Page 36 of The Chalet Girl

When Walter whisked Kiki to Las Vegas for his sixty-fifth birthday three months later, he asked Kiki to marry him. No plan, no prenup. They had a driver take them to a little chapel and an Elvis impersonator did the honours. It gave Walter a small thrill to know his children would be horrified.

Now Walter wanted out, he was starting to panic. He had wanted a wife to look after him in his old age, not to go off shopping with girlfriends in Milan, Mykonos and Mexico.

Lysander had started to panic. His father lost more than he should have in his divorce to Susan; he did not want to see another chunk of his inheritance portioned off to an angry woman, who right now was undressing Lysanderwith her eyes. It would be even worse if his father died while they were still married. As it stood, with Walter wavering over his children’s inheritance, Kiki would be getting a lot more than she deserved.

‘Of course, Dad, I’ll look into it as soon as I’m in the office. Is there anything else you need?’ Lysander was thinking more like care packages and Hershey bars than Nevada divorce law.

‘Yes, um, Seven Summits.’

Kiki looked up.

‘What about it?’

‘I’m thinking of selling.’

Lysander put his glass down and cleared his throat.

‘Do you think that’s wise? I– I know Anastasia had some ideas for it.’

‘Anastasia has a hotel!’ Walter scoffed. ‘And she doesn’t seem all that interested in that!’

‘You want to sell them though? I thought you were adamant–’

‘I’m thinking of putting them on the open market. See what I get for them. Kivvi will come running of course… begging like the bleating goat he is.’

‘Dad, I can’t easily action that kind of thing from New York. You’ll need Dimitri on it.’ Lysander winced, thinking of how devastated his sister would be.

‘Dimitri does whatever job I entrust him with!’

Lysander felt uneasy. He couldn’t help thinking that there was something his dad wasn’t telling him. He’d been melancholy and reflective at the wedding and was planning to blindside Kiki with a divorce. Now he was finally considering selling the properties that had caused the mostdiscord between the two biggest family empires in town for the past ten years. Plus he looked a little lost in his grand chair at the head of the breakfast table.

Lysander’s gaze met Kiki’s again. If only he could talk to her about his father’s wellbeing. As she looked back at him and continued to lust after him over her lemongrass shot, Lysander mentally shut that conversation down.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Rush hour in Kristalldorf was frantic. Hotel and shop workers whizzed past on sleek E-bikes and weekenders headed from their hotels in yumbos to the train station. Those who worked in Zurich, Geneva or Bern had long gone, on the first morning train, or the very rich chartered choppers from the helipad. For those who remained, there was a definite sense of being locked in: the workers, the hikers, the skiers, the property owners; and the rest of the world shut out, so everyone could go about their business in the Alpine idyll.

The air felt especially cold today, the first real bite of winter, and it would be even more so up on the mountain.

Emme slunk into her snood as she held hands with a child on each side of her and cut what was looking like a now-familiar path down the steps to the road, then down to the river and crossing it towards school.

At the square near a grand hotel with a horse and carriage outside, with a traditional fonduestubeopposite, Emme peeled off to the side street that looked like it headed into the valley wall, where other children were walking with their parents, nannies and governesses.

‘Harry’s in a big class– there are twenty-two children!’ Bella gasped, as if it was a shock to her.

Yeah, try going to school in the UK, kids.

‘But there are only thirteen children in mine!’ She said it proudly, as if it were her own personal achievement.

‘Lucky you Bella! Lucky both of you, look at this, your school looks wonderful!’

Harry scowled at his sister.

‘Yes but my teacher is nicer. My teacher is a man.’

Emme squeezed both of their hands in hers to signal that there would only be harmony on this walk.

‘I’m sure both your teachers arelovely,’ Emme said. ‘Is this the right entrance?’