The French House by Helen Fripp

Author:Helen Fripp [Fripp, Helen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800193055
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2021-03-03T18:30:00+00:00

She pictured Louis touching the bottles she had kissed.

Come straight back, you are needed here. Your Nicole.

She thought better of the kiss and smudged it out.

Finally she was standing on the docks next to a glowering sea, surveying her work, the wind knifing at her hair. Most bottles were condemned to death and piled on wagons, ready to be poured away. The cheque in her hand was pathetic. The scrapped bottles yielded one hundredth of what they would have been worth had they survived.

But four thousand were piled up on her wagon bound for Louis, enough to prove once more the worth of her vineyards and blends. Enough to establish the name of Veuve Clicquot in the valuable Russian markets. Enough to get Louis out of there the moment his business was done.

‘Go!’ She dismissed the driver. ‘Make sure every single one of these bottles gets there. You will be rewarded for speed.’

As the wagon jolted away, she allowed herself to think of it. A year ago today, François died. She checked the position of the sun. François’ champagne was finally going to Russia. The wind was blowing in from the east, the direction her bottles were headed in. Natasha would say that was a good omen, and why not believe it?

When the wagon disappeared, the weariness came over her like lead. She could go to sleep now, right here on the docks. A coil of rope would be a featherbed, but there was no time. Back home it was harvest and she belonged there.

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