âI wish, but unfortunately, Iâm not Catholic.â
âĂa va, this isnât confession. Just an old priest here to offer a sympathetic ear.â
Before I even realized what was happening, the entire sordid tale came tumbling out. When I finished, Father François pursed his lips, nodded solemnly, and simply said, âJe comprends,â like it was a story heâd heard a thousand times before.
âSo you see, I canât win,â I continued to explain, certain there was no way he could really comprendre. âNo matter what I do, someone will be disappointed.â
Father François turned to face me. âThere is a saying: a truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep. Now, if youâll excuse me, I should take my leave, but please, stay as long as you need.â
His words hung in the air like a prayer. What did I want? For myself? For ChĂąteau Mirabelle? Before I came to Provence, I wasnât living, I was floating. From project to project and one mistake to the next. Blaming everyoneâmy parents, my sisters, the tape, Rhys, even the paparazziâfor the person Iâd become. Now, if I wanted to, I could easily add Kate and Bastien to that ever-growing list. But maybe it was high time I acknowledged that I was the constant, the common denominator threading my own story together.
The sound of footsteps echoed off the walls of the chapel. I looked back and saw Elliott ambling down the aisle. Our eyes met, and a soft smile tiptoed across his lips. âI knew this is where youâd be,â he said, easing into the pew.
âYou did?â
âItâs hard to explain, but it was as if, when I heard the church bells resounding through the town, the church was trying to call out for me to come find you. Iâm sure that sounds completely bonkers.â
âIt doesnât, actually.â
Elliottâs eyes flitted around the room. âItâs really different being here at night, isnât it? With the candlelight and everything, itâs so ethereal.â He turned so that his body faced mine, our knees practically touching in the narrow row. âI heard about what happened between you and Kate, and I need you to know I was in the dark too. I promise you, Plum, I would never have signed on for this project if I knew what it was really about.â
Kate had already confirmed Elliott was just an innocent bystander, unknowingly capturing moments on film that would be twisted and distorted to fit her secret narrative. If anything, heâd also been duped. It was clear now, Tributary probably also never had any intention of using the additional material weâd been gathering on ChĂąteau Mirabelleâs history.
âI know. Kate told me. Iâm sorry you got entangled in this whole mess when all you thought you were doing was your job.â
He took my hand in his. âIâm not sorry.â
I looked up. âYouâre not?â
âIâve never felt more engaged or alive than when you and I were working together, uncovering all the history about the chĂąteau. I want us to tell the world about the Dutch-Paris network and the AdĂ©laĂŻses and their bravery, and if Tributary doesnât want it, weâll find someone who does. We have to give them all the ending they deserve.â
âYou donât understand, if I donât do the finale, Iâm in breach of contract and donât get the house. There is no happy ending.â
âSo what happens then? It falls back into disarray and disrepair? Their legacy gets buried in the blown-out cellars of ChĂąteau Mirabelle?â
âYou donât know what youâre asking. If I agree, I play right into everyoneâs worst perceptions of meâthe Everly sister with no direction, no real passion, just in it for the good time and easy money. My familyâs businesses will suffer, Iâll be another joke . . . I justââ I couldnât finish the sentence. It got caught in the back of my throat.
âNot everyone thinks that of you. Come, I want to show you something,â he said, squeezing my hand a little tighter and pulling me out of our pew and down an aisle toward the side door. I followed him out of the church, where he led me over to the arched stained glass windows carved with the symbolic scenes and characters that Bastien had pointed out to me the first day we visited Saint Orens. âYou see this etching? The one you were so taken with? The lion surrounded by the pack of hyenas?â Elliott shone the flashlight from his phone on the archway. âHere, take this and follow it all the way around,â he said, passing me his cell.
I aimed the bright light at the wall and trailed the image up and over the arch to the other side. I bent down, and there, carved into the stone, was the second half of the narrative, the pack of hyenas thatâd been relentlessly hunting the lion were now scattered to the wind, chased off by his mighty roar.
I stood up and found myself inches from Elliottâs face, the light from the phone glowing between us.
