Free Mothers and Daughters by Minna Howard Page A

with a grin. ’It’s in London at Christmas time.’
    Alice, the thought hit him, she’d been a widow almost two years now, was she getting married again? He felt a jolt of pain. But why shouldn’t she find love with someone else? She was far too young to remain alone for the rest of her life; naturally, a woman like her would not remain alone for long.
    Hervey seeing his expression said, ‘It’s your goddaughter, she’s the one getting married.’
    ‘Oh…’ He felt a rush of relief, went on, ‘I only have one goddaughter, the rest are boys. It’s Laura, Julian’s daughter.’ Frank sat in silence, staring out at the crawl of cars beside him. He still missed him, missed his calls, their meetings when Julian came over on business or he was in London himself. He owed him so much; he’d been such a good friend. A friend he could always rely on to do the best he could in the situation as honestly as possible.
    He thought of Cecily, Julian’s aunt. What a woman, they didn’t make them like her any more, a woman who’d given so much to her country that had snatched away even the men she’d loved, though, Julian had told him, she’d never been short of lovers, which didn’t surprise him.
    ‘Cecily sent you a letter,’ Hervey continued, ‘but she hadn’t heard and wondered if she’d got the right address so she telephoned the house in Port Grimaud. I was there, as you know, to check on the dubious plumbing. As yet no letter from her has arrived, I think she must have used your old address, from when you were married, but at least she’s tracked you down. She wants you to ring her or Alice, about this wedding.’
    ‘Did she leave Alice’s number?’ Frank asked carelessly, trying to ignore a surge of excitement. He wasn’t sure he had Julian’s home number in London; they had always contacted each other through the office or his mobile.
    ‘Yes, she didn’t know if you had it or not.’
    ‘I’ll ring her tomorrow,’ Frank said, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes a moment. They felt itchy and tired. He’d had the house at Port Grimaud for years now, with its ancient telephone and dodgy plumbing. Julian had come a few times, passing through from somewhere, but Alice never had. Now Laura, his goddaughter, was getting married and he must do his best to be there, anyway give her something nice for a wedding present. If he went to it, it would mean seeing Alice again.
    He’d missed Julian’s funeral, been bogged down with a complicated assignment in India which he couldn’t leave. He’d been relieved, he thought guiltily. Julian’s death was hard to take after what they’d been through, he’d been the only person who knew the truth about it, and then there was Ned and Sarah.
    ‘So when did you say this wedding is?’ he asked Hervey.
    ‘Around Christmastime, the date hasn’t actually been decided, or hadn’t when Cecily rang. It will be in London so at least that’s easier than being deep in the country. You can stay in the flat.’
    Somewhere, he had a letter from Alice when she’d written to him thanking him for his letter after Julian’s death. He’d found her grief so painful, he wished he could be with her to comfort her but was afraid to intrude as he had not seen her for so long.
    Hervey filled him in with some of the news from his office here, small tiresome things to see to and he was relieved when they arrived at his Paris apartment. It was tiny, tucked into the middle floor of a beautiful house once occupied by one family, in the sixteenth arrondissement. Now he was alone he didn’t need anything bigger, it was compact and chic, full of the books and music he loved; if he wanted to entertain friends he went out, there were plenty of good places nearby to choose from.
    He gave Hervey the rest of the day off knowing he probably wanted to get ready for his holiday, trekking somewhere in South America. They’d meet up tomorrow in the office to go through things then as