The Chateau

Chapter 6

Gina’s heart leaped as a man appeared in front of her. It took her a few seconds to register the speaker. She’d been thinking about her father. He couldn’t even pick up his phone and talk to her. She stared at Ollie.

‘Sorry, were you saying something?’ she asked him. Her heart pounding faster.

Ollie repeated himself.

‘Hi, yes. I’ve been busy. I had meant to reply. Bit of a family crisis right now. You’ll have to excuse me.’ She continued walking.

‘Can I help, Gina?’ he asked, realising he’d seen her father in a bar with a younger woman a few times and quickly figured this could be the crisis.

Gina gave him a tense smile. ‘I don’t think so. But thank you.’

‘You could try me. I’m finished for the day. I’m a good listener,’ he said as they both halted by the opened door to the lake.

Gina squinted at him pensively for a moment. A flutter shooting through her heart swelled blood through every vein. He looked adorable, her epitome of a man. But he was a persistent shit. His way or the highway. Not really the type of person you could call on when you needed a shoulder to lean on. She glanced at the open door to the lake. Should she share her private troubles with this man, this arrogant loudmouth? Oh, if only his eyes didn’t grab her like this.

‘It’s very kind of you to offer but I…’

‘In case you’re wondering, I promise, you can trust me,’ he said tilting his head and churning more flurries through her skin. ‘Come on, we’ll have a coffee. You can have my company if nothing else.’

Gina took in a deep breath. What makes him think I would actually want his company? she asked herself. Was he sincere or just immature? She peered at the open door on the lake again, a strange concept inviting people to step into the lake – to drown themselves maybe? As if echoing her thinking, Ollie stepped towards the structure and ran his fingers down the frame.

‘I wonder?’ he said. ‘Is it an open door to opportunity, new beginnings? As one door closes another opens and all that?’

‘Mmm, curious,’ she answered running her finger down her nose. ‘An invite, a way in or, for some, a way out; an exit.’ She turned and face him. ‘What would you want it to be?’

Patting it once more he leant his shoulder against the frame and holding his other palm out lifted his eyes up to hers.

‘Definitely an invitation, possibly a new beginning,’ he said.

Gina’s heart quivered. Those words slipped from his lips so seductively. His dark eyes, so powerfully entrancing. It was hard not to be drawn in. How natural she imagined it would be to dissolve into those strong arms. Her mind drifted.

Out of nowhere, a sharp icy sensation sliced through her and she sensed they weren’t alone; something or someone was beside her again. Her nose and lip twitched at the putrid odour suddenly apparent. This lake must be haunted, she surmised. She shuddered and raised both hands to rub her arms. Her eyes shifted from his to the richly coloured flowerbed in front of the lake.

‘Do you know? I can’t really think.’ She took a deep breath. What was the harm? ‘Let’s have coffee,’ she conceded feeling confused as a rush of blood returned to her arms. Clasping her wrist, she frowned at the peculiar sensations within her. ‘I only have a short time though. I need to get back soon,’ she said finding his gaze again. Her mind unable to comprehend what the sensations meant? Had it been worse so close to the door? Was that significant? Was she meant to exit? Take a way out through the door and into the lake?

Ollie led her along the promenade and sat down at a table outside The Metropole, a café restaurant close to the steamboat terminal. He ordered a coffee and a beer.

He broke the silence. ‘So, I’m still curious about your interpretation of the metaphorical door?’

‘I suppose, being an optimist and an opportunist, for me, it would have to be an invite, or an open door to something new,’ she said, watching his mouth uncurl into a smile.

‘I’m glad you said that. Reading your face down at the lake, for a minute, I was worried it suggested something else.’

She sipped her mug of coffee. ‘Why should it?’ she said, intrigued. ‘You don’t know me.’

‘Well, no, but for us, there are plenty of inviting opportunities. We have much to offer one another.’ His eyes sparkled.

Gina felt a faint rush of blood in her cheeks. Well, at least he wasn’t being as flippant or glib like he’d been previously. One side of her mouth rose as her mind churned. How was she supposed to interpret his suggestion? Did he mean property or relationship? Why did he emphasise the word ‘inviting’? Or was he just being his cocky, and now, smutty self? Or, was she propagating some kind of wish-fulfilment within herself? She rubbed her ear, he was well aware she was in a relationship with Max and she had told him she was having a crisis right now, so it was unlikely he would be making a pass, so she decided to play safe with property.

‘Of course, you did say in your email, to come along and see the villas for yourself.’

‘Yes. Come along when you have time. Here’s my card.’

