it was the only way.
The clock struck eleven out in the hall, and from the kitchen came the distant clink and clatter of Lainey and Kit washing glasses, loading the dishwasher, and generally cleaning up. The cats were curled up on the rug in front of the purple sofa, while Ernie lay stretched out on his side over by the window, paws scrabbling furiously as he chased imaginary seagulls along the beach. Glenda was ensconced like a small queen on India’s lap, and Richard was pouring himself another cognac, because his capacity for one last drink was limitless.
Holding Majella’s hand in his as she sat beside him on the sofa, Seth relayed the story of the secret Christina had let slip about his possible parentage.
“That mother of yours,” said Richard. “Sorry to say this, but she’s been a liability since day one.” He stopped, frowned a bit. “Actually, I’m not sorry to say it at all. She just is.”
“Grandad,” Violet chided, fair-minded to the last. “Pot, kettle.”
Seth shook his head. “She might never win Mother of the Year, but it doesn’t matter.” He turned to Majella. “It never did matter, because I had you. Dad was brilliant, and you were the best stepmum in the world. Always.”
“Oh, darling, I tried my best.” Majella’s eyes swam. “I loved you from the first time I met you.”
“I knew that, and I knew you weren’t just putting it on either.” Seth’s arm was around her shoulders now. “It meant everything to me. You’re my family, and that’s never going to change.” He nodded at Violet, who reached behind her for a tattered gray shoebox and passed it over to him.
“Oh God, what’s this? I’m not sure I can cope with any more surprises.” Majella blew her nose and looked worried.
Seth smiled down at her. “It isn’t a surprise. You’re the one who wrote them.”
She lifted the lid of the shoebox, saw the piles of envelopes bearing old stamps and familiar handwriting. “My goodness, these are the letters I sent you when you were at school. I had no idea you’d even kept them. I can’t believe there are so many…”
“Christina sent me a letter once. Well, it was a postcard.” Seth no longer had it, but he could still remember every hastily scrawled word. “It said: ‘Sorry, baby, won’t be able to see you this summer, off to Bali! Exciting!’” He paused, then took out a handful of the letters carefully addressed to him at the boarding school in Kent that Christina had insisted he attend. “But you wrote to me twice a week, every week. And they were the best letters…” For a moment his throat tightened with emotion, because no one who hadn’t been in his position could ever really understand how much they’d meant to him. They had been long, chatty letters interspersed with jokes and funny little drawings, brimming with love and updates about everything that had been going on in the family’s lives.
They shared them out now, reading snippets aloud and remembering stories from the past. Then India asked if she could look at the photo on Seth’s phone again, and he passed it to her so she could study the Mancini family. There was no need to exclaim over the similarity of their features; it was there for all to see. “Do you really not want to meet them?” Violet was curious.
He shook his head. “You’re my family. I don’t need another one.”
“Not even if they’re nicer than us?” India grinned, resting her head on Majella’s shoulder, and Seth’s spirits lifted still further because he could see that the old, sparky, mischief-making India was well and truly back.
He knew that maybe one day he might change his mind. At some stage in the future, ten or twenty years from now, his interest could be piqued and the temptation might be there to learn more about the Mancinis, but for now, he felt no inclination to do so. He looked from his sisters to Majella. “I’ll stick with what I know.”
From his position by the mantelpiece, Richard caught his eye, raised his glass and mouthed, Love you.
And at his side, with the shoebox still resting on her lap, Majella reached for his hand and held it in hers.
Chapter 47
The people on the ground were looking up, having evidently heard the helicopter’s approach before it came into view over the tops of the trees. The powerful juddering thud thud thud of the rotor blades was even more thrilling from up here as they hovered above the Chateau de Rafale, surrounded by acres of manicured grounds in the depths of the French countryside.
Beside herself with excitement, Lainey shielded her eyes from the bright sun and exclaimed, “There they are. I can see Biddy and Bill on the steps! Can you believe how beautiful it all looks? And there’s Wyatt… Oh, this is just out of this world. I never dreamed I’d get the chance to ride in one of these things, and now it’s happening!” She strained forward against the seat belt, waving madly with both hands at Wyatt.
“Don’t lean. You’ll tip us off balance.” From the seat behind her, Seth pulled her back.
Lainey let out a yelp of alarm. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!”
