Vintage (58 page)

A chirrup from Kelly’s mobile interrupted Hilarian’s rant.

“It’s from my mum,” she said with surprise. “She says she’s at the station.”

Guy drove to the station to bring Marina back to Froggy Bottom while Kelly waited with Hilarian in the house. Hearing Guy beep his horn to announce their arrival, Kelly put down the spoon she had been polishing absent-mindedly for the best part of twenty minutes. When she walked out into the courtyard, Guy was helping Marina
down from the Land Rover. Kelly had forgotten how short her mother was. She must have had a hell of a job getting into the passenger seat of such a high car.

At last mother and daughter stood face-to-face for the first time in five years.

“Hello, Mum,” said Kelly.

“Hello, sweetheart.”

They remained a couple of feet apart, as though an invisible wall still existed between them, until finally, Marina opened her arms. Kelly rushed forward into them and burst into tears.

Still wiping her eyes, Kelly brought Marina into the farmhouse.

“You’ve already met Guy,” she said. “This is Hilarian … ”

“Oh hello, Hilarian,” said Marina with a smile. “I remember who you are. Hilarian used to visit your dad, Dougal, out in Norfolk. He used to help me tidy up after everyone else had gone to bed.”

“Oh God,” said Kelly, observing her mother’s grin and Hilarian’s sudden violent blushes. “Don’t tell me you guys had a fling … ”

Setting aside his profound fear of medical procedures, Hilarian submitted to allow a swab to be taken from inside his cheek. Kelly gave another and the results of the resulting DNA test were as Marina had suggested. There was an almost perfect match. A ninety-nine point nine percent certainty that Kelly Elson was related to Hilarian Jackson.

“The funny thing is,” said Hilarian, as they popped open a bottle to celebrate, “I think I always knew.”

They were sitting at the kitchen table in the farmhouse—Kelly, Hilarian and Marina. A little family reunited.

“I’ve got another surprise for you,” said Hilarian then.

He held out a check for two hundred thousand pounds.

“I got this money in a bet that you helped me to win. It’s from Odile and Ronald and Gerry. The Mollisons can’t touch this. It’s yours to do what you want.”

Kelly stared at the check.

“You’re my daughter. I wasn’t around while you were growing up but I want you to know that I will always be there for you from this moment on.”

And Kelly knew that he meant it.

All the same, Kelly had to quit the farm. With the knowledge that Hilarian was her father, Kelly didn’t even bother to fight. The remaining trustees kindly gave her a month to find somewhere else. During that time she continued to work with the grapes, as did Guy. But he wasn’t as enthusiastic as he had been.

A week before Kelly had to leave, the two friends sat together at the top of the vineyard and looked down on Froggy Bottom. Scene of so much happiness and laughter.

“You could stay,” said Kelly. “I’m sure that whoever gets to buy this place will want to keep you on. You’re the only one who really knows about the grapes here. You are Froggy Bottom.”

Guy shook his head. “It’s not the place, Kel.
We’re
Froggy Bottom. You, me and Hilarian. I don’t want to be here if you guys won’t be here too. Anyway,” he said, “I should go back to South Africa. I haven’t been back in over five years. My mum is beginning to forget what I look like.”

“How long will you be away?”

“I don’t know. Apart from anything else, if I don’t have a job here, I might not be allowed to come back. I won’t get the visa.”

“Are you serious?”

Guy nodded. “It’s not so bad. I’ll easily get a job in Stellenbosch. It’d give me a chance to do something different. I’ve done sparkling wine now. I can make a nice big red. It would be a new challenge for me. A bit of cabernet sauvignon. Some merlot.”

“You hate merlot,” said Kelly.

“Well, maybe if I find some new way to work with it, I’ll create a merlot I can actually drink. We’ve got to see this as an opportunity.”

“We?”

“Slip of the tongue,” said Guy.

They were silent for a moment, looking out over the vines.

“Though you could come with me,” Guy said at last.

