The rest of their journey down to Devon was done in relative silence. It reinforced the reality that Jacques was going to have to do a lot of explaining to do later that evening.

The sun was still high in the sky when Jacques drove the Van up the track to their home.

“Why don’t we leave unloading until morning?” suggested Jacques.

“Good idea. I’m bushed,” replied Vivienne in a firm voice.

That was settled, so they just took the items that were in the cab and headed for the Cottage.

After the warmth of the day, the interior of the cottage seemed cold. The thick stone walls did that to the place. Jacques quickly got the stove going and right away, the kitchen seemed ten degrees warmer.

Neither of them wanted to be the first to talk. In the end, it was Vivienne who made the first move. The kettle was taking an age to boil.

“A friend of mine from work did some digging in the archives. He sent me his report. It was waiting for me when I got to the old place. Tell me what you think.”

She put the note that Alec had sent to her on the table in front of Jacques.

He read it. Several times, he nodded his head.

“This is all in the archives?”

“Yes, the paper kind that the Inland Revenue is famous for the world over. No computer searches were involved. They are always logged and the new boss apparently checks them every day for signs of time-wasting. That was something I never did.”

“That’s good to know.”

“Is what he said correct? Between what Alec and a few snippets that Maxine let slip, the only conclusion I can come to is that you are a spook?”

Jacques looked at the kettle. It still hadn’t boiled.

“Yes and no. Yes, because I worked for a Government Department that can be considered part of the Security Services but isn’t MI5 or MI6. No, because I never spied on anyone. I was a form of troubleshooter. I still am from time to time but you know that already. When MI5 or MI6 cocked up, we were often sent in to clean up. We also took on cases that they could not work on. They would send people undercover but we’d be even more in the shadows”

Jacques paused for a second or so before continuing.
“Do you remember the incident where the head of MI5 was assassinated a few hours after an apartment in Chelsea was hit by an RPG?”

“Yeah. We were on lockdown for almost a whole day. Why?”

“That RPG was aimed at the flat where two of my colleagues lived. They were a thorn in the side of a really bad international criminal gang leader. They later dealt with that leader and his plot to infiltrate the Government at the highest levels. I was already living here. I was and as far as I know, still very under the radar. I have no internet footprint whatsoever. That means I can go… sorry did go undercover and know that I could not be found out so to speak. I did just that and help clean up the remnants of his organisation in the UK. We also dismantled most of his European organisation with the help of the security services across the continent.”
Jacques laughed.

"I say we… I did very little but validate and cross-reference documents for almost three weeks. In the end, I had a total picture of the criminal organisation’s setup and distribution network. It was that we shared with Interpol.”

Jacques smiled at Vivienne.
“Yes, I say ‘did’. The afternoon we met in London, I’d been to see my boss and resigned. It was the first time I’d been to HQ since the day after my wife died. He accepted it once I told him that I was involved with someone and that they were coming to live with me in Devon. I didn’t need to say anything more than that. As a result, I’m on the payroll until the end of August. That’s why I was able to use the resources of the department today. It is another reason why I want to stay very much under the radar for as long as possible. If my picture gets widely published then… lets’ just say that one or two undesirables will want to settle some old scores.”

“But you said that you had been told to see me by Maxine?”

"We were working at her home in Reigate when your text arrived. We'd been going over some documents relating to something very illegal for a couple of days and she read me the riot act. The result was that I stayed one more night with her and came up to London the next morning. I visited my wife's grave in the morning and went into the office and handed in my resignation. Then I met you. Not quite where Maxine had planned but it worked out, in the end, didn't it?"

Vivienne took her time to digest what he’d said. The kettle still hadn’t boiled.

“Why didn’t you tell me all this before?”

"There is an awful lot that I can’t tell you but I was trying to find the right moment to brief you on my true background. The P.I. that followed us today sort of forced my hand. I think he must have been either watching your house or the estate agents. Either way, he is out of the picture for the time being.”

Then Jacques leaned over and took Vivienne’s hand in his.
"If you want to bail out we can sort that out tomorrow. Act in haste, repent at leisure.”

