A Winter Affair (23 page)

Eloise was almost asleep on her feet, and as the clearing up was finished, she said goodnight and scurried up to bed. As she turned off the light and snuggled down to sleep, she suffered a wave of loneliness, missing her children and her family as it used to be, but she'd got through her first Christmas without them and it had been the most eventful day.

She was down at half past eight the next morning to make breakfast. Vera was already there and had laid the table and was tidying before the guests came down. Everyone, even Lawrence, drifted down long past nine. The day was overcast, the sky heavy with more snow, and it wasn't until mid-morning that it was noticed that Gaby and Jerry had not appeared.

Debra sent Eloise up to wake Gaby. ‘Travis has found her a flight at teatime and she must pack and leave for the airport. I assume Theo can take her, or you can call a taxi,' she said bossily.

Eloise didn't answer and went upstairs to give Gaby the news. ‘Gaby, it's me, can I come in?' There was no answer; she knocked again before opening the door.

The room was empty, a pillow on the floor, the bedclothes in a tangle; the cupboard doors flung open, showing they were bare. She knocked on the next door, which was Jerry's room, there was no answer either, and when she went in, apart from the unmade bed, there was no sign that he had ever been there.

There seemed to be a lot of commotion upstairs, raised voices, someone clumping up the stairs, the thud of a door closing. Lawrence sighed; it had been the strangest Christmas of his life. He still felt sick thinking of the avalanche yesterday, terrified at how near he had come to losing Theo.

It was not surprising that the mood on Christmas Day had been affected, though they had managed to enjoy a good dinner, having made a pact not to talk about the event until the following morning. Yet he felt that those of the party who were not on the mountain at the time – Ken, Debra and the rest of them – had not understood the possibility of an avalanche, imagining that the runs were constantly monitored, as if they were at a playground for small children, not a place governed by the elements. They wouldn't understand any more than they'd understand that a sudden squall at sea was a product of nature and could not always be dictated to by man.

Everything seemed to be conspiring against him this season – finding that he couldn't put off the extensive work of Jacaranda any longer; the chef drama, although Eloise had worked out better than he imagined as she brought something special to the chalet – though he wasn't sure what – and then the avalanche and the fallout from that; learning that Radley had bought a publishing firm and might write an article – possibly dictated by his mother – about Verbier, or even Jacaranda; and now some new ruckus seemed to be taking place upstairs.

He sighed, he supposed he'd better go up and see what was happening – how glad he'd be when this lot had gone – but before he could shut down his computer, Theo came running into his office, his face fraught with panic.

‘Gaby and Jerry have gone.'

‘Gone where? Skiing?' He put his hand on his shoulder as if to reassure himself that his lovely boy was safe. Theo seemed none the worse for his experience; in fact he'd heard him and Jerry joking about it last night before supper, though he suspected Jerry was more scared by the ordeal than he pretended.

‘No… packed and everything, left the chalet,' Theo said as if Lawrence were slow on the uptake. ‘Eloise says they've run away from Debra, you know she told Gaby she had to go back to London today…'

‘I didn't know that.' He was annoyed he hadn't been told. It didn't matter to him financially if anyone left early as the chalet was already paid for, though he did expect to be told if there were any changes.

‘Gaby was so stressed after the avalanche; she told Debra she didn't love Jerry and Debra ordered her to go home today. Travis has got her a ticket for a flight this evening.'

He struggled with the sudden burst of anger rising in him. ‘So why has she already left, and where is Jerry?'

‘I don't know,' Theo slumped down on a chair, staring morosely out of the window, one hand stroking Bert who'd left his bed in the other room and come to him, hoping they were going out. ‘Jerry and I were going to ski the four valleys before he left, he even said he might stay on a few more days to do it if there was room here.'

Lawrence felt sorry for Theo. He'd thought Jerry a dull kind of person, probably under Debra's thumb, but Theo had brought him out of himself by taking him and Gaby skiing. Although Jerry was quite a bit older than Theo, they had got on well together and perhaps Theo had shown him what fun ordinary life could be, so it seemed churlish of them to just up and leave without saying goodbye to him.

