Page 18 of A French Inheritance

Briony and Jeannie spent Monday morning pottering around both the cottage and the garden.

Knowing that Jeannie had a house full of furniture in the UK, they also tried to work out a plan of what would go where, which pieces Jeannie would sell in the UK and which she would bring with her. With very little success.

Sitting out on the terrace mid-morning with a coffee, Jeannie gave a sigh and looked at Briony. ‘Tell me something – do you like Granny Giselle’s furniture?’

‘Yes,’ Briony looked at her puzzled. ‘Why?’

‘It is your new home and you should be the one choosing how it is furnished.’

‘But it’s going to be your home too,’ Briony protested.

‘The thing is…’ Jeannie paused. ‘I don’t think my furniture is going to suit the cottage – the things that are here now are so right for the place.’

‘Shall we leave it until we get back to England and then decide?’ Briony suggested.

‘I think that is the best idea,’ Jeannie smiled, relieved. ‘A couple of things I do want to bring over are the cane garden chairs for this terrace and the wrought-iron table.’

‘What about gardening tools?’ Briony asked. ‘Yours are in much better condition than the ones here.’

‘Definitely bringing the tools. I’m looking forward to pulling this garden back into shape.’

‘Have you had a look at the boxes I took out of the attic?’ Briony asked, finishing her coffee. ‘I left them on the dining-room table.’

Jeannie shook her head. ‘No. What’s in them?’

‘One, which I’m really looking forward to going through when we get back, has lots of photos, letters, old birthday cards, some old-fashioned sheet music, a few tatty newspaper cuttings, and a locked five-year diary with a key.

The other one is full of paintings, sketches, a couple of small, framed pictures, like the picture in the hall.

I think they’re all the work of Great-granny. ’

‘Intriguing,’ Jeannie said. ‘Have you opened the diary?’

‘No. Diaries are such personal things, it doesn’t feel right reading someone else’s private thoughts, even after all this time. But I will once I’m living here.’

‘I know a little about Dad’s grandparents but not much. His grandfather was quite a stern, hard man, not a lot of time for other people. Jeromé adored his grandmother though. Said she was one of the gentlest, sweetest people he’d ever met, as well as being a talented artist when she was young.’

‘Once I’m down here full-time, I’ll try to do some family history research,’ Briony said. ‘Neither Granny nor Dad seem to have inherited her artistic talent, though, do they? I know Dad could draw a caricature with just a few strokes of the pen, but he never painted actual pictures, did he?’

‘No. He wasn’t interested in art at all.’

Jeannie’s phone rang at that moment and she picked it up.

‘Hi,’ she said, and listened before speaking again. ‘That would be lovely. Thank you. We’ll see you then.’ Turning to Briony, she said. ‘That was Yann. He’s invited us to lunch in the village today. I accepted for both of us.’

* * *

Three-quarters of an hour later as they arrived at the village café, Yann was waiting to greet them and Odette showed the three of them to a reserved pavement table under the cover of a large parasol.

With a glass of rosé to sip, a bread basket and a large plate of charcuterie on the table to share between them as a starter, Briony sat back as Yann and her mum talked nostalgically about the meals they’d shared there with their respective partners, in the past. At one point, they both laughed and glanced at each other as if the two of them shared a personal special memory of that particular occasion.

Thoughtfully, Briony sipped her wine and began wondering.

Jeannie’s voice brought her back to the present.

‘I was telling Yann about the boxes you found in the attic. He’s suggested that when we’re back and settled here, we show them to him. His own grandparents were friends with Dad’s grandparents, particularly his grand-mère and great-granny.’

‘Brilliant idea,’ Briony said, smiling at Yann.

Lunch developed into the typically French two-hour affair and it was late afternoon when they said goodbye to Yann and made their way back to the cottage.

‘Shall we pack this evening, ready for an early start tomorrow?’ Briony said. ‘It still feels a little unreal that we are actually going to come and live here permanently.’