âThe dominance of a lion has nothing to do with its size, right? I mean, itâs far from the largest animal in the jungle,â Elliott said, the metaphor sinking in as he spoke it aloud. âThe lionâs real power is in its strength and fearlessness.â His voice lowered to a whisper, and his body was so close I could feel the heat radiating off his chest. âPlum, I know you. Youâre a lion. So be the lion.â
I edged up onto my toes and planted a sweet kiss on his lips. At my touch, he grinned against my mouth. I pulled back, worried Iâd gotten too swept up in the moment, but I was met with a boyish smirk and a mischievous twinkle in Elliottâs gaze. He leaned in, cupping my face in his warm hands, and really kissed me. My knees buckled under my weight, and I caught myself by holding on to his broad shoulders. Breathless, I touched a hand to my lips and stared at him, relishing in the sensation still buzzing through me.
For the weeks where I felt uncertain about him, and Bastien, and Rhys, and France, and the show, I realized Elliott had been the only constant whoâd been nothing but his true and authentic self since the minute Iâd met him. While I tried to navigate all of the newness and figure out what I really wanted after so much time being told who I was and what was expected of me, it had been Elliott who remained a steadfast voice of reason and clarity, even if what he said was at times hard to hear.
Now, at long last, despite our relentless efforts to deny the connection that had been brewing between us from the very moment the accordionist serenaded us with âLa Vie En Roseâ in the middle of the town, to our errant kiss on the carousel when my feelings about everything still seemed so hazy, to the onyx clock replaced on the AdĂ©laĂŻsesâ mantel after heâd returned to the vendor to purchase it at the Brocante de Beaucaire . . . the realization hit me hard. Itâd always been Elliott. I knew it the way I knew the sky was blue or that the sun would rise each morning. I knew it the way a river knows its course, unwavering and unyielding. And I knew it the same way I finally knew exactly what I was going to do.
I glanced down at the etching of the lion one last time, its expression stoic and triumphant. âIâve made my decision,â I declared before resting my hands upon Elliottâs chest. âIâm done being swayed by the opinions of sheepâIâm ready to be the goddamned lion.â
Chapter Forty
After my heart-to-heart with Elliott the night before at Saint Orens, I called Bastien to come and meet us at the inn to strategize a game plan about how best to regain control of the finaleâs narrative from Kateâs clutches. A little after 8:00 a.m., seated in the small breakfast nook of La Cigale Chantante, Elliott and I sipped on a fresh pot of English Breakfast tea while reviewing all the photos, notes, video clips, and articles weâd been gathering on ChĂąteau Mirabelle over the past almost six weeks. Since itâd been done piecemeal, I hadnât realized how many artifacts and tidbits weâd found on our quest at all the stops weâd made along the way. As I examined the images and collected materials, the small blonde hairs on my forearms stood on end. This was the story that needed to be told. Iâd never been more certain of anything in my life.
Bastien slowly made his way into the dining room a little after eight fifteen, his eyes sweeping the space like he was about to be ambushed by a firing squad. Maybe he was. Though Elliott had promised to be on his best behavior and theoretically understood that Bastienâs understanding of the show had also been deluded, I couldnât be certain that one ill-timed or overly flirtatious joke from Bastien might result in Elliott knocking him flat on his ass.
Odette greeted him at the doorway and guided him over to where we were sitting. She offered him tea or coffee, but he politely declined both. He pulled out the empty chair and eased into it, sighing as he sat. âBonjour,â he mumbled, a bit reticent.
âThank you for coming,â I said.
âWhy would I not come? You two are my friends, are you or non?â
âYeah, non,â Elliott jabbed.
I shot him a disapproving look, rested my forearms on the tableâs edge, and folded my clasped hands on the paper place mat in front of me. I sat up a bit straighter and decided to just jump in. âI have given this a lot of thought since my talk with Kate. Between my contractual obligation to the show and the ultimatum Kate posed during our argument, Iâm not left with many options. But if you are sorryâsincerely sorryâfor your role in deceiving me and truly interested in making amends for your familyâs past, then I believe I have come up with a way we can all get what we want. Well, all of us besides Kate.â
Bastien rubbed at his chin and squinted at me dubiously. âYes, of course, I am truly and sincerely dĂ©solĂ©eââ
âDĂ©solĂ©e, my ass,â Elliott muttered under his breath.
