Matthew spend the rest of the day with Michelle, the two of them wandering around the garden in a sense of déjà vu.
The next few days were spent suspended in a haze of sick anticipation. Francis holed himself up in his study, busy writing letters of condolence and invitations to the funeral, which had been decided for the coming Tuesday.
The family began to arrive over the next week. For the most part, Matthew and Michelle stayed together, holed up either in their rooms or retreating to the games room, where they knew their age would allow them to remain largely undisturbed.
For his part, Francis left them to it, knowing that they would find the greatest solace in each other's company. Matthew found himself lost once again, unable to talk to much of the new guests due to the language barrier, and Michelle had retreated into herself, unwilling to act as his translator.
They were sitting quietly in the room, both lost in their own thoughts, when a knock suddenly sounded at the door. Matthew looked up, puzzled. Not many of the family came down here, the older cousins choosing to spend much of their time in the city. He looked over to Michelle, wondering who it could be.
Seeing that she was unlikely to answer, Matthew got up and opened the door, curiously.
"Uh, yes?" he asked, immediately berating himself for not using the little French he had managed to pick up.
"I mean, eh, how do I say it, um, je suis désolé, je ne parle pas français. Parle-tu anglais?"
He desperately hoped that was right.
The intruder laughed, a light, bright sound. Matthew flushed a little. The woman standing in front of him was undoubtedly one of Francis' cousins. Her hair was the same light blond, perhaps a shade or two darker, and tied back over her shoulder in a long plait. She had a large red bow on one side of her hair, and two clips of the same colour held her fringe back from her face, which was framed with neat rimless glasses.
"Don't worry, I speak English" she said, laughing a little. Her voice held only a slight accent. She must have seen the relief on Matthew's face, as she went on to explain,
"I have to, for my job. I work in a casino, in Monaco. Lots of very rich, international clients. English is the lingua franca."
Matthew blinked in surprise. "eh, ok? I'm sorry, um.."
"Emilie" she supplied helpfully. "I'm guessing you're Matthew?"
He nodded. "It's nice to meet you" he said politely.
She waved a hand at him, dismissively. "You too. Now, why are you two holed up in here? Must be kind of boring, surely?" she stepped past him, making her way into the room and dropping onto one of the large beanbags scattered around the room.
Matthew could only close the door and retreat back to the sofa, totally lost.
Emilie immediately picked up one of the many controllers lying around the room and stretched across to turn on the TV. She turned around to him and held another out.
"Want to play?" she asked.
Matthew took the controller from her wordlessly. What is she doing? He wondered.
The answer was pretty obvious, of course. Whoever she was, she was obviously trying to make them both feel better, or at least take their minds off everything.
They began a game together. At first, Matthew played half-heartedly, still a little confused with Emilie's sudden presence. Soon, however, his competitive side kicked in, honed from years of playing against Alfred.
After throwing a particularly stunning attack at Emilie's character, causing them to veer suddenly and fall off the track entirely, he glanced across to Michelle.
The noise had evidently brought her out of her gloom, as she sat with a small smile on her face watching them play.
"Would you like to play too?" Matthew asked softly.
Michelle bit her lip, looking away for a moment. Matthew simply waited. After a moment or two, she turned back to him, her smile widening.
"Alright" she said.
Matthew grinned. Leaning forwards to grab another controller, he handed it to her with a mock-serious expression.
"You're on."
The battle began in earnest. Soon, the three of them were locked in fierce concentration, their bodies tilted forward, moving and swaying with the motion of the characters. They raced around lap after lap.
Michelle turned out to be amazingly good at it, guiding her character effortlessly through land, sea and air, transitioning smoothly as required. Matthew was a little jerkier, having never quite got the hang of the exact timing needed for the game. Between them both, Emilie was just as controlled, absently huffing as a stray strand of hair fell across her face.
She raised a hand to brush it out of the way, letting go of the controller for a mere second. Matthew seized the opportunity as her character paused for a moment and raced forward, gaining the distance between him and Michelle, who was way out in front.
The pause cost her, as the final lap narrowed until each one was sitting on the edge of their seats, gazes locked furiously on the screen.
They turned the last corner and the finishing line came into view. Suddenly, Michelle's character shot forward, the girl having sneakily saved a boost for this exact moment. She crossed the line easily, sitting back with a smug look and waiting as the other two came in second and third, Emilie having not quite managed to catch up from the lag.
She let out a groan of dismay.
"Michelle, that was utterly foul. You sneaky little thing, how long had you been saving that?" she asked suspiciously.
Michelle grinned at her. "Wouldn't you like to know". Her eyes shone with the first genuine happiness Matthew had seen all week.
Emilie sighed and fell back onto the beanbag.
"Ah, Well. What can you do. Good game, both of you." She looked up at them both, shaking her head sadly.
"Honestly, you young things, learning how to play our games and beating us at them. I remember the first consoles that came out. You don't know you're born nowadays, all this fancy tech you have."
Michelle raised an eyebrow. "Emilie, you work in a casino," she countered.
The blond merely looked at her. "Your point?"
"They're full of technology!" she argued. "UV light detectors, x-rays, all that fancy James Bond stuff. You probably use way more stuff than we do."
Emilie giggled. "True!"
"It must be very exciting." Matthew smiled, his gaze slightly entranced.
"Nah. I mean it can be, sure. Tips are great, for one thing. Guys get pretty free when they start winning. But it's not something I would recommend, really." Her expression sobered.
"It looks very glamourous from the outside. Shiny cars, all that wealth, the promise of winning. But it's not so great on the inside. The dress code is pretty strict for workers, and I have to wear heels all day, which sucks on a long shift. I get to meet people from all over the world and it really is nice to see the joy on their faces when they realise they've won. But then the flip side is those who are truly addicted, who keep playing long after they know they haven't got anything to bet with. We do the best we can to keep people in check, but it doesn't always work. They'll just go somewhere else instead."
The mood in the room sobered. They sat in silence, until Emilie laughed suddenly, breaking the spell.
"Oh, goodness, that was dark. I'm sorry." She grinned apologetically. "As with anything, there's pros and cons. Bottom line, kids, listen to the slogan. By all means have a flutter every once in a while, but don't go crazy. And if you ever wanna come to Monaco with me, I'll give you a tour. We're on the circuit too, so if you're into cars we get some pretty famous faces coming through the doors!"
On that note, a knock sounded at the door, and Francis popped his head around.
"Oh, look, a not-so-famous face" Emilie joked, making the two laugh.
Francis looked at his cousin, an eyebrow raised in faint amusement. "Pardon?"
"Oh, nothing. Just telling the kids about the dangers of gambling. Live fast, die young, all that jazz."
Francis nodded slowly, clearly none the wiser. "Well, never mind that. Lunch is ready, if you would like to come to the dining room. He held the door wider, waiting while Matthew and Michelle got up from the couch and walked out, giving them each a brief smile and a hug.
Emilie made no move to get up, instead waiting until the two teens were out of earshot before rising gracefully and walking over to her cousin. Francis stepped back to allow her into the corridor.
"Thank you, Emilie" he said quietly.
"It was nothing" she replied. "Those two are feeling very lonely right now, being in this huge house with everyone. I'm sure it wasn't doing them much good to sit holed up in that room. And it turns out they're pretty good at games!"
Francis quirked a smile. "Well, I'm grateful. Matthew I was not so worried about, but I have not seen Michelle smile like that all week. So, thank you."
She shook her head. "It's fine. They're cute kids, it was fun." She grinned at him, linking her arm through his. "Now, cuz, you said something about lunch? I don't know about you, but I'm starving."