Chapter Eight
Renee
We had a wonderful fortnight in Paris and everything was planned, now all we had to do was arrange for the château to be decorated and the staff engaged for the celebrations. Jean's own staff was far too small to cope with the two hundred guests who were invited to the wedding. They were all Jeans friends and his sister who lived in Switzerland now. My friends wouldn't have the money to travel here and stay for the three day celebrations we had organised. We posted two letters Bella had written to Charlie and promised to pick up the post in our way back, she was hoping to hear from him but I knew Charlie, he wasn't very reliable. In the event he proved me wrong because there was a parcel for Bella from him. Jean looked at it with a raised eyebrow,
"Is it a food parcel Renee?"
"CD's I would think."
"Of course, how silly of me."
As soon as we got back I handed the parcel to Bella who ripped off the paper anxiously and pounced on the letter from her father.
Charlie
When I received Bella's letter I understood why I hadn't heard from her, I'd checked my e mails and the phone every day waiting for a message and now I knew why 'Id never received one. A place in this day and age without a land line or internet connection? It sounded like she was living in a time warp, back in the middle ages but she seemed to be happy enough. There were photographs of the château, her room which was enormous, the library which was even bigger and Bella all dressed up for a ball in an evening gown. She looked every inch the young woman she had grown into and made me very proud. That photograph would be going into my wallet for sure.
I was pleased this Jean Chastel had decided against a boarding school for my daughter but a private tutor instead? I couldn't begin to imagine what that must cost. The letter was long and chatty as if she were trying to involve me in everything she did. I read about the ball which wasn't as bad as she expected, her lessons which were great, and her friendship with Luc, Jean's son. He sounded an intelligent enough boy and I got the feeling that Bella and he had hit it off which was nice if they were so isolated.
She also told me a few funny stories about Renee, who hadn't really got to grips with the whole staff thing. The housekeeper was shocked to find her, sleeves rolled up, cleaning the shower. She also got short shrift from the gardener when she went into the greenhouses and helped herself to some flowers. It was my guess she would have them all working her way within a few months. I'd learned first hand that Renee was an unstoppable force of nature. When Bella told me that Renee and Jean were organising their wedding to take place at the château I could see it was going to be a grand affair and I was glad I wasn't invited, those kind of events made me hot under the collar! I wrote back struggling to find enough things to say to make it interesting, after all the crime statistics for Forks weren't exactly riveting!
"Dear Bella,
I was relieved to hear from you at last. It sounds like you've entered the Twilight Zone out there. Maybe I'll send you a carrier pigeon or could you persuade Jean to invest in his own pony express? I'm doing the same as always, fishing, hunting, and working. Harry had a heart attack two weeks ago and we were really worried but he's home again and the doctor told him he's got to take it easy, easier said than done with him. Billy and Jake ask after you every time I see them. I go to the Res more often now to see Harry and help Sue out, Leah is a bit of a handful but she's been much better since the scare about her dad. Sam and Emily got married just after you left, you missed a good do there, it went on all night! Oh yeah, I spoke to Carlisle Cullen the other day while waiting for a domestic abuse case to be examined, all happens here Bella! He said Edward is getting married to a girl in Alaska, a Tanya Denali or a Tanya who lives in Denali, I wasn't quite sure. Anyway they're all going up for the big event. That's two weddings in the pipeline, I wonder if there'll be a third. All I know is it won't be me, confirmed bachelor your old dad,
Well that's about it kiddo, take care and write again soon. I miss you
Dad. Xx
P.S. I almost forgot, Mike Newton had an accident surfing last week, the board came up and smacked him in the face. He looks like Frankenstein at the moment with stitches in his forehead, two black eyes and a broken nose. See I told you surfing was dangerous!
PPS. I got Jake to choose some CD's for you so if they aren't ones you like, blame him!
I checked it over and decided it was about the best I was going to do. Reports I could rattle off ten at a time but letters...they were hard, really hard.
I put it in an envelope and addressed it then dropped it in the mail office on my way to work wondering how long it would be before I got another letter from my little girl.
Bella
I read dads letter with interest, he'd done a good job of giving me all the news and I knew he'd taken a while to write it, he hated letter writing. I already knew Emily and Sam were getting married but Edward! Now that came as something of a shock. I wish he'd told me about the rest of the Cullens but perhaps that's all he knew. I missed their company, they had been so welcoming of me and of course in particular I would have liked to know how a certain Jasper Hale was. I think if dad had told me he was getting married it would have hurt although I had no right to feel that way. I shrugged off the sudden feeling of loneliness I felt on thinking of him and started writing back straight away.
In the end it was after the wedding before I got round to writing my letter, Renee needed help and reassurance all the way. I wasn't sure he wanted to hear about the wedding but it gave me something to talk about so I explained how grand it had been. How beautiful Renee looked in her elegant Chanel suit and all the rich people who had attended. A few names even I recognised but in person they were just rich old people. Luc and I had slipped away after the ceremony and then made an appearance at the lavish reception but when the orchestra got into the swing of things we disappeared once more. The piano music in particular made me think of Edward and by association the rest of the Cullens and that made me feel sad so I was glad to leave them to it.
The celebrations went on for two days with a shooting party for the men and riding for the women accompanied by the extra male staff Jean had hired for the occasion. Really just locals with a good knowledge of the best and gentlest rides in the vicinity. I knew dad would be amazed that I went along but Renee made a thing about it so I gritted my teeth and held on tightly. Actually my horse was a very placid beast and I think it knew it had a novice rider on its back because it trotted slowly along and I hardly felt any motion at all although I was stiff and sore the following day. Then Renee and Jean left on their two-week honeymoon to some exotic island and Luc and I were left to the mercies of the staff, who as always spoilt us rotten. I finished writing and gave the letter to the stable boy who was about to leave for the village then went in search of Luc.
