The price the buyer was paying was astronomical, and she couldn’t believe she had gotten her price and more. He wanted a thirty-day closing, which was very fast, and very few inspections, just the most basic ones, which meant that by Christmas, if they signed the preliminary paperwork soon, the château would be his and out of Theo’s hands. She was both happy and sad about it. It was bittersweet.

She walked into the kitchen to tell Mike, who was reading the newspaper, and he was happy for her. She didn’t tell him the dollar amount, which seemed indiscreet and was embarrassing. But she said she was very pleased and had gotten more than her asking, and much more than she’d hoped for.

“That must be some place,” he said admiringly.

“It is. But it was never mine. I never minded. And now I’m going to have to run like crazy to get all our clothes out and the art that I’m keeping, or selling at Sotheby’s.” She knew it would be a painful mission, especially when she got to Axel’s room, which she hadn’t dealt with at all. She had never gone there to pack up Matthieu’s clothes either, and now she had all of it to do, as soon as she could manage it. She wanted to do it herself, out of sentiment and respect.

She called her office to ask her assistant to hire an art packer, and the rest was just clothes. She was lucky she didn’t have to pack and move all the furniture, and everything else. The curtains alone would have been a massive project to take down. They were antique and beautiful, originally purchased from another château. The new owner was wise to keep them. From that moment on, she felt as though it was the buyer’s château and not hers, or even Matthieu’s. It was time for it to be passed into other hands, honorably this time.

Over the weekend with Mike, she didn’t feel sad about it. She felt as though she’d done the right thing with the château. It deserved a life with people who would use it and love it, and she could never have done that again.

She told Mike on Friday night that maybe she should buy a little country house in Normandy, where she could spend the weekends. She hadn’t thought of it until now, but she liked the idea.

“With a big house next to it for your security guards, I hope. You can’t be in the country alone,” he reminded her. It wasn’t a pleasant thought for her. She no longer had the freedoms she had once enjoyed, despite the many comforts in her life now.