Page 14 of A French Inheritance

A beautiful Riviera morning greeted Briony the next day as once again she was woken by the dawn chorus.

As the bird song quietened and the sun rose, she threw the duvet back and stood looking out of her bedroom window and gave a happy sigh.

The sky was already developing that deep daytime azure without a cloud in sight.

After a shower, Briony dressed and crept downstairs.

Five minutes later, she was on her way to the village for breakfast croissants.

Barely seven thirty but the village’s daily routine was already underway.

The café’s coffee machine was filling the air with the aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans being ground ready for the day’s customers.

Odette, wiping down outside tables, waved at her as she went past. ‘ Bonjour , Briony. ?a va ?’

‘ Oui merci. Et vous ?’ Briony called back.

The boulangerie shop door was open and villagers were already leaving with their fresh baguettes and croissants and hurrying home for breakfast. She didn’t recognise the woman behind the counter who smiled and greeted her with the welcoming ‘Bonjour’, that every customer received.

A few moments later and Briony was walking home, trying not to squash the warm croissants and wondering what it would be like to live permanently in the cottage and be a part of the local scene.

Jeannie was in the kitchen making coffee when Briony returned. ‘Mm, still warm,’ she said appreciatively, taking the bag of croissants from Briony and putting them on a plate.

Briony waited until they were both sat down at the table, and had coffee and croissants in front of them. ‘Mum, we need to talk.’ Briony took a sip of coffee before saying quietly, ‘I’ve been thinking and…’ She paused. ‘I’ve made a decision about the cottage.’

Jeannie looked at her wide-eyed, anxiety written all over her face. ‘Tell me.’

‘I love the place and can’t bear the thought of selling it or being the one who lets it leave the family. So, if you are serious about wanting to sell up in England and move here, you can.’

‘You’re going to keep the cottage? Oh, thank goodness.’ Jeannie brushed a tear away as she let out a deep breath. ‘I was so worried you were going to put it up for sale.’

‘It might come to that in the end,’ Briony said. ‘Depending on how much it costs to run and how quickly I get a new job.’

‘Please don’t worry about money,’ Jeannie said. ‘The house in England will sell and the proceeds will be enough…’

‘No.’ Briony shook her head. ‘That is your money. The cottage is my responsibility from now on. If things get really tight, I might have to ask for a small loan, but if I do, I will pay you back, okay?’

Jeannie gave a resigned nod.

‘There is one other thing about you moving in though, which I hope you’ll be happy with.’

‘Which is?’ Jeannie looked at her and waited.

‘I’m going to try to come to live here too. No idea how I’m going to manage it and earn money but…’ Briony shrugged. ‘There has to be a way.’

‘My morning has just got better and better,’ Jeannie said. ‘The thought of the two of us living here makes me so happy.’

Briony fetched her laptop and began to make lists for both locations, starting with France as they were currently in situ. The next hour flew by as the two of them planned the best way to deal with everything; there was so much to organise here in France and in the cottage.

‘Don’t forget we’ve got the notaire tomorrow,’ Jeannie said. ‘And our flight is booked for next Tuesday. I don’t think we need to stay longer this time, do we? Be better to move over quickly and then sort the cottage out, yes?’

‘Yes, I agree. I will email my landlord today and give him notice on the flat. Get that underway. I don’t have many things, probably all go in half a dozen big boxes, so I can vacate it early and either come to you or return down here,’ Briony said.

‘I’ll need a removal company to bring the small amount of furniture I want to keep – all your stuff can come over with that,’ Jeannie said.

‘I’m probably going to have to stay there for a couple of weeks – get the house on the market, pack up my personal stuff, decide what to bring here and sell the rest. I’ll also need to tell the hospice they will need to find another volunteer to organise their library. ’

‘If I stay with you for a few days before flying back down, I can give you a hand packing up,’ Briony said.

