Janelle Chevalier

2. The Phone Call

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The Chevalier Manor

It had been one year since Cécile's death. One year since Janelle had met Anthony, who would rather people call him Tony than Anthony saying that Anthony reminded him of his late grandfather.

Tony had convinced Jean and Julian to let him live with them in the Chevalier manor, in where only Jean, Julian and Janelle had been living. Their father chose to stay away from France for the time being, still mourning over his wife's death; a reason that everybody had given to Frédéric Chevalier's sudden resentment of staying in Toulouse—well, on the outskirts of Haute-Garonne to be specific, their manor was situated near the Forêt de Bouconne.

The peaceful, quiet and generally reserved area had been where the Chevalier siblings, and most of the bloodline of the Chevalier family, had grown up in. And to tell the truth, they were all quite happy with it except a few who chose to live in the city but they kept a close connection with the family, not at all cutting the relation.

Jean, Julian and Janelle were quite happy with living near the forest. And they weren't that far from the city, only thirty kilometres, give or take, away from it.

Jean, only twenty-two years old, was the oldest of the Chevalier siblings and the current heir to the family as Frédéric was the current Lord. His hair was blonde and wavy, much like Janelle's, but he kept it short and only past his ears. His eyes were also the same greyish-blue colour that Janelle had, but were more harder and pointer around the edge while Janelle's were rounder and softer.

Julian, the second oldest—only younger than Jean by two years—and the middle sibling, was taller than Jean, something that he used to tease his older brother with from time to time. His hair was straighter and longer, and he always had it in a messy ponytail. He didn't shave his beard, unlike Jean who liked to have a clean face. One of the dissimilarities between him and his siblings was that he had dark brown eyes, something which he inherited from their father.

Jean and Julian were inseparable, almost like twins. They did everything together and cared immensely for their little sister, notably after the death of their mother. Their father was constantly travelling to make sure their business, winemaking, was still running in other countries—but the last three years had him almost always away. Their brand of wine was one of the most known brands around the world, and Jean being the heir of the family he would be following his father footsteps. Julian had promised him to be by his side when that time came, joking that he would never leave his brother alone to mess everything up.

It was now around eight in the morning, the four of them sat together in the dining hall, enjoying their kind of basic breakfast, while the maids were rushing back and forth cleaning the rooms and feeding the horses, and the cooks were already thinking of what they would make for dinner.

"When are you leaving for England?" Jean asked Janelle, forking a piece of the pancake in his plate then put it in his mouth.

"I don't know. Tony hasn't mention anything about England lately," she answered and drank a bit of her orange juice. "Why? Did grandmother send a letter?"

Jean nodded his head. "She has been waiting for you for one year now, she's very excited."

"I knew it was a wrong idea to tell her I was coming," Janelle mumbled, making Jean and Julian laugh heartily at her. Tony stayed silent, reading what was on that day's newspaper that was brought in by one of the servants, and even though he could understand French, he didn't bother translating what they were saying. He was busy translating what he was reading...and they were talking a bit quicker as well.