Chapter 7

Creeping in to the apartment Gina could just hear a clock ticking in the kitchen. She tiptoed down the hall and peeked her head slowly around the bedroom door. She waited a while and watched her mother’s chest take slow, shallow breaths, then gently closed the door.

Again, she tapped her father’s avatar on her phone, letting it ring. He didn’t answer. She blew out a deflated sigh. She texted him again. This time her message was less polite. Reaching for the kettle, she realised it was still quite warm. Her mother had, it seemed, been up and gone back to bed.

She pulled out her phone and the business card Ollie had handed her. Might as well, she thought, keying in his number.

Five minutes later, as she reached the foyer on the ground floor, she was pleased Ollie was standing outside the main door.

‘I’ve probably got an hour or two at most,’ she said, gazing at his untamed hair caught by the breeze. ‘How far are we going?’ she asked as they crossed the road and he led her through wrought-iron gates and down the side of his parents’ large lakeside villa.

‘I can take the car if you’d prefer. It takes about fifteen, twenty minutes to walk along the lake.’

Gina wrapped her hair behind her ear. ‘No, walking will be fine, I love to walk,’ she said and her eyes danced at the site of the house and gardens from the front. ‘Wow, this is impressive. How beautiful.’

‘This is my parents’ place.’

‘It’s vast. And what a magnificent style, traditional.’ She stopped briefly to take it all in.

Although it was just across from her parents, Gina had paid little attention to what was behind the well-tended foliage and walled garden. It was a villa of almost mansion proportions, she observed, with at least four floors if you included the attic rooms and possibly five with the cellar. Its pitched roof was elaborated by a majestic gable leading the eye down the centre of the property. Each window had been decorated with its own small Juliet balcony in black delicate ironwork and shuttered in a pale sage-green, adding to the symmetry of the enormous building.

‘Yes, I grew up here,’ he said, pointing to the other side of the road next to her parents’ block. ‘My own apartment is over there but I have lots of fond memories from my childhood. Did you grow up in Switzerland?’

‘No. Nowhere as beautiful as this.’ She shook her head. ‘Hammersmith is where I grew up. We moved to a house in Fulham when I was about five. Then my parents came out to Switzerland while I was at uni. My brother was in his last year at school. We used to visit my grandparents though. They lived in the centre of Clarens,’ she told him as they strode past a covered swimming pool and towards another wrought-iron gate that led out to the lake path.

‘I’m surprised we haven’t met before now.’

‘Perhaps we have.’

‘Mmm, possible. I did go to school in England. St Edwards in Oxford,’ he said.

‘Oh, Teddie’s.’ Gina gave a nod. ‘I know a few guys from there. Richard Branson’s daughter was the very first female head prefect or something.’

Ollie unlocked the gate. ‘Yes, girls are quite a recent phenomenon for St Edwards.’

‘Such a shame to be locked up in Oxford when you’ve had all this around you,’ Gina said, stepping out on to the path and into immediate warmth. ‘This quayside is such a suntrap.’

‘I liked Oxford, it’s a beautiful city. And it has the Thames.’

‘To be honest, as I recall, I’ve only ever been there once.’

They strolled in the direction of Territet, another small community the other side of the lake, east of Montreux.

Gina couldn’t forget her problems but she could blot them out just for an hour. Even Ollie seemed quite personable right now. She told him how she had started her business and about the London property market. She had to admit, his London site sounded nearly as exciting as the Swiss one and could possibly be months away from completion rather than the years she had imagined.

She spotted the boards of the building site as they turned a bend in the path towards the Château de Chillon. She gasped at the view. It was quieter in this part of the lake but equally, if not more, stunning. Certainly the château added romance. She also noted the vines beside the site, heavy with their last dark berried canopy, lined southerly along the relatively small terrace.

He unlocked the entrance. A makeshift lock securing the boards as there were still evidence of walling and iron railings which Gina thought seemed to also belong to the vineyard.

‘So, welcome to Château View Villas,’ Ollie announced as she stepped over the boarding threshold and onto piles of uneven dirt and debris.

‘Lucky, I came prepared,’ she said, pointing to her flat mules. Then glancing up at the front first villa, angled as the first of a crescent, a loud breath escaped her. ‘Wow! That’s stunning.’

‘Thanks. Let me show you,’ he said, taking her hand and leading her across the treacherous terrain. ‘This one and villa six are reserved. They all have lake views because of the way the crescent is laid out and the ground is terraced.’ His voice rang with excitement. ‘I can’t tell you how amazed I am with this layout. The architect did a great job at getting them all in.’