‘We must find out what's happened to them, perhaps Gaby has told Eloise where they are,' Lawrence said. ‘No doubt someone has checked their rooms?'

‘Yes, Eloise did and I went up too. The rooms are empty. Eloise knows no more than we do. Vera said she found the outside door was unlocked when she came in this morning, but it often is if you get up early or Bert is let out, so she thought nothing of it,' Theo said.

‘I better go up and deal with it,' Lawrence sighed. There had often been dramas with the guests over the years, but this lot were some of the worst – if not
the
worst – they'd had, probably because Debra and Ken didn't really want to be here, at Jacaranda, at all.

‘I suppose they ran away so they could be together,' Theo said. ‘Debra doesn't like Gaby; she thinks she's after Jerry's money. Do you think she is Dad?'

He smiled at him, knowing that Theo only called him Dad when he needed reassurance, he was just nineteen after all, and though he liked to act older, there were times – especially like this – when he escaped back into the security of childhood.

‘Who knows? But I'm sure they will work it out between them. I'm sorry if they have left, you got on well with them and they obviously enjoyed skiing with you.' The whole situation sounded a bit strange to Lawrence, especially if Gaby had said she didn't love Jerry. He couldn't have forced her to leave with him, could he? No, from what he'd seen of them, Gaby was too gutsy to allow that.

‘Do you think the avalanche was my fault?' Theo suddenly blurted.

‘No. I don't. You know after a large snowfall there is more risk, and Marcus, David and I were about to ski in the same place. It could just as easily have been us. It was just bad luck, you know the mountains well enough.' Theo must have seen the warning flags and made his own decision. If he hoped to be a ski guide he had to be able to assess the risks, and Lawrence knew his son wouldn't have knowingly put anyone in danger. He got up. ‘I better go and deal with Jerry and Gaby's disappearance.' He lowered his voice and leant closer to Theo, ‘Though I'd quite like to run away from Debra myself.' He reluctantly made for the door. Theo followed him, assuring Bert he'd be back soon, knowing that if Debra saw him she'd only kick off.

They were all, except for Pippa, who Lawrence had presumed had gone upstairs, assembled in the living room. Debra sitting on the sofa, Ken standing by the window looking as if he too longed to escape, and Travis hovering about anxiously as though Gaby and Jerry's disappearance was somehow his fault. Radley prowled by the bookcase looking grumpy, as if annoyed with the fuss being made. Eloise and Vera were not there, but he could hear some clattering in the kitchen. He wondered if he should ask them both to come in so they could all discuss this together but decided against it – Eloise had told him she had no idea where they'd gone and Vera didn't know, so better to leave them out of it.

Lawrence said quietly, ‘I understand Jerry and Gaby have left without your knowledge.'

‘She is nothing more than a gold-digger,' Debra announced, making Ken say nervously, ‘We don't know that, dear.'

‘
You
might not, but I know one when I see one,' Debra retorted, as if she was constantly on the lookout for such people. ‘She practically admitted it to me, said she didn't love Jerry enough.' She turned to Lawrence. ‘I told her she must go back home today, Travis booked her a ticket for this evening, as he told her he would. Now I find she
and Jerry
are gone.'

‘And you've no idea where?' Lawrence wasn't at all surprised they'd escaped; he was amazed they consented to stay here with Debra at all.

‘Of course not or I would have gone and fetched him, talked some sense into him,' Debra threw him a withering look. ‘I can't reach him on his mobile, I've left countless messages, but he won't respond. I suspect she's taken his phone,' she added, as if Gaby was entirely responsible for this and had Jerry imprisoned somewhere.

How should he deal with this? Both of the fugitives, especially Jerry, were well over age and surely able to do what they wished. He suspected that Gaby had the stronger character of the two but this was hardly a case of a woman abusing a vulnerable person, though there was no doubt Jerry was in love with her. He addressed Ken, hoping to get a more helpful answer from him.

‘Do you know where they could have gone, Ken?'

‘I've no idea.' Ken glanced nervously at Debra, before quietly suggesting, ‘Perhaps they just wanted some time alone together.'

