‘It’s not your birthday, is it?’ asked Steph. ‘I thought that was in September.’

‘Better than that. I’ve handed in my resignation.’

‘Oh my God, Meredith.’ Jo sat down, amazed at her friend’s degree of self-belief, something she herself so notably lacked. ‘But we haven’t even signed anything with the château yet.’

The champagne cork popped loudly and Meredith began pouring into six glasses. ‘The thing is, after spending time in this place, I just can’t face all the hustle – and believe me, that’s what it’s like – of China and Singapore. Funnily enough, I’ve kind of lost interest in making rich people richer. Why not have wonderful weddings and make people happy instead?’

‘Touching faith in the power of matrimony, I must say,’ commented Jo wryly. ‘So good, my husband did it twice.’

‘Come on, Mum,’ Sophie chided. ‘Raise your glass to Meredith and wonderful weddings. I just know we’re going to have such fun organizing them.’

Jo raised her glass, pushing aside her worries about their inexperience, their lack of skills in catering or hotel management, floristry or wedding planning. And about whether friends suddenly running a business together was really going to be plain sailing. ‘To weddings, then. You’d better get on and sign the deal, Meredith.’

‘Don’t worry. If this doesn’t work, France is littered with old châteaux, not to mention mad Brits turning them into wedding venues. We’re part of a trend, girls.’

‘That’s a healthy attitude to have when negotiating,’ commented David, raising his glass too.

Meredith smiled. She’d been a bit worried about him lately. He seemed quiet and subdued, not his usual caring self. She’d expected him to be a lot more upbeat, given her gesture with Jean-Christophe.

‘I have been doing quite a lot behind the scenes to speed things along,’ Meredith pointed out. ‘As a matter of fact, I’ve got an important meeting tomorrow with a lawyer who’s been recommended to deal with all the red tape. My specialists haven’t been doing as well as I’d hoped. They’ve never come across anything like nitpicking French legislation. Jo, you’d better come too.’

Jo nodded, slightly aggrieved that Meredith had set all this up without even telling her. She’d have to sort out with Meredith exactly what it meant to be involved in this venture. She’d been a bit ditsy about the whole thing so far, without considering how her actual role would work in practice.

Time to wise up, Joanna, she told herself. And stop moping about Mark. If this venture only achieves that, it’ll be well worth it.

The lawyer’s office was in the old part of Bratenac, tucked down a tiny cobbled side street with a view of rooftops in every direction.