A Winter Affair Read Free Page A

time the children were barely on their feet, though Harvey insisted on putting them on tiny skis, which they loved, finding it easier to slide down a small slope than to walk. Jacaranda was full of memories of happy times. She hadn’t been back for about ten years and she wondered what it would be like now.
    Theo put her case in the boot and got into the driver’s seat, she got in beside him and they started the journey towards Verbier, Bert supervising the route from behind them, growling or barking at any other dog or cat he felt should not be wandering around.
    Chatting to Theo as they drove, Eloise learnt that Verbier had grown ever larger and become one of the places to be, so Jacaranda – the chalet built by Desmond’s father with its large rooms and elegant balconies, the wood mellowed to a rich brown, weathered by the snow and the sun – could now bring in a good income by having paying guests to stay. Guests she was going to cook for.
    â€˜The chalet and the land around it is worth a lot, but it’s expensive to keep up, so Lawrence took up Maddy’s idea and has turned what used to be my grandfather’s home into a business,’ Theo explained as they drove. ‘We live there too, but there’s plenty of room for guests to come and ski in the winter and to walk in the summer. There’s a sort of plan that hasn’t happened yet, to have painting or photo weeks, with experts teaching.’
    â€˜That sounds good, I remember it as such a beautiful place, but it’s years since I’ve been here.’
    Eloise looked out of the window at the rather plain houses, most of which had magnolia trees in their gardens, she remembered the beauty of them when they flowered, sumptuous against the plain bark of the tree. Ahead she saw the white peaks of the mountains, sparkling in the sun under the intense blue sky. There were thick blankets of snow on the ground, on the roofs of the houses and in the gardens, but the roads were clear, piles of snow lining the edges.
    They reached the start of the mountain road and wound their way up towards the resort. She remembered the road, the frisson of fear as they rounded each corner, blind to what could be coming the opposite way, and the sheer drop beside them.
    Theo didn’t seem at all fazed by it, he chatted away, turning to her every so often to emphasize a point, sometimes lifting his hand from the wheel, and her nerves stretched tighter.
    â€˜Do keep your eyes on the road,’ she said once and he laughed.
    â€˜It’s OK, you’re quite safe, I wouldn’t dare return without you; Lawrence would kill me.’
    â€˜If we’re not both killed before we get there,’ she muttered under her breath, imagining Kit and probably Lizzie being just as confident as Theo, thinking they were immortal.
    They reached the resort in one piece and Theo took a side road and drove on up the hill. It was lined with fir trees, their dark branches laden with snow. Below them, other chalets were scattered down the mountainside as if a huge hand had flung them there. Some were in clumps, others alone, many were decked with Christmas lights, and here and there wild fir trees were wearing strings of lights and shining baubles. Jacaranda was somewhere ahead, but she didn’t recognize the place now with so many new buildings around.
    â€˜I don’t remember so many chalets when I was last here,’ she said.
    â€˜There’s been a lot of building, it’s getting far too big, it’s a town really, lots of celebs come here, some even take helicopters to the slopes as they won’t go in the ski lifts like everyone else,’ Theo said, laughing.
    â€˜So is Jacaranda swamped by other chalets,’ Eloise asked, wondering how far the town had spread out, climbing the mountain and invading its open spaces.
    â€˜No, not yet anyway. Fortunately no one can build on the land around Jacaranda unless we sell it, so we