To her right, the pilot said with a grin, “He’s having you on.”
Of course he was. Half turning, Lainey’s gaze met Seth’s and she experienc
ed the jolt of love that had shown no sign of abating so far. “Can you believe it’s a year since Kit and I left this place? A ten-hour bus trip all the way from Paris to London. And now this.” She gestured expansively. “Here I am in an actual helicopter, about to land in front of the chateau. It’s just crazy that so much has happened since then.”
“You got yourself a boyfriend,” Seth reminded her.
“I did, that’s true.”
“What’s he like?”
Lainey paused. “Thinks he’s funnier than he is. But he’s OK, I suppose. How about your girlfriend?”
“You can tell her anything and she’ll believe it,” said Seth. “Totally gullible.”
Everyone on the ground was watching them now, as the pilot brought the silver-and-blue helicopter down, settling it skillfully in the very center of the landing pad.
When the blades had slowed to a halt, they jumped out and joined the party assembled on the steps of the chateau.
“Thank you.” Lainey embraced Wyatt, whose idea it had been to arrange the helicopter trip from Charles de Gaulle airport. “That was amazing.”
“My pleasure.” His eyes crinkled. “None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for you.”
And in a weird, fateful, convoluted way, Lainey realized, this was true.
Because if she hadn’t inadvertently brought that oversized diamond ring back to the UK with her, Wyatt would never have traveled down to St. Carys and ended up breaking his ankle…
Would never have got talking to Kit at the wedding reception and plucked up the courage to come out…
Would never have discovered that this place was on the market.
It just went to show how one seemingly tiny action could set off a domino chain of consequences.
The change in Wyatt himself was heartwarming too. He radiated happiness.
Lainey said, “Is Penny here yet?”
“She is.” He turned and pointed. “Over there with the new boyfriend, talking to Mom.”
“Ooh, what’s he like?”
“Name’s Tim, lives in Kidderminster, and he’s a geography teacher. Luckily, he doesn’t look like one.” Wyatt nodded genially. “Couldn’t have chosen a better guy myself. I approve.”
* * *
Later, Bill and Biddy took Seth and Lainey on a tour of the chateau. In its previous incarnation, shabby chic had been the order of the day, but the absolute fortune plowed into it by the Hilstantons had brought the place up to five-star standard. Each room was gleaming, spotless, and perfect. Sumptuous furnishings and painstakingly restored architectural details dazzled the eye at every turn. There were flower arrangements the size of trees.
“You have to see the brochures.” The couple were like proud parents. “So glossy. And you won’t believe the inquiries we’ve been getting. Elton John’s already booked the place for a week in September. Oh, and you can’t imagine how blissful it is when anything expensive goes wrong. All we have to do is find the best local tradesmen and let Mr. Hilstanton know, and he pays them to fix it!”
Tonight a lavish party was being thrown to celebrate the reopening of the chateau. Guests were arriving from all over. The Hilstantons had invited Lainey and Seth, Majella and Dan, and Penny and her geography teacher to join them for the event. India and Violet were back in St. Carys, studying for their imminent exams and looking after Harry and the animals. Richard had been invited too, but was over in LA, filming a cameo appearance in an upcoming big-budget superhero movie and had taken Nerys along with him as his PA in order to show her the city where he’d met her mother.
Upstairs in their suite on the third floor, Lainey boggled at the phone in her hand. “We never had superfast Wi-Fi in our day. This is fantastic. I’m going to send the girls that video of us in the helicopter—Oh!” Her phone went ting as a text arrived.
“Who’s that? Not work, I hope,” said Seth.
Work was something else that had changed over the course of the last six months. Lainey had begun helping Seth with Faulkner Travel, while Majella scaled back in order to spend more time with Dan. Lainey was the one who’d come up with the idea of expanding into activity holidays for single-parent families, and bookings had taken off like a rocket.
But no, she saw the name on the screen and breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s Dawn. Crikey, she says the contractions have started, her water has just broken, and she’s on her way to the hospital, all systems go.”
