But Raoul had never made plans to take her. She could hope, but that was a fiction she and her parents had dreamed up. Since his trip to St. Saphorin, he had other plans.
Meeting Abby had changed his world. Yesterday he’d experienced a coup de foudre. Raoul had never given any credence to two people falling in love at first sight, but there was no other explanation for what had happened to them. It surpassed any reservations he might have had thanks to his guilt about Angélique.
She’d felt it too, otherwise she wouldn’t have come with him even though she’d tried to fight it. He needed and wanted her in his life no matter what.
“Anything else, Félix?”
His secretary started to say something, then changed his mind. Raoul didn’t need to know the reason why. “What did my brother do now?”
“It’s what your uncle Pierre mentioned to me. I don’t know how important it is.”
“If that were true, you wouldn’t have that frustrated look on your face.”
“I understand Jean-Marc tried to handle a possible new client from Denmark while you were gone, but he quoted a lower price to seal the deal without checking with Pierre until it was too late.”
That sounded like Jean-Marc. His unhappy twenty-nine-year-old brother was only a year younger than Raoul, and had always resented the fact that Raoul would have first claim to the title once their grandfather and father passed away. Things had gotten worse since their father had chosen Raoul to take over the company a year ago—another nail in the coffin. Jean-Marc had always made everything into a competition—work, sports, women. The situation wasn’t going to improve anytime soon.
Raoul needed to talk to their autocratic father. If Jean-Marc were to be given total control over some aspect of the business, it might help him feel more important.
“Thanks for telling me. I’ll speak with Pierre. Anything else?”
“Yes. The funeral of André Laroche. I was informed it’s set for tomorrow at twelve at the church.”
One of their best employees had suffered a fatal heart attack. “I’ll be attending as no doubt will some of the members of the family.”
“Shall I arrange to get flowers sent?”
“I’ve already taken care of it, Félix.”
He nodded. “Was your trip to Switzerland successful?”
“Very.” Raoul was elated that Abby had come to Burgundy with him and was staying in the petit château a short distance away. Tomorrow he’d show her the piece written by Byron and get that out of the way. Then they’d take advantage of the time to love each other. He was living for that.
“Go on home to your wife and take the day off tomorrow. You deserve it.”
Félix blinked, which wasn’t surprising. Raoul had never been in love until now. The feelings he was experiencing now defied description and his secretary sensed it.
Raoul left the domaine headquarters for home. Since the deaths of his wife and child, he’d moved out of the grand château to a small, vacant cottage on the property he’d had renovated to suit him. He liked the distance it gave him from the family. It had allowed him to grieve in private for losing his daughter and for not loving his wife the way he should have.
From the day he’d married her, his emotions had been raw with regret for their marriage, which should never have taken place. It had torn him apart. Yet the guilt he’d always felt because he’d never wanted Angélique, hadn’t stopped him from bringing Abby here now. It seemed a betrayal, but he couldn’t suppress his desire to be with her as he hurried to the cottage to shower and change for dinner.
Of course word had gotten out that he was back. While he was dressing in a silky sport shirt and trousers, he had four phone calls. One from his parents, one from his sister, plus two others from his Aunt Abeline and her son, Gilles. He knew exactly what the latter two wanted. This was one time he decided to have it out with his cousin.
“Bonsoir, Gilles.”
“Sorry to bother you when you just got back, but Maman wants to know what’s happened to the Floraison property.”
Abeline wasn’t the only one interested. Gilles, divorced and low on funds, wanted it for himself. Once he got it, he’d sell it and gamble away the money. “I’m afraid it’s been sold.”
“What? When she hears that, she won’t stand for it.”
Gilles was as transparent as glass. “She’ll have to.”
“Then she’ll get an attorney and fight you.”
“It won’t matter. The attorney of record followed Auguste’s will to the letter. No member of the Decorvet family can be the new buyer. I only went to Switzerland to arrange for a few of Auguste’s things to be shipped back to the estate. Tell her that when you talk to her. Since I’m in a hurry, it will save my having to call her back. Au revoir, Gilles.”
The calls to his parents and Josette could wait. Since he’d become a widower, the one thing on their minds was to force him into a marriage with Solange. With the help of her father, they all assumed it was a fait accompli in the making. How little they knew what went on inside Raoul...