‘Nevertheless, your grace—’ Meredith tried to interrupt.

‘Nom de Dieu, call me Margot, for goodness’ sake!’

‘Nevertheless, Margot,’ Meredith continued, cool as a polytunnel of cucumbers, ‘I would still wish to know that my thirteenth-century château was not about to fall down. And of course I would need to make les vérifications nécessaires – what we call due diligence. I imagine it is rather a lengthy process, but with the help of experts I would endeavour to speed it up as much as possible. Would that be agreeable to you?’

They both nodded, trying not to look suspiciously enthusiastic. Meredith continued, ‘I would also expect your goodwill, by which I mean giving an accurate guide to how the business is run. I am accustomed to advising banks, not brides and bridegrooms.’

‘You will love every moment, madame!’ the duke assured her with his most delightful smile. ‘Weddings are happy events, n’est-ce pas?’

‘He obviously hasn’t been to the same weddings I’ve been to,’ Jo murmured to Steph.

‘And finally –’ Meredith turned her face from the duchess and winked at Jo – ‘I would want to consult my business partner here, Joanna Walker.’

Jo nearly dropped her glass of vin de noix in astonishment.

‘Naturellement, madame,’ agreed the duchess, wondering how the meeting had so completely got away from her.

‘Bien,’ Meredith announced decisively. ‘Let us shake hands on this as a gentleman’s agreement and I will get my people to take it on with you to the next stage.’

She delved into her large leather backpack and produced a bottle of vintage Krug, carefully chilling in its own little wrapper.

‘To what I hope will be a happy business arrangement!’ She popped the cork expertly as Steph and Joanna looked on in stunned silence. What on earth was Meredith up to with this business partner stuff?

As soon as they were outside the château walls, Jo grabbed her arm. ‘What on earth was all that stuff about me being your business partner? Some sort of ploy to give you a way out if you change your mind?’

‘Not at all.’ A sudden smile lit up Meredith’s brisk demeanour. ‘I was entirely serious. Will you consider it? I can’t run the whole operation on my own. I’m a businesswoman, not a wedding planner. But organizing events is your thing. Will you think about it? It might be a lot of fun.’

Jo took a deep breath. It was so tempting. Getting right away from Mark and Amanda and their horrible wedding – and worse, maybe even a baby – the thought made her feel sick. But there was Sophie to consider.

‘I promise I’ll think about it, but I don’t know, Meredith. My daughter is my business partner . . .’