‘Well, yes, you’d be a disappointed customer if you didn’t get that outlook. And, these on this side will also have the bonus of that Château view,’ she said, twisting herself to look back. Her foot slid on protruding bricks and she almost shot headfirst into the mud.

‘Woah!’ she cried.

Instinctively, Ollie reached out, catching her arm pulling her into his torso. Finding her footing, she peered up to him. Simultaneously his hand slid around her waist, steadying her. Their eyes locked together while the tenderness of his hand on her waist sent a tremor of pleasure quaking inside her; striking at every nerve. Max had never evoked such a sensual reaction in her. Ollie then lifted her over a mound of debris and she could feel his breath hot on her neck as his lips brushed close. He held her there for a few seconds before gently lowering her on safe ground.

‘Thank you,’ she said, watching a hunger in his eyes not unlike her own. ‘Can we go in?’ she asked, rapidly diverting her attention, and possibly his.

‘Yes, but take my hand until we reach the building, just in case you stumble again. I rather enjoyed that.’

Flustered, Gina wiped her brow with one hand while clasping Ollie’s palm with the other and was led to the only completed villa. She looked in awe at the sight before her. The double storey villa contained two pitched roofs either side of the flat-roofed central crescent-shaped area containing large bowed fold-back doors. She could imagine them opening out onto a wide curved terrace wrapped around the front of the building. The arched doors on the end buildings also led to the terrace with the upper floors having overhanging balconies dressed with wrought-iron balustrades. Oh, how gorgeous would that be, she chimed to herself. She envisioned herself with Ollie, slouching in his arms on the balcony, sipping wine and relishing the exquisiteness of the lake.

As they negotiated the rubble to the front entrance he kept a tight grip on her hand. Passing her a voracious smile, Ollie unlocked the door. He offered Gina a hand up the elevated entrance. She leaned in to his hand.

‘Yes, sorry, a bit of work to do on the ground works and landscaping,’ Ollie said, breaking her trance. ‘But it’s due to start in two days. They’ll be a pool in front of this one, hence, the huge hole dug out there.’

He led her around, room by empty room, providing details as they went. Her mind whirled when they got to the bedroom and at the views. She fought desperately to embed the details in her head. The bathrooms and the kitchen were almost furnished, their quality evident. A further kitchen garden overlooked the pool area. Mentally, she kept a map of the house to relay to clients.

‘Very impressive,’ she told Ollie.

Ollie locked the door and helped her down back on to the ground. As she peered around the site, she shook her head at the size and considered its value alone.

‘How did you manage to get hold of such a prime site? The plot alone must be worth a fortune.’

‘Ah,’ he grimaced, cowering his head. ‘I was the lucky benefactor.’

‘You inherited all this?’ she asked as they walked through to the front of the villa. Gina slowed, admiring the unpainted frontage and imagined the finish.

‘Yes. Well, it was a commercial site, a goods yard, if you like. It belonged to my great-grandfather who’d acquired it when land was cheap and he then passed it to my grandfather. I believe some sort of machinery was manufactured here long ago and weapons exported during the war. I think it was last used for storing timber. Anyway, we only leased out the land. I demolished two warehouses.’

‘That’s fantastic. So, is it just you developing these?’

‘Yes. Originally, I did go into business with my father. He’s a property developer. I learnt much of it from him but he wanted me to start making my own way. Insisted I took this site on as a start. Well, as there was very little outlay, if I’m sensible enough, this should set me up for life.’

‘I should say so,’ Gina breezed, raising her eyebrows. ‘Anyway, I’d better get back to my mum.’

‘Is she OK?’ he asked, taking her hand again and leading her back to the boarding.

Gina lowered her eyes, pursing her lips. ‘Yes, I think so. She and Dad are going through a difficult time. I’ve left her asleep.’

‘I’m sorry. I hope it rights itself soon. For all your sakes.’ He sounded concerned. ‘My parents went through a difficult patch when I was younger. It really messed with my head. Just call me if you want to chat.’

They walked through the gate then Ollie locked up.

Gina scanned her eyes over the lake, the cloud had lifted and the sun streamed across resting on her skin. As Ollie stepped down beside her, a sharp chill surrounded her and something leaned into her the opposite side.

‘Phew.’ She jumped, stroking her arm and searching around. Something or someone was again making their presence apparent.

‘Are you OK?’ he asked.

‘Mmm, yes, fine,’ she lied. ‘A fly, or something.’

They began to stroll back. Talking about Montreux as they went.