‘Oh, I’m so excited,’ Jeannie said. ‘I can scarcely believe that in a few months you and I are going to be living permanently in Owls Nest. I wish I could wave a wand and make it happen instantly.’

* * *

Lucy poured coffee into two insulated non-spill mugs, added a spoonful of sugar to one and placed them in a wicker basket alongside a plastic container with biscuits and a bottle of water.

Adam was busy doing the weekly stint of weed-clearing in the avocado field.

She knew he wouldn’t bother to stop and come up to the farmhouse for a mid-morning break so she’d walk down to him.

She needed to talk to him and, taking him a coffee in the middle of a job, she was guaranteed to have his attention.

Django was instantly at the door when she picked up the basket and the keys. ‘Extra morning walk today,’ she said, locking the door behind her.

Adam smiled at her and dropped the hoe he was using to remove the weeds and aerate the earth around each plant when she reached him. ‘You’re a lifesaver. I was just thinking I could murder a coffee.’

They stood companionably drinking coffee and Adam devoured several biscuits.

Lucy took a sip of her coffee. ‘I think – no I know, I’m going to need help this summer.

It’s shaping up to be our best summer yet.

The g?te is already fully booked for July and August and most of September, and the early summer months are filling up too.

I want to start advertising the stable g?tes soon, once I’ve furnished them, and hopefully we’ll start to get interest and bookings for the summer. ’

‘Debs and Hannah were a great help last year,’ Adam said.

‘I know, but their student days are behind them. They’ve both got proper jobs now with limited holidays and there’s going to be three g?tes occupied for at least several weeks this summer.

That’s a lot of weekly washing and cleaning.

And if we go ahead with offering breakfast and dinner in the farmhouse too…

’ Lucy shook her head. ‘I can’t be everywhere, or do everything.

Editing the YouTube videos is time-consuming.

And we really need to think about finding someone to help man the pèpiniére .

It really needs someone on hand to serve people who want to buy plants and pots. ’

Adam nodded thoughtfully. ‘Okay. There’s bound to be someone local looking for a part-time summer job. Ask in the village, see if anyone is interested before we start advertising. And maybe Holly or Calvin would keep an eye out for customers in the pèpiniére .’

‘I don’t think that would work – definitely not for Holly. If she’s in the middle of making a pot or something, we can’t realistically expect her to stop and man the pèpiniére .’

‘No,’ Adam agreed. ‘The person who helps you would probably need to know something about plants, wouldn’t they?’

Lucy nodded. ‘It’s lucky we don’t have any animals other than Django.

Honestly, when you think about the amount of work a farmer’s wife in the old days was expected to do – help with livestock, feed the family and any workers, help on the land, keep chickens.

All with no modern conveniences. I don’t know how they managed to fit everything in.

I’m glad I live in the twenty-first century, that’s all I can say. ’

‘Right, back to work.’ Adam finished his coffee and placed the cup in the basket before casually asking, ‘What d’you think Robyn said in that letter?’

‘No idea,’ Lucy replied, not at all surprised by the unexpected question. The brothers were close and Adam did worry about his younger brother.

‘I sort of wish Elliot had opened the envelope before tearing it up. It’s always better to know what the enemy is up to than not,’ Adam said.

‘Enemy?’ Lucy said. ‘Robyn’s not his enemy. She’s his ex-wife.’

‘A bitter ex-wife, which makes her an enemy in my view,’ Adam said. ‘A woman scorned and all that.’

Lucy sighed. ‘I suppose you’re right, but Elliot was the one scorned in the end, not her. I understand him not wanting anything to do with her. She hurt him so much with her actions and I think he’s right not to want to let her back into his life in any shape or form.’

‘I hope not receiving a reply from him doesn’t mean she takes it into her head to turn up here to talk to him face to face, that’s all,’ Adam said.

‘That’s a risk, I admit, but I honestly can’t see what she’d get out of doing that. She literally emptied his bank account, as well as scuppering his career in England. He’s got nothing left to give her.’