He knew how worried she’d been about her sister, and he was planning to have fun with the children at various activities and friends’ picnics over the holiday weekend. He loved Nadia too, and was sorry she was going through such a hard time. He had no idea what had gotten into Nicolas. He liked his brother-in-law. They always enjoyed being together, and Ben thought that Nicolas genuinely loved his wife. Ben had never expected him to pull something like this. He’d seen the photos of Pascale in the press, and she was undeniably spectacular looking and very young, but beyond the physical, he couldn’t see the attraction. What was he going to do with a twenty-two-year-old actress and a baby, other than destroy his marriage?
“I’ll call you when I get to the château,” Venetia promised, and rushed out of the house with her suitcase, and a giant white alligator Birkin with clothes to change into on the plane, work she needed to read, and all the little odds and ends she hadn’t put in her suitcase. She was wearing white jeans and a T-shirt with a white denim jacket and white ballet flats.
She worked at a frantic pace till lunchtime, and at two o’clock she left her office after signing a bunch of orders and checks in haste, then left for the airport in plenty of time to catch her flight. She was traveling first class, as she always did. She settled into her seat when she boarded and finally relaxed. She texted Nadia when she sat down, “On the plane. Can’t wait to see you. Love, V.” Olivia was in the air by then, and she knew that Athena would be boarding shortly in L.A., after leaving Joe and their dog walkers a thousand instructions for the special needs of her pets.
Venetia texted her mother too, Rose was still promising to try and come on Friday night, and arrive on Saturday.
Everything was in place for an all-girl family weekend. They had nothing special planned. It wasn’t a holiday in France. Nicolas had called the girls and told them he was in Saint-Tropez for the weekend. Nadia tried not to think about it. She didn’t want anything to spoil her weekend with her sisters. It had been years since they’d had a girls’ weekend like this. It had taken a crisis to inspire her to organize it and make it happen.
Venetia’s flight was uneventful, and she had a text from Olivia when they landed, telling her that she had just arrived at the château and they were having breakfast on the terrace in the beautiful weather. The car picked Venetia up on schedule. She had gotten her bag quickly, so there was no delay getting on the road.
Olivia was lying on a lounge chair, sunning herself, when Venetia arrived, and Nadia was in the kitchen, talking to the housekeeper about lunch. Venetia could see her nieces playing with a ball in the distance on the lawn. It was a beautiful old property, which Nicolas took great pride in when his parents left it to him, and he and Nadia had restored and renovated it. Nadia loved it too, and they spent frequent weekends and summers there. It had been in his family for generations. There were well-manicured gardens and well-tended orchards of fruit trees surrounding it. Nicolas and Nadia put in the pool, which everyone loved. It was a wonderful place, and Nadia was trying not to think about the possibility that it might be her last summer there, if they got divorced. It already felt different to her. She felt a little like a guest, but she was grateful that Nicolas was still letting her use it, since they weren’t officially separated. It hadn’t been tainted yet, since Pascale had never been there. Nicolas had promised that to her. As it was a family property, which he had inherited, Nadia had no shared ownership of it. It belonged entirely to him, and would belong to their daughters one day.
Nadia saw Venetia chatting with Olivia when she came back to the terrace. Venetia was sitting on the end of the lounge chair and jumped up to hug her sister.
“I always forget how beautiful this place is until I see it again.” Nadia nodded and hugged her sister.
“How was your flight?” she asked Venetia, as the two girls bounded up to the terrace to see their aunt. They were wearing matching pink shorts and T-shirts, and they looked adorable. They kissed Venetia and then ran off again, Laure tugging at Sylvie’s shirt as they went back to the garden. She looked puzzled when she whispered to her sister.
“Why did all our aunts come and not bring our cousins?” They’d never done that before, and Laure had sensed that she shouldn’t ask her mother. There seemed to be a lot of secrets these days. Their mother stopped talking on the phone now when they came into the room.
Sylvie measured her words carefully before she answered. “I think Mama and Papa are a little mad at each other, and the aunts came to tell her how not to be mad at him anymore.” She had sensed the tension between her parents more than her younger sister had.
“Why is she mad at him? Do you know?” Sylvie shook her head. She’d been trying to figure that out herself.
“My friend Marie-Claire asked me if they’re getting divorced, and I said no. People only get divorced if they hate each other, and they’re not that mad, they still talk a lot. But Mama is mad at him about something. I think that’s why he’s in Saint-Tropez a lot these days.”
“I thought he was there to write,” Laure said pensively, as they sat down on a log to discuss it. They were far down the garden, where the grown-ups couldn’t hear them.
“I think he’s there to see friends, and until Mama stops being mad. I hope it’s soon. I miss him. He’s been out a lot lately, and he said he’s not coming to the château for two weeks.” Laure considered the answer and nodded. It sounded complicated to her.
“I’m glad our aunts came. But I wish they’d brought our cousins. It would be more fun,” Laure said wistfully.
“Mama said they might come back in August, with the kids.”
“With Papa too?” Laure asked, with huge eyes.
“I don’t know,” Sylvie said. Most of what she knew she had overheard. Her mother was sharing very little with her these days. But she did know that her mother was angry at her father. She had heard her say it several times to their aunts, and their grandmother. “Grandmama might come this weekend too,” Sylvie added, and Laure’s eyes grew even bigger.
“Then Mama must be very, very mad at Papa, if it takes so many of them to make her not mad.” Sylvie nodded and had nothing more to say.
But they could both see that their mother looked happy when their aunt Athena arrived before lunch. They were all sitting on the terrace of the château, talking and laughing. Their mother poured wine for her sisters and helped herself to a glass. They were all wearing shorts, except Athena, who was wearing a big white dress to cover her size. Laure thought she was pretty anyway. She had a beautiful face and laughed a lot. Laure was disappointed to see that she hadn’t brought any of her dogs, not even the two tiny ones, which sometimes traveled with her. She said they hadn’t come this time because she wasn’t staying long, and it was too big a trip for them.