‘So, have a think about how you can market these in London and let me know if you’re interested. And, of course, the apartments in Battersea. My option finishes soon but my instinct is to go with it, particularly as the market is on the up. I realise it’s not your immediate vicinity but would it be close enough?’

Gina rubbed her forehead. Wasn’t he being a bit presumptuous? ‘I’ll think about that too. I need to sort things out here at the moment. Email me the spec and details and I’ll get back to you,’ she said as they reached his garden gate.

‘Here, cut through.’ He waved his arm for her to enter the gate. ‘And, could you keep all this between us? The Battersea site is still highly confidential.’

‘Yes, of course,’ she nodded and stopped startled and he moved close, catching her elbows and planting a kiss on both her cheeks, then as she backed away, a third.

‘It’s three in Switzerland,’ he grinned. ‘Thought you would have known that.’

She trembled at his nearness. ‘Yes, it is.’ Her eyes met his, her cheeks flushing crimson as she turned to go.

Gina rushed up to the road, brushing her hair through her fingers like she was unleashing every loose strand. Although Ollie was rather presumptuous and arrogant at times he did seem nice. And he made her blush like a teenager. It was rare for Max to have that effect on her nowadays. Ollie had also been kind in offering support with her parents. Max was rarely interested in her family so it was quite refreshing for someone to take an interest.

Once at her parents’ apartment, she opened the door and her nostrils flared with delight as the aroma of fresh coffee wafted out. Glancing at the sofa, however, her heart sank seeing the shrunken frame of her mother, usually so vibrant, so smiley and in charge, now pale and listless, curled miserably into the corner of the furniture, wrapped in a soft throw.

‘That coffee smells divine. Are you feeling better after the sleep?’ she asked, sliding into the chair next to her.

‘I was happier asleep,’ Adrienne’s voice croaked. Then clearing her throat, continued, ‘I’ve just brewed the coffee, so help yourself.’

Gina gave her mother a long searching look, examining her red-rimmed and bloodshot eyes, her vacant stare, her tiny pink nose and dry, cracked lips. Her heart cried. This was so difficult. This was her mother, her light, her rock and sometimes, her saviour. What could she possibly do to help her through this? She sat back and hid her eyes, now swelling with tears. This was out of her realm. She couldn’t just tell her mother to pull herself together. This was going to take time. And she had to speak to her father.

‘Can I top up your coffee, Mum?’

‘No, honestly I’m fine. Thank you.’

Feeling useless, Gina kicked off her shoes, lifted herself from the chair and strolled to the kitchen area to pour herself a coffee. The stone-tiled floor was cool beneath her feet.

‘I’ve been trying Dad’s mobile but he’s not answering.’

‘Me too,’ Adrienne muttered. ‘Selfish bastard.’

Gina opened the fridge and added milk to her coffee. How was she supposed to speak to her father? She had no control over this situation but it wasn’t in her nature to sit back and do nothing. The thought of her mother sitting around like this for days, weeks, maybe destroying herself, was far more than she could handle. Well, perhaps she should give her mother a couple of days to at least come to terms with the situation. The poor woman didn’t deserve this. She’d received a pretty harsh blow. She sat down and folded her legs up on the sofa with her coffee in her hand.

‘Mum, tell me how you feel?’ she asked, sipping the hot drink and observing her mother. Maybe if she spoke about it she would find it easier.

Adrienne gave a thoughtful glance at her daughter and blinked hard. She then rubbed her eyes and sniffed. Gina held her patience with all her strength, willing her mother to collect her words and express them. Adrienne had always worn her heart on her sleeve whereas Gina kept her feelings close, unlike her opinions. She kept her focus on her mother, telling herself to hold her tongue.

Finally Adrienne took a deep breath.

‘Hurt, betrayed, sick, humiliated, heartbroken, sad, angry, jealous…I don’t understand what I’ve done wrong, I feel I’m owed an explanation. Why couldn’t he just talk to me and tell me he was unhappy? No, he’s found an easy way out – someone to move in with, just a shag. I expect that’s what he’s doing. Just fucking! I mean, who is she to just steal my husband? Break up a perfectly happy marriage. Ruin lives. And him! What was missing in his life? He wanted for nothing, so why?’ Her chest began to shake, then her voice etched up an octave. ‘So why couldn’t he just talk to me? Why?’

Gina rushed over and reached out as her mother collapsed sobbing into her arms. Tears began streaming down her own cheeks as she shared some of her mother’s pain. Their family was broken and her mother was clearly suffering, hurt and humiliated.