To Have and To Hold Chapter 40

Chapter 40

“Yes, Colette, your actions and your attitude toward this matter. Ranting and raving about me leaving you for her. I told you I was love in love with Nicole ever since we were children. As far as our love affair, Colette, it was non-existent. There was no affair to break up. I tried to tell you hundreds of times, you just didn’t want to hear me.�

Colette looked at him. “You still haven’t explained my actions.�

Auguste looked at her angrily then brightened a bit. He continued.

“You went after everything, Colette. You claimed everything that I left for Nicole and my daughter was all for you. Sorry to say, but I had to hide everything from you or else my memories and treasures of Nicole would be gone.”

“You have already spent everything we had on sport and gambling,� Antoine interrupted. “Everything we ever had is gone and we will never get it back.�

“And,� Auguste said. “I will not have the last of my treasures to be used to pay back your creditors.�

“And that’s what you were going to do, wasn’t it?� Antoine asked. “You were going to dig up all those things that were buried in that mud hole and then walk on me as well.�

Colette glared at them, all of them. How did they know what she wanted to do? Who could have told them and what’s more….

Wait. All that treasure buried in the mud hole and on the side of the stables? They know about it. How could they possibly know? Only her and Nicole knew and then…

Nicole must have told Auguste, but why would she. It was supposed to be a secret just between the two of them.

“Cat got your tongue, Colette?� Antoine asked after she didn’t say anything.

“How dare you accuse me of anything,� she screamed. “I told you, I fell in mud. I was not digging or burrowing in the ground, I fell and that’s all I have done. Besides, there was nothing buried anywhere. All the holes turned up empty and according to you…�

“According to me?� Auguste asked, cutting into her ranting. “No, Colette. It was your children that explained everything to us, or at least what you were doing there. It was Jean who found that sword buried on the side of the stables. But let’s forget about that sword right now, Colette. Let me ask you something? If you didn’t go digging in the mud, how can you explain the fact that you know all the holes are empty? That nothing is buried in any one of them, except one. The one you didn’t know about. I never said anything about where you were digging or what you were digging for.�

Updated: June 25, 2002 — 10:28 pm