Vivienne smiled.
“I’m going nowhere. If anything, today has proved even more that my daughters are getting rather desperate. Who knows what they’ll do next? But I do know that we can’t sit here doing nothing. I haven’t forgiven you for keeping all that stuff to yourself, yet!”

Jacques had sort of expected Vivienne to be harder on him.

“What do you think we should do?”

Vivienne got up to make the tea. The Kettle had finally come to the boil.

With two mugs of tea on the table in front of them, she sat down.

“Change our names, get married and get the other house finished. Oh, and sell my car as far away from here as we can. Then I’ll buy another car. One with a lot more range. The less data that my daughters or their P.I. can use to track me down the better. I’m not on any social media platform. I never felt the need then we were told that we should not use our own names if we did use Facebook and the like. I thought that it was all a waste of time so I never signed up.”

Jacques smiled.

Before he could say anything, Vivienne said,

“When we get married, you can put that item I bought on me. That will be my wedding ring.”

That shocked Jacques.
“Are you sure about that?”

“I am. I saw several women in Paris wearing them. That’s what gave me the idea. Another trip to Paris to order some nice new corsets and you can spend some time with your daughter would be nice.”

“You seem to have it all worked out.”

Vivienne laughed.
“No. Far from it. Winging it more like.”

“I think that you are right… On all counts especially, the bit about winging it. We both are doing a lot of that at the moment. We are both well out of practice at this romance thing aren’t we?”

Vivienne took a sip of the hot tea. It was still too hot to drink.

Instead, she stood up and took hold of Jacques’s hands.
“Time for you to do your stuff and make me happy!”

He knew exactly what she meant. The smile on her face meant that he was more or less forgiven.
“No rest for the wicked then?”

They both laughed.
“I like being wicked,” said Vivienne as they headed towards the bedroom.
“Far too many years of being nice has led to a big deficit in the naughty column.”

---

Jacques and Vivienne returned the van to the rental company the next morning without issue. The rental van was a weak point in their desire to remain anonymous due to the fact that the rental company’s name was clearly visible to everyone. If someone inside the company could be persuaded to tell someone else where the van had been rented from and suddenly, Vivienne’s daughters would be much nearer to finding their mother.

While they were in Plymouth, Vivienne took the opportunity to get a new SIM for her phone plus a new phone and SIM for Jacques. She ensured that both phones were in her name. She gave her old address to the network operator. Technically, she still owned it as the sale had not quite completed. Hopefully, that was another dead end she was leaving for her daughters.

With the old SIM still in place, Vivienne called her lawyer, Verity May.

"Hello, Verity."

“We are doing good. I can’t say the same for my dear daughters. They put a P.I. on our tail yesterday when we came to London to collect the last of my things.”

“Yes. He followed us for quite a while. We lost him when his car was pulled over by the Police.”

“I have no idea why. One minute there he was. The next, his car was surrounded by Police.”

“How? Jacques recognised him from some work he did last year.”

The story she was telling was a lie but like all the best lies, it contained a good deal of truth.

“Yes, they do seem to be getting rather desperate. We need to take evasive action.”

“Oh, just simple things like changing our names, getting married. At least then, Jacques is my nearest family member and not them. I have a new phone number. I’ll text you with it after this call. Then my old number will be out of service after today.”

“I’ll get the address on my new driving licence changed to here. The same goes for the passport. Which I’ll need in a couple of weeks. I need to take another trip to Paris. I have some unfinished business that needs concluding.”

“Yes, I am much more confident. Having someone to talk things over with really helps.”

“Can you sort out all the forms and the like? Jacques and I will be coming up to London on Monday. Firstly, to sell my car. I’m not going to sell it down here. That is far too easy to track. Then can we meet at Paddington to sign everything? I'll also need a Royal Mail diversion thingy. I was looking forward to meeting for lunch but I think it is prudent that we spend as little time in the Capital as possible.”

“Yes, I am sure,” said Vivienne looking at Jacques and smiling.

"I have some documents that need safekeeping. The cost is not important. As long as I don’t know where they are then I can’t be forced to tell now can I?”

“The documents are all my diaries from the last thirty years. If what I think they are planning comes true then I’ll need them.”

“Why my dear Verity, to help me prove that I’m not stark raving mad and I’m really just a woman who is living out her fantasies.”

