Julian went straight to a table in the far corner of the room and did not sit until the others were all seated. Matty and Johnny sat on the inside, along the wall, Clover and Julian on the other, with their backs to the room.

Moments later, a waiter came over with a chilled bottle of Bollinger. Julian accepted with an almost imperceptible nod of the head. ‘You have been blessed with good weather since your arrival,’ he said conversationally, as the waiter popped the cork and began to pour. ‘Last week it was all rain, rain, rain. Snow up top of course, but down here . . .’

‘Don’t worry, we’re English,’ Matty said with a smile. ‘We can do rain.’

‘Well, that is good. Because the forecast for the next week is not so desirable.’

‘Dammit. I knew I should have taken the camera up today,’ Johnny muttered.

‘Why did you not?’ Julian asked.

Johnny realized he’d spoken without thinking. ‘. . . Well, we thought we should tread lightly to begin with. We didn’t want to scare the horses, so to speak.’

A frown came onto Julian’s brow as he inferred Johnny’s meaning. ‘Yes. I heard Kit has been behaving very badly. I am sorry you were treated that way.’ He looked at them all sincerely. ‘But I have had a long conversation with his manager this afternoon and I can assure you, he will co-operate with you now.’

Clover’s mind whipped back to the way Foley had exploded at her, manhandling her even as Julian had been on the phone to Ari. She forced a smile. ‘Ari’s been surprisingly helpful.’

Julian sat back in his chair so he could face her beside him more easily. ‘Well, he understands the situation in a way that perhaps Kit does not. Do you feel comfortable there, in the chalet?’

‘How could we not?’ Matty asked, misunderstanding Julian’s point. ‘It’s stunning!’

‘Thank you,’ Julian nodded.

Matty’s eyes widened. ‘. . . It’s yours?’

‘My family’s. We have a lot of different investments in the town.’ He looked at Clover again. ‘But if Kit should continue to behave like a child, please know there are always rooms here you can use.’ He gestured vaguely to their grand surroundings. ‘It is early still in the season so we are not at capacity. I’m afraid I cannot guarantee the best rooms but I am adamant Kit will not bully you away. That tactic has served him well in the past and he thinks it will work here too. I fear he’s not yet learned from his mistakes.’

Clover regarded him as he spoke. Julian was cultured, sophisticated, mannered. His English was flawless, his manners those of a gentleman. He was an old-school European, used to moving among women in furs and men with cigars. So why had he chosen to associate his family’s – clearly illustrious – name with a disgraced sports star who was synonymous with scandal?