Chapter Ten

Theo had drained far too many whiskies listening to the soft regular breathing of Nina soundly sleeping in the chair beside him. It was late, a glance at his watch told him it was after midnight, he should sleep, they all had a long day ahead of them, he knew it would be emotional as well as tiring.

Clearing his glass, he stood, then gently shook her shoulder, "you won't be comfortable if you sleep here all night."

He watched as she slowly woke, eyes struggling to open, gaze fuzzy, for a moment he felt a little sense of endearment for her, she looked young, innocent and vulnerable at that quick moment between awake and sleep. Then she seemed to register where she was and that soft almost smile became a scowl. Jumping to her feet a little unsteadily, as though he'd burned her she rushed to put distance immediately between them.

"Don't touch me."

He sighed in frustration, "sorry for doing the right thing, I just thought you'd rather be in bed than wake cold with a cricked neck in this chair in the morning."

She looked at him suspiciously for a moment, then with a brief nod and a grunt that he presumed was her thank you, she disappeared up to her bedroom.

Theo followed a reasonable distance behind, feeling like a complete bastard, again.

Nina poured herself a mug of coffee as she addressed Mansell across the breakfast bar. "I'll drop you over to the village today, but this isn't my business anymore, I can pick you up at any time, you just need to call me, you don't need me around."

She was still disorientated at being woken up by the much detested Theo the previous evening. For a moment she'd felt warm, content, relaxed and slept, then she'd focussed, seen him staring at her, and she'd seen red. Maybe, just maybe, she was over zealous, had been a little harsh...but then he'd been nothing short of rude to her on every occasion that their paths had cross, and now, now she wanted to be away from that. She'd given this family more than enough of her time, and her sanity. It stopped today.

The old man looked up from his breakfast and cocked his head as he stared at her, "but that is exactly what I want, I need you with me, you're the only one with an ounce of objectivity. You're the only one with no agenda. I rely on you; you want what is best for me. You're the only one."

It was emotional blackmail and she gave him a sarcastic smile at that, "that's not what your grandson thinks."

Mansell rolled his eyes, "you've had ample opportunity to tell him how it is, yet you don't correct him, don't defend yourself. Part of me wonders if that's deliberate, maybe you're enjoying the arguments. Maybe you're getting off on the tension."

It wasn't a question, but she rushed to snort a reply, "I don't have to justify or explain myself to anyone; he thinks that I've some sort of agenda, that I'm after your money, that's his problem. The deal was I'd bring you here, that's what I've done. I'm not about to discuss my actions and motives with someone so rude and uncaring."

Mansell sighed, "but you've paid for everything. You won't even let me give you money for petrol. This house must have cost a fortune..."

She shook her head, "like I say it's my aunt's property, we are barely paying for more than the utilities." It was a white lie, it was actually owned by a friend of her aunt and she was paying several hundred Euros for it. But that wasn't an issue, she wasn't about to take money from a pensioner, that was against all that this trip meant. But that didn't mean she felt inclined to explain that to a man who looked down on her from his self elevated position. He didn't know her, and he didn't deserve her time or explanations.

"Ok," she conceded, "I'll drive you; I'll do what you need. But after the D-day thing in Arromanches tomorrow, I'm off to Cherbourg; I'm going to stay with my aunt. So from then you're on your own..." She inclined her head towards the stairs, "Little Lord Fauntleroy can drive you back to Brighton in his big posh car. Ok?"

Theo leaned against the wall at the foot of the stairs struggling to control his racing heart and his suddenly jelly knees. He had no idea what to say, or think. He wasn't someone who eavesdropped, but there was no way he could NOT hear the conversation between Nina and his grandfather. Now. He didn't know what to say, but he did have to enter the kitchen and eat breakfast with the two of them, after realising that he hadn't just got things wrong, but that he was making a complete fool of himself.

He hated being wrong, he was usually such a good judge of character...until Sadie, his internal and rather chastising voice reminded him. But he had believed that Nina was out to rip off his grandfather, ultimately, and now he had heard, albeit rather illicitly, that she'd organised the trip and that meant that maybe she wasn't on a freebie, he'd got it all wrong.