“That sounds as good a place as any. You sort it out. You have my power of attorney. I think now is a good time to start using it don’t you?”

“Yes Verity, I won’t. See you Monday. I’ll text you a time but probably between two and three.”

Vivienne hung up. Her heart was pounding.

“How did I do?”

“Very well. Are you sure that you haven’t been doing this for years?” replied Jacques.

Vivienne laughed.

“You have to remember that my job entailed getting blood out of many stones. Lying through my back teeth about what evidence we had was all part of the job. You’d be surprised at how quickly people cave in and pay up when presented with a few half-truths.”

Jacques gave her a look that said, ‘it is just as well that we are on the same side’.

Vivienne sighed.
“I need to call Janice. It is her birthday today.”

Jacques laughed.
“Rather you than me. You can use your laptop when we go into town to do the shopping. That way, she won’t have our new phone numbers.”

Vivienne gave him a long kiss.
“You are full of very good ideas my darling.”

Jacques laughed.
“That is the spook in me I’m afraid.”

---

Later that day, Jacques drove them both into Totnes. While he went to start the weekly shop at the supermarket, Vivienne ‘skyped’ her daughter piggybacking on the WiFi from the Library.

Once the formalities were over, it didn’t take long for Janice to start sounding off about her lover Jacques.

“But Mum… he is so much younger than you?”

"That's rubbish and you know it. Ten years is nothing really. He's not a toyboy. He's fifty years old not fresh out of nappies! Besides, he makes me feel twenty-five again. Isn't that a good thing or are you trying to get me into my grave already?"

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“I know nothing of the sort. All I do know is that he makes me happy both in and out of bed.”

Vivienne looked at her daughter’s image on the screen. She was wearing what appeared to be yet another brand-new outfit. Janice hadn’t hidden the price tag completely inside her collar.

"I can see that our lives have totally diverged. I failed to make you worldly-wise. How much did you spend on that outfit from Jasper Conran? Two hundred pounds? More? I have different priorities in life these days. So please excuse me, I have a chicken to catch otherwise we will not be eating much over the weekend!"

Vivienne hung up the call without waiting for Janice to say goodbye. She knew that she’d done her duty by saying ‘Happy Birthday’ to her daughter. The memory of how they’d treated her on her birthday still rankled with her. Neither of them had even now, said sorry and ‘Happy Birthday Mum!’.

Vivienne closed the laptop and went in search of Jacques feeling awful that she’d lost it again with her daughter and resorted to ranting at her.

---

Over the next two days, the couple worked together on the new house. Between them, they managed to get all of the remaining windows installed and make it finally watertight. The hard work had also allowed Vivienne to temporarily forget the issues with her daughter.

“They look good,” commented Vivienne.”

“They will be even better when I wire them up.”

“Wire them up?”

“Oh yeah. They are made using the same principle as the windows in the Boeing 787. They can be dimmed. Also, they are one-way glass. Why don’t you go outside and stand twenty metres away and then tell me what you see?”

Vivienne went outside and did as she was told.

She couldn't see anything that was going on inside. She came closer. It wasn't until she was just a few inches away from the glass before she could see Jacques making faces at her. She returned the compliment.

“You can wander around in just your corset if you want. No one can see you!”

Vivienne took that as an invitation to undress. As she was doing so, she laughed at how far she come and how much she’d changed in just a few short weeks.

She did a dance for Jacques who tried hard not to laugh.

He interrupted Vivienne with a kiss.

“You are one crazy woman. You know that?”
“Crazy in a nice way though!”

---

The following Saturday was Farmers Market day which meant that they rose at the crack of dawn to get things ready. Even so, it was a bit of a rush. There was not even time for breakfast before they had to leave to set up the stall.

"We can get something to eat once we are set up," said Vivienne.

“True. The stall two along from us makes a mean Pork Bun.”

“Good. My treat.”

"But we need the store set up before that,"

"Yes, Boss!"
They both grinned at each other.

With the two of them working hard, the market was a great success.
“We did well today,” said Jacques as he counted the takings that evening.

“That’s good. We can go shopping tomorrow.”

Jacques didn’t immediately respond.