‘Huh! I'm sure
she
engineered the whole thing,' Debra proclaimed, her eyes boring into Ken's face. ‘So what do you suggest we do, Lawrence? Perhaps you could telephone all the hotels, see if they are there.'

He was certainly not going to do that; Ken didn't seem concerned about them so nor would he be. ‘I'll go and check with Eloise, I believe she knows Gaby,' he said hurriedly before leaving the room. Theo, who'd been standing by the window looking longingly out at the mountains, quickly followed him into the kitchen, relieved to get away.

Eloise was making a mushroom and leek filling for her interpretation of a beef Wellington. She looked up with an expression of sympathy. ‘Did they – or rather Debra – give you a hard time?' she said quietly. ‘I don't know where they have gone, but I would imagine Jerry wanted to go with Gaby, either back to the UK or somewhere else, he's desperately in love with her.'

‘They are both mature, consenting adults,' Lawrence said, though he imagined that that wouldn't be enough to please Debra. ‘How old is Gaby?'

Eloise thought a moment. ‘At least twenty-one, possibly twenty-two, she's a couple of years or so older than my twins.'

He sighed, ‘And she's obviously a clever, sensible girl, so I don't know what to do.'

‘Let them go,' Vera, who was at the sink polishing the silver knives and forks, broke in. ‘I would go if I had to stay long with that woman.'

Privately Lawrence agreed, but the sound of the door opening, the chill of cold air and voices in the hall disturbed them.

Theo said hopefully, ‘Perhaps they've come back?'

Lawrence started down the passage to see who it was. At the same moment Eloise's mobile announced a text, she peered at it as it lay on the table beside her.

She had given Gaby her number so she could pass it on to her mother. Eloise was about to show this text to Vera and Theo when she heard Aurelia's voice, loud and unmistakable.

‘There you are Lawrence. I've bought my new friend, Harvey Brandon, to see you, to give you some great ideas about making Jacaranda more lucrative.'

Harvey… Harvey was here? Shocked, Eloise rushed to wash her hands at the sink, frantic to escape.

‘Oh that woman again,' Vera said impatiently, then seeing Eloise's consternation exclaimed, ‘What has happened, are you ill? That woman makes me ill, coming here, trying to steal Jacaranda from Lawrence.'

Eloise forced herself to remain calm. She dried her hands and took off her apron. They might not come into the kitchen, or Lawrence might ask them to leave, perhaps to come back when he'd sorted out Gaby and Jerry's escape, for that's what it was, it was obvious from Gaby's message. At least she was safe… but she couldn't worry about that now, not with Harvey here. Why had Aurelia brought him to Jacaranda? How well did she know him – were they sleeping together? That was usually her first conclusion when she saw Harvey with an attractive woman, and Aurelia was glamorous and sexy, but what about the pink-clothed woman… no, she must not go there, Harvey's love life was nothing to do with her any more.

‘It's my ex-husband… Aurelia's brought him here with her,' Eloise explained to Vera, her heart beating, fit to burst. Perhaps she should escape through the door by the kitchen, though it would be so cold if she had to wait outside there long, and why should she risk freezing to death for Aurelia and Harvey?

‘How she got him?' Vera frowned, glancing in the direction of the passage leading to the front door as if they would suddenly emerge.

Eloise and Vera could hear Lawrence asking Aurelia why she hadn't telephoned first, it was not a good time, and perhaps they could come back later. Then they heard Aurelia's laughter.

Eloise crept closer to the door so she could hear their conversation better.

‘Harvey has to leave soon and he says he knows the chalet. It's such a surprise,' Aurelia sounded incredulous, ‘that he was once married to your little cook.'

‘I don't think we've ever met?' Lawrence said.

Theo, who had followed his father out of the kitchen but had only gone halfway down the passage to see what was going on, came back now.

‘Is he your ex, Eloise?' he asked in surprise.

She nodded, furious now that Aurelia had barged in here with Harvey. Had she brought him here to taunt her? ‘Excuse me, Theo.' She dodged past him and went down the passage.