She swiftly texted back: Wow, good luck! And then smiled, because the friendship that had developed between Dawn and herself had been as nice as it was unexpected. Dawn’s whirlwind romance with Niall might only have lasted a few weeks before he’d revealed his true colors, but it had nevertheless had the desired result. A week after discovering his devious skinflint ways and giving him the boot, she’d discovered she was pregnant. With no regrets whatsoever, she had begun to prepare with characteristic efficiency for single parenthood. As she’d explained to Lainey when they’d run into each other on the beach shortly after Niall’s departure, men were fickle creatures who could come and go, but a baby was for life. She had let Niall know the state of play; he couldn’t have been less interested, and that was absolutely fine by her. From now on, becoming a mother was all that mattered.
Lainey had found herself admiring her honesty and can-do attitude.
“Come and look at this.” Seth beckoned her over to join him at the window.
“Dawn’s about to have the baby.”
“So I gathered. I’m sure she’ll be brilliant at it.” Seth was less interested in hearing the details of Dawn’s labor than Lainey was. He slid his arm around her waist and pointed out of the window at the group of three people below. “Isn’t this great? Something else that’s changed in the last year.”
Lainey leaned against him and smiled. “Just so you know, I’m planning on taking all the credit for that happy ending too.”
* * *
On the freshly mown lawn below, Wyatt’s mother was proving unstoppable, shouting orders like a sergeant major, taking endless photos, and showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.
“Now turn your head a little to the left, honey, that’s right… Rest your right hand on the back of the chair and smile… No, not that much!”
Wyatt was doing his best to obey orders, but really, how could he not smile that much when he was bursting with happiness? After so many years of trying to please his parents and get on with living a life that didn’t come naturally, what a relief it had been to discover how blissfully easy it was to be his true self. It was as if the pieces of an impossible-to-complete jigsaw had morphed into new shapes, leaving everything fitting and feeling right at last.
He said, “Mom, have you taken enough now?” Because she was still darting around like a studio photographer. “You’ve got plenty.”
“Just a few more, honey. Now turn to face each other and look into each other’s eyes. I need you both in profile.”
This was no hardship. Wyatt turned and did as he was told.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be over soon,” Kit murmured, struggling to keep a straight face.
“C’mon, you two. Stop talking. I want a really great one to go on Instagram.”
Amused, Wyatt said, “Don’t tell me, Charlene had one of Ricky and his boyfriend on hers and you want yours to be better.”
“And why not? You and Kit are better! Now just let me do this… Place your left hand on Kit’s hip… Oh yes, that’s it, that’s perfect.”
Who could have imagined that his mother would have become his greatest cheerleader? Against all expectations, and probably at least in part because of the long-standing rivalry between herself and Charlene, she had embraced his sexuality with enthusiasm. His brothers had teased him, of course, because they were his brothers and that was what they’d always done, but there had been acceptance too. And when, over Chri
stmas, his friendship with Kit had grown and eventually blossomed into a relationship, it had felt like a miracle to both of them, a dream come true. Kit had worried at first that being so newly gay, Wyatt should really be getting out and about, widening his social circle and gaining experience. But Wyatt wasn’t like that, had never been that kind of operator. A relationship with someone he cared for was what he craved, far and away above casual dates and meaningless sex.
Which was nice, because that was how Kit felt too.
Even better, upon meeting Kit’s mother early in the new year, they’d gotten on wonderfully well together, and then his own mom had pretty much fallen in love with Kit from the word go.
“These are great.” Finished at last, she scrolled through the dozens of photos, then, eyes shining, darted between the two of them and cried, “Now a selfie of the three of us! Oh my beautiful boys, aren’t we having the best time? This is one of the happiest days of my life!”
Chapter 48
It was midnight and the party had ended, following a firework display that had lit up the sky with dazzling chrysanthemum bursts of color choreographed to accompany Stravinsky’s Firebird.
It had been truly spectacular; even the local dignitaries had been impressed. Seth listened to the murmur of voices in the distance as doors closed, limousines departed, and those guests staying overnight made their way upstairs to their bedrooms. Now it was just the two of them left outside, gazing up at the star-studded sky and listening to the sound of crickets chirruping in the grass nearby.
Lainey, lying next to him on one of the garden sofas with her head resting on his chest, said, “I could stay out here forever.”
He stroked her hair. “We don’t have to go in.”
“But I want to go in.” Sitting up, she rolled over and rose to her feet.
“What are you doing?” As he asked the question, she was already lifting her strappy oyster silk dress over her head in one smooth movement.