“What’s the problem?”

“I’ve been thinking about your Daughters.”

Vivienne let Jacques continue.

“They are really determined to get you under their control, aren’t they?”

“It very much seems that way.”

“Then we need to fight them. Stop running away. Go after them and get them to put their cards on the table.”

Vivienne shook her head.

“Oh, I know what they want. They want my money. As my next of kin, they think that if they get me declared mentally incompetent they can put me away and then spend my money.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Let me get my diary. I have their hints and nudges all recorded.”

“What else is in them?”

Vivienne smiled.
"Oh, just all my fantasies. Some of what you have seen. It is all in there and a lot more. But ever since they started making suggestions about moving into a retirement complex, I have been recording all my interactions with them in some detail apart from the last few days that is.”

“Sounds like a Hollywood epic?”

"It all depends on which side of the camera you are on.”

Vivienne disappeared into the one-bedroom that the cottage possessed to retrieve the diaries from the ancient tin box that she’d transported them down from London in.

She soon reappeared carrying the box that held all of them.

“Here you go. Start about January the 19th,” said Vivienne handing over the diary marked 2018.

Vivienne didn’t sit down.
“I’m going to bed if that is all right. Knock yourself out. But once you have read that literary masterpiece, I’m sure that it will be clear what their plan is.”

“How will they get you declared mentally unfit?”

“They will need to get me assessed under the Mental Capacity Act for England and Wales.”

"It is pretty obvious that you have researched this to some depth?"

"I did. I know that I’m sane but a little eccentric as you have come to find out.”

Jacques smiled and picked up the Diary but didn’t open it.

“Are you sure that there aren’t things in here that I shouldn’t read?”

Vivienne smiled.
“Oh, you mean the dreams I had about doing nasty sexual things to you and you to me.”

Jacques was about to say something but didn’t. Out of courtesy, he waited until Vivienne had gone upstairs to bed before he said a few choice words in French under his breath.

---

Vivienne woke up the next morning and realised that something was wrong. Jacques was not lying next to her. Then she noticed that his part of the bed hadn’t been slept in.

She sank back into the bed. It didn’t take a genius to guess what Jacques had been doing pretty well all night. She hadn’t really thought that he’d read the lot but that is what must have happened.

Vivienne got dressed and went downstairs. Jacques was nowhere to be seen. Then she heard the Ducks. She went to the door and saw that he was feeding them. She felt relieved. Relived that he was still here after reading the ramblings of a slightly eccentric and slightly crazy old woman.

Vivienne then looked at the kitchen table. Three of her diaries were on the table beside the tin box. It looked as if Jacques had fallen asleep at the table. There were some papers with his handwriting on the table but she managed to not take a peek. Instead, she started to prepare breakfast for them both.

The twenty-odd chickens that lived on the smallholding, provided them with a plentiful supply of eggs. Six Eggs plus some fresh herbs went into a bowl along with some salt and pepper, and bingo! Omelette mix. She put the kettle on to boil and a pan on for the Omelettes. She was just pouring the tea when Jacques returned.

“Good morning darling,” said Vivienne.
“Tea and with a Cheese and Spring Onion Omelette?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Vivienne poured some of the mix into the pan and started to cook the dish. She added the cheese and spring onion mix right at the end and expertly folded it over.

“Did you sleep at the table?” she asked as she put two plates down on the table.

“Afraid so. I read your latest two diaries and then took two more at random. You don’t pull any punches in what you write do you?”

“If you look back to the start, you will see a different tone. In later years, they became a way of relieving the stress of the day.”

“That was pretty clear. Your writing style changes quite a bit.”

“And?”

“And what?” asked Jacques.

“And, you still want me here with you? With all my darkest secrets and everything?”

He finished drying his hands and came up behind Vivienne. He put his arms around her and kissed the back of her neck. She visibly shuddered.

“Hey stop that!”

“Don’t you like it?”

“Not while I have a heavy cast iron pan in one hand I don’t!”

Jacques backed away grinning from ear to ear.

Vivienne had her answer.

“It must have been hard for you to show me your diaries?” he asked when they’d finished eating.

“At first, I didn’t want to but I realised that I didn’t want any secrets between us as far as possible. Besides, you got to see all my fantasies, didn’t you?”

