Page 19 of All the Gossip from Paris (Royal Fashion #2)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Liam clenched his butt cheeks as Sophie threw the Audi round a sharp bend in the road. His fingers gripped the edge of the passenger seat as he sent a silent prayer to the heavens.
Dear Lord, I promise to be a good boy if you make her slow down.
He’d come to the white-knuckled conclusion that Sophie viewed the brake pedal as being purely for decorative purposes. Once they were out of the city, she’d put her foot hard on the gas, and hadn’t let it up. To preserve his sanity Liam had soon stopped checking the roadside speed limit signs.
“I thought you said the roads were icy this morning,” he ventured.
“Oui, but this car can handle them.”
She glanced over at him for a moment, and her brows furrowed. “You’re not afraid of my driving, are you? I thought you Americans were all big and tough in your cars.”
“I wouldn’t mind if you slowed down a little.”
His stomach would also greatly appreciate her laying off the quickfire lane changes, but he wasn’t about to push his luck and say that to her. Especially not when Sophie kept taking her eyes off the road when she was talking to him.
He was grateful they hadn’t stopped for lunch in the city. The way Sophie drove, it would have been impossible to keep his food down.
“Ok,” she huffed. Sophie eased off the gas, and Liam’s ass cheeks relaxed. He would live to see another day.
“How far is your house from here?” he asked, hoping she wouldn’t notice the less than subtle change of subject.
“About ten kilometers, so we should be there very soon. We’ll take the A13 exit toward Versailles, then we’ll use the off ramp which leads to Marly-le-Roi.”
“I must go and visit the Palace of Versailles one day. It’s always been on my list. Whenever I’ve been in Paris it’s been for work; and I’ve not had the time to get the train out here,” replied Liam.
“It’s grand, and fabulous to visit after hours. But during the day, beurk ! So many putain de tourists.”
She didn’t need to translate her disgust at the crowds. Everywhere Liam had travelled in Europe seemed to be suffering from over-tourism. Several times he’d tried to get into a famous place only to discover they’d been booked out months in advance.
“The main building at my home was designed by the architect who created the first parts of Versailles, Louis Le Vau. People say Le chateau de la forêt verte reminds them of Versailles.”
“Is that the name of your house?” asked Liam.
“Yes, in English it roughly translates to the castle in the green forest. There used to be a great wooded area around the chateau. Then King Louis the Fourteenth, the Sun King, decided he wanted a little hunting lodge nearby. From all accounts it was anything but little. They tore down hundreds of trees. Fast forward one hundred and fifty years and a bloody revolution later, they tore down his chateau. It’s mostly parkland now. ”
Liam couldn’t imagine living in a castle. His current residence was a dilapidated circa 1980’s apartment. But with Ryan now about to get married, he was in a bit of a bind as to what to do with the lease. He couldn’t afford to keep the place on his own.
I might ask mom and dad if I can move my stuff back to their place. At least until I can sort something else out.
Sophie slowed the car, and indicated to turn off the main road. “Not far now,” she said. The Audi slipped into a smaller side road.
A short time later, they came to another intersection and Liam caught sight of various road signs all pointing toward the Palace of Versailles. Ahead of them was a long line of tourist motorcoaches. To his relief, Sophie turned right, away from the crush of traffic.
“You should see it at the height of summer. Completely insane. I don’t bother to use my car at all during August. I let one of our drivers deal with the traffic while I sit in the back.”
Five minutes later, she slowed the car once more and they turned off the road. A long winding driveway appeared ahead of them. Liam sat forward in his seat taking in the view.
Meadows with ice crusted grass stretched out on either side of them. The odd tall tree dotted the landscape. Sophie pointed toward the right. “The River Seine runs along the bottom of our estate. I take our dog Rollo out walking along it most mornings.”
“You have a dog? What kind?”
“He’s a Briard. A type of French sheepdog. Not that we have any sheep.”
He wanted to ask more about the dog. But as the car reached the top of a short rise, Liam got his first glimpse of Sophie’s home.
“Holy shit,” he muttered.
Commanding a great presence over the landscape was a huge chateau—a castle towering over four levels, topped with a black slate roof. At the front of the building rose a grand staircase. He could just picture Cinderella running down it and losing her glass slipper on the way.
“It’s been in our family for over two hundred years. Apparently one of the Royals got it cheaply after the French Revolution. Quite a few of the nobles lost their heads to Madame Guillotine, so there were plenty of chateaux in need of new owners.”
Liam snorted. Sophie had a macabre sense of humor, but he actually liked it. She was fun.
“Ryan had said your home was large, but I hadn’t quite figured it to be that large,” said Liam.
His brother’s new family lived in a castle. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t quite get his head around the whole thing.
As the driveway came to an end, Sophie turned the steering wheel to the left, and they made a wide circuit of the main house.
The rear of the chateau was in stark contrast to the front.
A large modern concrete like bunker covered with grass and plants caught Liam’s eye.
Upon closer inspection he realized what it was—an underground parking garage.
Now that’s a clever piece of architecture.
The garage wasn’t big by commercial standards, but it still had quite a few cars parked inside.
“Papa had this built about twenty years ago when he relocated his atelier from central Paris to here. The craftspeople who work for him can park underneath and not have to deal with the weather. It also houses the various car collections of the male members of the family. My brothers and father own far too many automobiles for people who don’t drive,” explained Sophie.
She pulled the car up at a parking space which had a sign on the wall marked ‘Sophie,’ then turned off the engine.
“We can go visit the atelier today because the staff have all taken the week off for the wedding. Papa has been working on Camille’s wedding dress, and he didn’t want anyone else to disturb him.”
“Will he mind if we go inside?” asked Liam. The last thing he wanted to do was get on the wrong side of his brother’s father in law mere days from the wedding.
“No. I checked with Cami while you were getting your things at the hotel. Her final fitting has been completed. She has her dress hanging in one of the spare bedrooms, so we can go up to the workshop without fear of incurring Papa’s wrath.”
They both climbed out the car. As Sophie locked it, she turned to Liam.
“My father isn’t an ogre—he is just meticulous in the way he works. A bead in the wrong place could ruin an expensive garment, and potentially lose him a client.”
Liam nodded. He understood. Francois Royal didn’t suffer fools. Having lost count of the number of idiots who’d stepped in front of him as he tried to take a photo on a shoot, he could well understand that sort of mindset.
Sophie pointed toward a nearby doorway. “Come on. Let’s go up to the atelier space and continue your education of all things haute couture. If you pay close attention, then I might let you meet Rollo.”
Her gentle teasing woke something in Liam that he’d thought long dead. A spark of silly joy. It reminded him of a time when he’d been genuinely happy. When an amazing life had been laid out before him. But that had been before he’d had his heart ripped out and completely crushed.