A French Affair Read Online Free PDF Page A

which sounded as if he was about to agree but Gina interrupted.
    ‘I disagree,’ she said. ‘I think we should give it a go. I certainly need the extra inheritance, and you do too, Sally.’
    Sally looked at Gina in amazement. ‘Sorry? Run that by me again?’
    Gina felt herself flush slightly. Generally she was the sensible sister and for her to support this mad idea was very out of character. However, whilst Sally had been asking Matthew questions, she’d been thinking about Aunt Rainey’s letter. She obviously wanted them to take over her stall – she wouldn’t have written specifically to say so if she hadn’t. She might have been eccentric but she wasn’t an idiot. And for some reason she was determined that they work with this rather difficult man – who was obviously reluctant to have her and Sally inflicted on him. But she wouldn’t be daunted. ‘I just think we shouldn’t dismiss it out of hand,’ she said quietly but firmly.
    Sally frowned. ‘I’m sure we could get the will changed – convince the lawyers she wasn’t of sound mind or something. And it can’t be a lot of money, can it?’
    ‘I wouldn’t have thought it would be enough to worth wasting it on trying to get the will changed,’ said Matthew. He shrugged. ‘I don’t suppose anyone would know if I just sold her stock for you. No need for you two to get involved.’
    There was another long silence before Gina said, ‘That would be cheating.’
    ‘Yes,’ said Sally. ‘I’m not as law-abiding as Gina, but if Rainey went to all this trouble to get us involved, then that’s what she wanted. We can’t just go against her wishes.’
    Gina sensed her sister, in one of her characteristically lightning changes of mood, was coming round to the idea.
    Matthew sighed. ‘The antiques business is not exactly thriving at the moment. It will be very tough to make any money and there’s a lot to learn.’
    ‘I’m sure. But we’re quite capable of learning new things,’ said Gina, wondering why she was suddenly so determined to take on another challenge.
    ‘I didn’t mean to imply you weren’t,’ said Matthew. ‘I’m just trying to think what’s best.’
    ‘Look,’ said Gina, ‘I do understand how daunting it must be for you. We’re two strangers and our dead aunt wants you to teach us what you’ve probably spent your life learning. I do completely get that you don’t want to take it on.’ She paused. ‘On the other hand, if you could find it in you to do that, we would try our very, very best to make a go of it.’
    There was another agonisingly long silence. ‘I don’t want to seem obstructive,’ Matthew said at last, ‘I just don’t want you going into this whole business thinking it’s going to be like it is on
Bargain Hunt
or whatever, when it’s a lot more mundane than that.’
    ‘But?’ prompted Sally, helping herself to crisps.
    ‘Well,’ said Matthew, almost as if the words were hurting as they came out, ‘although I wasn’t related to Rainey, she was very good to me. When my father died a couple of years ago, she was a rock. If this is what she wanted, and you really are up for a lot of hard work and disappointment, I will take you on.’
    Gina let out a long breath. She could tell it had been a big effort for him – and why wouldn’t it be? Why would Matthew want to take two sisters he knew very little about under his wing when he was obviously a serious type of person, who took his business very seriously too? But they could be serious too, especially Gina. ‘That’s very, very kind.’
    ‘We’ll try really hard not to let you down,’ said Sally.
    Matthew looked down at Oscar and rubbed him at thebase of his tail with his foot. Then he sighed. ‘I miss Rainey. She wasn’t like a mother to me or anything like that but she stopped me getting too gloomy. She encouraged me to get Oscar although everyone else said I’d be mad to get such a big dog. But it was the right decision. If she wants me