Jacques laughed.

“Some at least. Some of them are a pure delight. C’est Fantastique sounds much better.”

“Now you know where my craziness comes from.”

“I do but it is clear that your daughters don’t get it at all. Your documentation of their words and actions shows a clear pattern of behaviour and your increased resistance to what they are demanding.”

Vivienne leaned over and kissed Jacques.
“At least I have one person on my side… Or do you think that I’m losing my marbles?”

“I am on your side and no, you are not losing your marbles. But…”

Vivienne groaned.

“But,” said Jacques carrying on.
“I think you may well have to demonstrate your competency. Take this decision to give everything to Charity? They will certainly want to challenge that.”

“And they’ll get nowhere,” retorted Vivienne.
She looked in the box and pulled out her diary for 2009.

After some searching, she found the bit she wanted.

“Read this.”

Jacques read the section. It was for the day of Vivienne’s 50th Birthday.

“You told them that long ago that most of your money was going to Charity?”

“I did and my will that dates from a week or so later will validate that. I made some provision for my children. That Will remained in force until recently. That’s when I added the codicil to cut them out of it entirely.”

“If we get married then you will need a new will.”

Vivienne shook her head.
"I put a specific provision in the will for me getting hitched again. All it needs is another codicil signed by you for it to stand.”

“You are one careful woman Vivienne!”

“That’s because I almost got burned by a dirty rotten bastard the previous year. I escaped his clutches by the skin of my teeth so I decided to think again about my will. I decided there and then to make a condition of getting married again, that my wishes as detailed in the Will remain in force.”

She looked Jacques right in the eye.
“I hope you don’t mind that my darling?”

Jacques leaned over and kissed her.
“I don’t mind at all. I live a pretty simple life here. I’m sure that we can as well for a good few years to come.”

That reply caused Vivienne to come around to the other side of the table and straddle Jacques. After a hug and a long kiss, a few tears of happiness rolled down her cheeks.

When she’d recovered, Jacques said,
“When I was reading your 2018 diary, I got to thinking about what you suggested we do next.”

Vivienne was suddenly all ears.

"I agree with you in that we need to get married ASAP. Then I will become your legal guardian. As I will sign a declaration renouncing all current and future claims to your estate, I can’t be accused of marrying you for the money. I do think that we need to go on the offensive as regards your daughters go. To be honest, I think that we would be silly to wait for them to come after you and by implication me. If they can hire a Private Eye then so can we. If you are right and they are in trouble financially then putting that on the table may just cause them to back off.”

“That makes sense.”

“But you will have to appear to be living a very normal life until they are no longer a threat.”

“What do you mean?”

“Wear normal clothes including underwear and shoes. We’ll wear traditional wedding rings and be… a normal wife. All normal things. I’m sorry my darling but your eccentric lifestyle will have to be put on hold for the time being.”

Vivienne’s shoulders sagged.
She didn’t say anything for a while.

“I suppose you are right.”

“You need to talk to your lawyer. If she has your interests at heart then I’m sure that she’ll agree with me.”

“What about when we are here?”

“Especially when you are here. You never know when another PI might be around and capture everything on video.”

“I don’t want to.”

"I know you don't but I don't see any way out of it. If you want them out of your life once and for all then this is how I'd do it. We are meeting your lawyer on Monday, aren't we?"

“Yes, we are.”

“I think we should meet her but at her offices. Be open about you going there and consulting your legal representative. You have nothing to hide,”

Vivienne laughed.

“Only my corset and nipples…”

“Then you will have to wear clothes that keep them invisible as much as possible.”

“I was looking forward to going to Paris again,” said Vivienne looking slightly dejected.

“I know you were and we can still go but not just yet ok?”

“I suppose so.”

“Good. Now you need to update Verity when she’s in the office. Then we can start looking for a new car for you, can’t we?”

“I’m still selling my Leaf for cash.”

“Absolutely. Keep them guessing about what we are doing.”

“Sounds like we have a plan then?”

Jacques grinned.

“And the first step is for me to tighten your laces. Monsieur Henri will never forgive you if you don’t keep up with the plan.”

[to be continued]