Page 46 of Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure
Then a sudden thought came to her:Does one have to pray in French when in France?This made her laugh, and the tension was broken. Whatever was going to happen, it was good.
Ellie didn’t know how long it would take to get a response from the new owners of the villa. She couldn’t understand why anyone would not want it restored, or why they had not wanted to live in it themselves. Maybe they lived in another country, they had moved to America or somewhere halfway around the world, in which case it would take weeks to get a reply. But shortly after breakfast, Monsieur Danton arrived.
“There’s the notaire come to see you,” Mrs Adams announced. She lingered, hoping to hear what the notaire might want with a group of Englishwomen.
“Thank you, Mrs Adams,” Ellie said. “Please show him in here.”
Monsieur Danton entered. Ellie couldn’t read from his face whether it was good news or bad.
“I presented your offer to the guardian of the estate,” he said, speaking so slowly and formally that Ellie wanted to shake him. “He was intrigued. I would have expected him to say no, knowing his feelings about the villa, but to my surprise he seemed quite amused that you would take this on. He says you have three months in which you pay no rent, but after that you agree to rent it for one year at a price to be decided based on the current value of the house.”
He saw Ellie about to object to this but went on, “He did state that the rent should be a reasonable one and not what one would expect in Antibes or Saint-Tropez. He understands that you are widows, alonewithout the protection of a man. He was, if I may say so, remarkably reasonable considering my former dealings with him.”
“So when can we start?”
“I have brought the keys with me,” he said. “And the owner wishes you bonne chance. And I believe he actually laughed.”
“I see. He expects us to fail,” Ellie said. “We’ll get it to a certain level but won’t be able to complete the project, and then he’ll get a house he can finish by paying his workmen.”
“I can assure you he has shown no interest in finishing the villa until now,” Monsieur Danton said. “I just believe the prospect amuses him. Perhaps he is bored, and he needs something to pique his interest.”
He reached into his briefcase and brought out the bunch of keys, which he solemnly handed over to Ellie. “I also wish you bonne chance, madame,” he said. “I think you will need it.”
Chapter 18
Mrs Adams had been lurking just out of sight, eavesdropping. As soon as Monsieur Danton had gone and the women were sharing their excitement, she came back in.
“What’s this about renting a house, then? Where is this house? I didn’t know there was a house to rent in Saint-Benet.”
“It’s the villa, Mrs Adams,” Ellie said. “The Villa Gloriosa.”
The woman’s mouth dropped open. “But that place is a ruin. Nobody’s lived in it for donkey’s years. They even say it’s haunted.”
“It will be a challenge, Mrs Adams. I need a project, and this is a good one. Besides, it doesn’t look nearly as bad as you think. I don’t suppose you ever met the opera singer, did you?”
Mrs Adams shook her head. “By the time we arrived, after the war, she hadn’t been here for years. She might already have died, and if she was still alive, I don’t think she was famous and in demand any more. Probably too old to attract the men. Her heyday was the belle époque, you know. That was the time when rich noblemen set up their mistresses in flats in Paris and all that kind of immoral carrying-on. The things I’ve heard about what went on at that time ... enough to make your hair curl. I said to Mr Adams once I’m glad we’re respectable people. So when would you plan to move into that place?”
“Obviously not for a while. If you don’t mind, we’ll stay on here until we’ve made some of the rooms at the villa liveable. I can’t tell how long that will take.”
She could see Mrs Adams totting up the money.
“Well, of course you’re lucky about the time of year. We don’t have the real influx of visitors until after Christmas. So I should be able to keep the rooms for you.”
“That’s good of you,” Ellie said, half meaning to be sarcastic, but the woman nodded. “I’m happy to help out a former Englishwoman in distress,” she said. “Have you recently lost your husband, then?”
“Very recently,” Ellie said and did not expand on this. “That’s why I have to be busy and start a new life.”
“Well, good for you, that’s what I say. Some women would stay home and shut themselves away, wrapped in their misery. But not you.”
By the time they went out for their walk, it seemed that half the village knew their plans. They decided to pay a call on Louis to see if the Bentley might be ready and to ask him for his help with the villa. They had only gone halfway down the street when they heard a loud “Yoo-hoo?”
Mr Tommy was running after them. “I’ve just heard the news,” he said. “I can’t believe it. Are you really going to rent the haunted villa? Clive only said it as a joke, you know. We weren’t serious. It’s supposed to be an awful ruin.”
“We are serious,” Ellie said. “We’ve seen it, and we love it, and we’re going to bring it back to life.”
“I’ve never seen it properly myself,” Tommy said. “Only once, when Clive and I were first here, we went up the drive and climbed a tree to see over the wall. But there were so many trees in our way that all we saw was glimpses of a pink house, completely taken over by a wisteria vine.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Ellie said. “Of course at this time of year the leaves have fallen, so we could see the structure of the veranda beyond. But we’ve been inside the house, and it really just looks as if it’s been asleep for a long time.”