“Do you mean it?” Kelly asked him. “To South Africa?”

Guy nodded. “What do you think? Would you go for it?”

“I’d go for it. We could buy our own vineyard there. With the money Hilarian won in the bet.”

“Do you want to do that?”

“Oh yes.”

Guy and Kelly turned to face each other. Guy looked at Kelly with pure love. It was impossible for him to remember right then that he had ever looked at this woman before him in any other way. The love he felt for her now had completely wiped from his mind the memory of the angry young girl who had made life so difficult.

Likewise, Kelly had no memories of Guy but happy ones.

Guy took Kelly’s face in his hands. She felt her stomach leap at the prospect of what was to come. She closed her eyes, as if to allow him the privacy to make his move. A little piece of her offered up a silent prayer. Please let
this go right. After so many months. After five years. It would have been too cruel for this kiss not to be perfect.

With her eyes closed, Kelly could still tell exactly where Guy’s mouth was. She could feel the air between them crackle as he drew closer. She felt his breath on her face. Warm and soft. Then, finally, his lips against hers. Bumping tentatively. Tenderly. She let her mouth relax. Her lips parted to receive him.

Afterward, they sat back and stared at each other. Thank goodness it felt right. Thank goodness. But for a moment they couldn’t speak. It was as though they were stunned. It was Kelly who broke the tension first. She laughed. Guy knew she wasn’t laughing at him. He laughed too. With relief. Then he caught her cheeks between his hands again and peppered her face with yet more kisses, which she returned tenfold and delightedly.

It was half an hour before they came up for air. They were lying on their backs by this time, looking up at the clouds that seemed to be forming love-hearts above them.

“I’m going to come with you to South Africa,” said Kelly at last. “And we’re going to create a fabulous new vineyard. I can’t think of anything I want to do more.”

“I’ll raise a toast to that,” said Guy.

EPILOGUE

T
he news that Axel Delaflote was to be tried for the murder of two call girls—one French and one English—quickly spread throughout Champagne.

It didn’t seem quite right. Despite his transformation from a straightforward country guy to a first-class arsehole under the influence of Mathieu Randon, most people who had met him found it very hard to believe that Axel could be capable of murder. Yet it seemed he was. There was CCTV footage of him with the French girl on the night she died and now evidence had emerged that seemed to link him unequivocally with the English girl too.

A black Chanel evening bag, containing credit cards and a driver’s license belonging to Gina Busiri, had washed up on the banks of the Marne just days before the
Vinifera
awards ceremony. It was found by a community-minded citizen who took it straight to the police station. From there it was passed on to the detectives running the investigation into Gina’s death, who stripped the bag for anything that might offer them a clue. Tucked inside the lining was a business card belonging to Axel Delaflote.

When she heard about Axel, Madeleine was horrified. She decided it just went to show that it was impossible to really know someone, even if they had been part of your life for
years. For a few weeks after she first heard about the arrest, Madeleine would wake in the night, feeling chilled by the knowledge. She wondered if the memory stick pushed under her door in San Francisco had been from Axel. She hadn’t got as far as reading any of the documents upon it and of course it had been lost in the earthquake. Perhaps it held his confession.

When she heard Axel had been convicted, she cried for days. Gradually, however, the feelings subsided. Life went on. The seasons changed. Two years after her triumph in San Francisco with her first Clos Des Larmes, Madeleine released a second vintage to great acclaim.

A couple of weeks later, Madeleine was spending an afternoon in the vineyards on the hill.

Pausing in her work, she looked up. The sunlight reflected on the windscreen of a fast-moving car caused a flash that caught her attention. She watched the sleek red sports car winding its way through the vineyards toward the village. Toward Champagne Arsenault. Finding no one there, the driver turned his car around and headed up toward the vineyards on the hill.

As it drew closer, Madeleine recognized the Aston Martin DB4. There could be only one driver.

“Just passing through,” said Piers Mackesy.

