Read Online Vintage Pride by Eilzabeth Lapthorne - Free Book Online Page A

some Impressionist pieces, a Van Gogh, a Botticelli. You know, if I wasn’t so sure it was hanging in the Louvre, I swear someone would claim the Mona Lisa is down in that cellar… Oh, thanks, Agathe. I didn’t hear you come in.”
    The housekeeper and her assistant had returned to take away the remains of the cheese. “We have a mousse au chocolat for dessert,” Agathe informed everyone, “and then I shall serve coffee in the drawing room.”
    “Man, I’m gonna have to go for a run in the morning, or I’m gonna be leaving here ten pounds heavier than when I arrived,” Dex grumbled good-naturedly.
    “It’s nice to be able to sit back and relax over dinner like this,” said Marcus. “Some time in the next week or so, the grapes will reach the point where they’re ready to pick and then we’ll hardly have time to scratch our arses.”
    “Marcus, mon cher ,” Thérèse chided him.
    “Sorry, my love,” Marcus replied. He rose from the table then walked round behind his wife’s chair so he could give her shoulders a squeeze. “Are you staying for dessert or are you going to get an early night? We have another long day ahead tomorrow.”
    “He’s really concerned about you. That’s so sweet,” Kim murmured to Thérèse, who shook her head in response.
    “No, he’s only asking that because he hopes I’ll go upstairs so he can snaffle my portion of chocolate mousse.”
    Ethan found himself envying the bond between husband and wife. He didn’t think he’d ever met a couple quite so suited to each other. And Marcus was right. It was nice to sit here with old friends and new, enjoying a long, leisurely dinner. The only sour note, like a rotten grape in the bunch, was Jean-Luc’s refusal to join them. Thérèse had almost spilled the secret with her mention of someone called Benoît but she’d stopped short of telling the whole tale. Whoever he was, he held the key to why Jean-Luc was treating the Spirit Seekers team with such hostility. But unless anyone was prepared to talk about the matter openly, Ethan didn’t see how he could ever solve the mystery.
     

Chapter Eight
     
     
     
    Ethan climbed the stairs to his room. Leon had already gone ahead while he’d lingered talking to Kim and Dex, forming a plan for how and where they would start placing the monitoring equipment the following day. Marcus had promised them a tour of the vineyard and the cellar—or cave , as he’d referred to it—where the Champagne was produced and stored. After that, the day was theirs. Even though they would be here for the best part of a week, it was important they had everything up and running, ready to begin the investigation once the sun went down.
    Marcus’ stories had piqued his imagination. He couldn’t believe a collection of valuable paintings could really have remained hidden somewhere in the château for the best part of seventy years, but it would make for great television if they could somehow work the legend into the show.
    He walked on, caught up in thoughts of the work they needed to do tomorrow. When someone stepped out of the shadows in front of him, Ethan almost let out a scream. He stopped himself on realizing he was looking at Jean-Luc LeBlanc.
    “I’m sorry if I alarmed you,” Jean-Luc said, “but I needed to speak with you again.”
    “What—? How long have you been waiting here?”
    “Only a few moments. I caught the sound of footsteps on the stairs, but they belonged to a tall man with curly black hair.”
    “Oh, yeah, that’s Leon. He’s our sound man. He and I are sharing a room.”
    Jean-Luc nodded slowly. “I thought that if he was making his way to bed you could not be far behind—and I was right.”
    Stung by what he took to be an accusing tone in Jean-Luc’s voice, Ethan felt the need to defend himself, even though he wasn’t sure what he’d done wrong. “Hey, Leon and I aren’t a couple or anything. Your housekeeper just hadn’t prepared enough rooms that we could all