Bastien, oblivious to Elliottâs jibes, continued, âBut I donât quite understand what you need from me?â
âHereâs the thing: I could walk away, but Kate would still figure out how to finish her narrative by omitting me from the finale and just shooting you. Restructuring the story to paint me as the villain who broke your heart and trampled on your dreams of us living happily ever after in ChĂąteau Mirabelle. I wonât lie to you, Bastien, you would come out looking great. Youâd be the big heroâthe one who restored the house even if you couldnât restore me, and the audience would love you all the more for trying.â
Elliott looked up from his cup and directly at Bastien. I could tell he was trying to suss out if Bastien seemed allured by this version, but Bastien remained impassiveâperhaps waiting to hear what was stashed behind door number two.
âOr we both threaten to walk away. No, weâd need to do bothânot threatenâweâd need to actually leave, unless they play this our way. Sure, thereâs a good possibility they then just scrap the whole thing altogether, which would mean everything you staked on this project as a way to redeem your reputation and family name might be for naught. But it has to be both of us in this together for there to be any chance for this attempt at collective bargaining to work.â
Now I was the one staring at Bastien, trying to make out if anything I was saying was registering. If he even cared? I believed him yesterday when he told me heâd been just as manipulated by Kate as I was, but with so much at stake for him, that didnât necessarily mean he was willing to throw it all away.
For Bastien, Heart Restoration Projectâwhere he played the handsome heroâwas his chance to change everything. His life. His finances. His stability. And for me, on the outside looking in, this disaster was just par for the course. It wouldnât help or hurt my reputation any more than every other fake ridiculous show Iâd done before.
But for me, for real, telling the true story of ChĂąteau Mirabelle and its history was the one chance I had to show the world who I was and what I had to offer, beyond my famous name and pretty face.
When his face remained unchanged, I continued, âRight now, they believe the heart of the show is our fabricated relationship because we havenât given them anything else. They donât know about all of thisââI gestured to the materials covering the tableââthe AdĂ©laĂŻses, Dutch-Paris, the occupation. They donât know about your grandfather and how his one reckless decision changed the whole course of history for this region. They donât know anything about how youâve struggled to become a vintner and how every doorâs been slammed in your face. Or how much it would mean to the people of Maubec if we could somehow bring the winery back to life again. They donât know . . . and if we can bring all the things they donât know about to them as a beautifully touching narrative wrapped in a big, shiny, inspirational bow, then maybe we can finish this project by telling the story we want, the story the AdĂ©laĂŻses deserve to have told, and the one Maubec can finally be proud of.â
Bastien nodded along as I spoke, taking in every word carefully. He sat silently for a few moments in deep contemplation before finally responding. âPlum, Kate has manipulated us at every turn to get what she wants for the show, and now that she has and managed to convince Claudine and Jack and everyone, what makes you so sure that they would ever trade a sure hit for a possible flop? What if no one cares about the history? About our story? About ChĂąteau Mirabelle? Then what?â
âI know that is a very real possibility. But I really think we can make them see it, make them understand what all this is.â I gestured again to the photos and artifacts spread around us and then looked him in the eye. âBut it has to be both of us. Throughout these past months, I placed my trust in you, and now, I need you to do the same for me. Can you trust me?â Now it was my turn to wait with a held breath.
He tilted his head and set his lips together before responding. âDo you remember that day in the garden at ChĂąteau du Val dâĂtĂ© when I told you that you can honor a home by restoring it to its original state or you can honor it by restoring it to its original intention? You are right, if we let Kate win, ChĂąteau Mirabelle will become nothing more than a cheap spectacle. If we stand together, we can make sure Heart Restoration Project is everything we intended for it to be.â
âYouâre saying youâll walk away from the showâwith me?â
âYes, ma cherie. Okay. Dâaccord,â he assented.