Slumping onto the stair he held his head in his hands, he been so busy concentrating on the fact that his grandfather had money, that he hadn't seen any other option. Mansell still owned a large portion of the family manufacturing business; he'd never been able to pass that legacy onto his and Daniel's father what with him being a wastrel. The fear of his grandfather being exploited or ripped off had been the focus of his thoughts, that everything and everyone had a hidden agenda. But it seems that his whole ethos needed an overhaul, this woman, the little Pocket Rocket had done this entirely herself just to make Mansell happy.

How the hell had he got that so wrong?

But then he'd been questioning his instincts a lot lately. Outside of work everything seemed to be going wrong, and that was all down to his decision making, to HIS choices, to HIS actions. After all Sadie, the so called love of his life had turned out to be anything but, then there was the fact that he had no idea about his own grandfather's history. What sort of a judge of character did that make him? And what sort of man? He slumped forward, his head almost touching his knees, trying to process the fact that this woman, the woman he couldn't stand, had done right by his own family when none of them stepped up to the mark. That took a fair bit of comprehending, and it was a long time since he'd even thought about trusting a woman again.

Taking a deep breath he prepared to eat humble pie.

Nina looked across the garden to the two sat on the patio furniture. Mansell, who'd looked pale and frail the last few days now sat opposite an elegant white haired woman who had a fair complexion and the most delicate hands that Nina had ever seen, looking exuberant. They were both focussed on the other, giggling, smiling, and unaware of anyone else. If it wasn't so sweet, she'd feel a little nauseated, but this was forbidden and lost love at the most impossible level.

She'd sat and watched him meet the woman he hadn't seen for seventy years with a smile, her skin tingling with the romanticism of it all. It had been such a special moment, she'd expected it to be awkward, but both of them grabbed the other's hands and murmured how much they'd missed each other over their lifetime. Theo had disappeared off somewhere, so she'd taken a can of coke and chosen to sit across the garden on her own. She wanted to switch off and not intrude.

"NO!"

A shout from Mansell made her jump to her feet and rush over to the older two, more than concerned. He was back to looking ashen faced, and the delicate Hélène was flushed, tears at her eyes. They were staring at each other and sudden there was animosity, anger and overwhelming sadness.

"What's wrong?" Nina was trying to make sense of the moment. She glanced between the two silent, hurt faces, then to the table between them, pictures of family, children...babies. Suddenly she felt sick, two and two made four?

"Mansell?" Her own voice was croaky; the tension between them was palpable.

When he looked up at her she could see he was terrified, he held out an old black and white picture out to her, a baby, maybe six months old, a smile still visible in the grainy image.

It was Hélène who spoke, "this is ..."

"Mansell's the father?"

She nodded, "Je suis désolé...Mansell. Please."

Nina placed a hand on his shoulder as he tried to speak, "you never said." He was shaking, then he turned hiding his eyes, and Nina was angry for him as the realisation sank in.

"His son...you let him walk away, you never contacted him..." Hélène's eyes flashed up to hers.

"You must understand, I was promised to another, when Mansell left...it broke me, but I didn't know about the baby...I was scared. It wasn't like it is today. If my father found out what had happened he'd have thrown me out, my husband would never have married me...you couldn't be a single mother in the forties. We should never have..." she blushed. "It wasn't meant to happen..."

"But it DID!" Nina sighed at the pain in the woman's eyes, "what happened happened, Mansell deserved to know. Seventy years and not one word!"

Mansell was looking up at her unsure, he didn't speak French and the two women had dropped into the local language. His face was a mask of confusion, so Nina relayed the conversation, her hand on his arm supportively.

Mansell's eyes flitted between the two women in a distraught way, and Nina felt pain at his pain and confusion.

Finally he spoke, "Where is he? This son." His voice was weak emotion filled.

Hélène's eyes filled with tears. "He's dead." Wiping at her eye she sighed sadly, "I am sorry Mansell, I should have told you, tried to contact you...but it was hard. Claude...my husband..." she closed her eyes for a moment, "he was very controlling. I was too scared of you arriving...., he passed away when he was twenty one. He and his wife had a car accident, neither survived."