Madeleine raised an eyebrow. “Really? You should have called ahead.”

“OK. Not just passing through,” he admitted. “I had to see you.”

“I suppose I should be flattered but—”

“I’m divorced,” he blurted out. “Papers came through yesterday.”

“But—”

“I know. I didn’t tell you I was doing it. I should have. But I thought you might think I was just saying it to get
you into bed. After the earthquake I knew that I loved you but you made it clear that you weren’t to be messed around with. You’ve clearly never trusted me. Why should you? Never had a reason to. I’ve been a complete dog in my time. Built up quite a reputation. But the way I felt about you was different. I had to do something about it. I couldn’t pretend it didn’t matter. So I asked for a divorce and actually went ahead with it. Rather surprised myself.”

“What should I say?” Madeleine bit her lip. “Does one say congratulations?”

“You don’t have to say anything,” said Mackesy. “Just kiss me. Now you’re allowed.”

Madeleine hesitated.

“I knew it. You don’t feel the same. I’ll go,” he said.

“No.” She turned and reached for him. “Stay.”

It was all the encouragement he needed. He took her hand and pulled her toward him. Madeleine looked into his eyes. He saw her pupils dilate, her gaze soften.

Madeleine made the next move. She cupped her hands around Mackesy’s face and brought him closer, shutting her eyes and opening her mouth ever so slightly as she did so. Mackesy followed her cue. Their lips met. Gentle at first but soon there was nothing tentative about it. They were like two teenage lovers, desperate to get enough of each other before curfew and homework and a whole twenty-four hours until they could see each other once more.

“I have wanted you so much,” Madeleine murmured into Mackesy’s mouth.

They headed back to the house, remaining lip-locked during the drive. Once inside, Madeleine struggled with the buttons on Mackesy’s shirt. She ripped off the last stubborn two. Mackesy pulled Madeleine’s T-shirt over her head. She shimmied so that her jeans fell into a puddle of denim around her shoes. She stepped out of them
altogether and allowed Mackesy to start dancing her backwards towards the bed.

When she felt the edge of the bed against the back of her calves, Madeleine sat down on the mattress. Mackesy dropped her hands and stood a little way off, admiring his lover in all her glory. Madeleine played up to it, adopting a luxuriant pose. She lay back. Her dark hair fanned out across the white linen. Her pale skin and black lingerie made the perfect graphic picture. Mackesy let his gaze drift down her long legs to her shell-pink toenails.

Playfully, Madeleine pointed one of her feet toward him. Mackesy rushed to hold it. He lifted her leg and pressed his cheek against her instep. Then he placed a kiss on her ankle. Another on the sole of her foot, which tickled and made her squeal.

Her eyes were laughing. Mackesy dove onto the bed beside her. They kissed again and soon Madeleine was easing down Mackesy’s underpants and taking his erection in her hand.

Mackesy’s hands were all over Madeleine’s body. He tucked his fingers into the back of her flimsy lace knickers and followed the crease between her buttocks down to the top of her legs. Between her legs.

“Let’s get rid of these, shall we?” Mackesy suggested.

Madeleine willingly complied. She rolled onto her back and lifted her hips so that Mackesy could pull the knickers off. But he had other ideas. He took a flimsy side string in each hand and ripped them.

“We’ll go shopping tomorrow,” he promised her with a grin. Then he parted her legs and lowered his head toward her neatly shaped pubic hair.

Madeleine groaned appreciatively as his tongue touched her clitoris but she couldn’t wait any longer. Mackesy was a master of cunnilingus, but Madeleine
didn’t want to lie back in the pillows right then. She wanted him inside her.

“Come here,” she commanded.

Pushing his fringe away from his eyes, Mackesy raised his head.

“Come here.”

He pulled himself back up the bed and balanced above her on his elbows.

“I want you inside me,” Madeleine said.

She took hold of his penis again. It was harder than before. He wanted her as much as she wanted him. That confirmation made Madeleine’s own pulse throb more urgently in response.