Nina squeezed Mansell's shoulder, how awful must it be to find out about a son, then find out he was dead. All those wasted years, time that he'd never have back. Nina couldn't imagine how devastating that would feel. It had been bad enough returning from four years travelling abroad to find that her estranged father had died, died alone in a nursing home, then the guilt had mounted when she'd read the letter he'd left her explaining that he understood why she'd left, that he was sorry for the way their relationship had deteriorated. That letter had answered so many, but left her unable to change things, to settle their differences. But for Mansell this was a million times worse.

"But they left a baby..."

Both sets of eyes shot up to stare at Hélène, "baby?" Mansell's voice was a whisper.

At the exact same moment a young woman, probably the same age as Nina called out as she came across the garden, "grand-mere?"

Following in hot pursuit was Theo, and as Nina looked between the two, the similarities were unmistakeable, the colouring, the nose, the full dark lips.

"Claudine. You've met Theo."

Theo nodded, "we have met...what's going on?"

As both realised the secret that had been revealed, suddenly it was like a nuclear bomb detonating, shouts of accusation, tears, pain, hurt. An angry mess.

Nina stepped back, away from the mix this was none of her business, but the pleas of the older woman to understand how she'd brought up her grandchild as her own, and loved their children as equally as all the other members of the family echoed in her ears.

Escaping she rounded the house, and sat on the porch steps to finish the drink she had started earlier, glad to be away from the melee, but at that moment, a pair of booted feet appeared in front of her. She imagined it would be Theo, so she looked up with her usual practiced scowl, to meet the dark eyes of one of the most handsome men she'd ever seen, dark warm eyes, unruly dark hair, and a strong stubbled jaw.

"You are not part of this unhappy party in the garden."

Even his voice was warm and seductive, his accent more Parisian than his family members, "no. I'm just the driver."

He smiled at the fact she conversed in French, and dropped into his native tongue with a smile and a nod.

"That delightful car is yours?" He nodded in the direction of the Beetle and she swelled with pride, he saw what she did, he was the only one who appreciated its history, its appeal.

"It's my pride and joy!"

He laughed warmly, "I can see why. I'm Gabriel."

"Nina..." she extended her hand.

Grinning he shook her hand, "Claudine is my twin sister..."

"And yet you are both so different."

Laughing he gave a nod, "she has the blond hair, the bright eyes and the delicate features. Whereas I am the dark dangerous one."

"So that's why you're not out there battling for your identity?"

That made him laugh, "I am what I understand in Britain is termed the black sheep, my grandmother won't change how she feels about me after all this, and I definitely won't change how I view myself. But it is rewarding to know that no one is perfect, even those who appear to be."

Nina loved his self confidence, and could identify with his distance from his family and she could equally appreciate the sense of not being good enough. That was what had sent her off travelling for so long.

"So Hélène?"

He lowered himself to the seat beside her, "she's my great grandmother really, but she brought up my father, her grandson, as her own when his parents were killed, so she's always been my grandmother. She's a caring woman, but apparently I remind her of things that haunt her from the past." He waggled his eyebrows menacingly.

Nina studied him for a moment and immediately saw the traits that would have been evident in a younger Mansell. With an involuntary gasp she shook her head, "I couldn't see it until now. But you are exactly like I imagine Mansell would have been as a youngster."

"You mean that I look like him?"

She nodded, "you haven't met him, Mansell?"

He shook his head, "I have no interest in the past, I don't really spend much time with my family, it's pure chance that I am here. Though, there's a bonus, I am pleased to have met your acquaintance."

Jumping to his feet, he gave a wave, then walked off to a nearby motorbike. The echoes of the vehicle disappearing into the distance were still resounding in her ears when Theo stormed out of the front door. She stood slowly and turned to face him, pausing when she saw the emotion in his eyes.

"You ok?"

He nodded, "think so. Mansell wants to stay here for a bit, but I need to get out."

"I'll drive you back."

A quick chat with the newly acquainted family members, and Claudine promised to drive Mansell home a little later, which meant that within minutes Nina was driving Theo home to the cottage in silence.

It had definitely been a strange day.