Page 20 of Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure

As they reached the harbourside, they noticed that the Bentley was no longer there.

“Let’s hope that Louis has had it towed away,” Ellie said. “Otherwise someone has made off with it and all our belongings.”

“I think that’s unlikely,” Dora said. “In this place there is always someone watching.”

“And who would want old women’s not very fashionable clothing?” Mavis added.

They were laughing as they went back into the hotel. It seemed that Yvette had gone up for a nap. They retreated to the conservatory and asked Mr Adams for some tea. They were still drinking it when Ellie was summoned to the foyer and found Louis waiting for her.

“I have news, madame,” he said. “The good news is that a hose can be procured for your vehicle. The bad news is that there is a leak in your radiator. A crack at the bottom. If you wish, I can try to repair this, but I can’t guarantee that it will work or last long.

The alternative is that we can send away for a new radiator, and I will install it for you. ”

“Which do you advise?” Ellie asked.

Louis gave that delightfully Gallic shrug.

“It depends what you plan to do. If your aim is to drive around the C?te d’Azur, up and down mountains, then I would say you should order the new radiator to be on the safe side.

Next time you break down, you may not find a Saint-Benet close by.

If, however, you decide to stay here for a while, then why do you need a motor car that runs perfectly? ”

Ellie did mental calculations. It would certainly be cheaper to stay at the pension than at a more glamorous hotel in one of the resorts.

It was cheap to eat in the village. Therefore the money saved while they waited for a new radiator to arrive could be spent on the replacement.

But the patch might work just as well. Also, she had to admit, she was not ready to leave this place yet.

And she had a desire to see the haunted villa.

“Very well,” she said. “I suggest you try to patch the radiator. And if that does not work well, then we will send off for a new one.”

He nodded as if he thought this was a wise decision.

“We will need our suitcases from the motor car if you are to work on it at your workplace,” Ellie said.

“Already taken care of, madame,” he replied. “You will find your baggage in your rooms.”

So he already suspected that they would want to stay longer. Ellie went back to the others and reported what Louis had said. “And he’s had our bags delivered to our rooms,” she finished.

“So you are willing to risk driving on with a patched radiator?” Dora asked.

“If we go any further, we’ll reach Toulon, or another of the big towns, where they will have proper car mechanics and radiators,” Ellie said.

“And I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to go anywhere yet.

I like this place. It seems like a sort of refuge where I can come to terms with what has happened and what is going to happen.

Also, I have this strange desire to see the villa. ”

“The place what’s supposed to be haunted?” Mavis looked horrified. “You’re not thinking of renting it yourself and staying there?”

“I’d just like to see it,” Ellie said. “It may sound silly, but when they mentioned a villa I found myself thinking that I’d been waiting for it, as if it was all planned.”

Dora looked at her suspiciously. “I suppose it can’t hurt to see it,” she said. “I must admit that I’m a little curious about it myself. Built for a duke’s mistress, then abandoned ... It sounds very romantic.”

“Right,” Ellie said. “Tomorrow we’ll go and visit the notaire to see if he can arrange for us to see it.”

By five o’clock, Yvette had finally risen from her nap. “I don’t know what is the matter with me,” she said, “but all I want to do is to sleep and sleep.”

“I understand,” Ellie replied. “You have had a bad shock. When you sleep, you don’t have to think about it.”

“You are right, madame,” Yvette said. “I am so worried all the time. How can I think about the future? What will happen to me? What will happen to my child?”

“It will not be easy for you, I fear, but we will try to help you, Yvette,” Ellie said. “You are amongst friends now. We will try to work out what is best.”

“You are my guardian angel, I am sure,” Yvette said and flung her arms around Ellie. Ellie stood there, feeling awkward with the unwanted embrace. She didn’t remember anyone ever hugging her fiercely like this. Certainly not Lionel, certainly not her parents. Her grandmother maybe?

That evening they set off across to Henri’s bar on the other side of the harbour. Clouds were gathering out to sea, which tonight presented an inky blackness. A chilly wind was blowing, making waves slap against the harbour wall and the fishing boats creak and groan at their moorings.

“Goodness, I wish I’d brought my fur coat after all,” Dora said, wrapping her scarf around her throat.

Henri was waiting outside the bar to greet them.

“Dear mesdames, welcome. Tonight I think you will want to sit inside as the nights are now getting colder.” He led them through the open doors to where a table with a white cloth and silverware had been set up by a fireplace in which a log fire was burning. “Winter is on its way, is it not?”

“It’s certainly cold out there,” Dora said.

“You will be delighted with what I have prepared for you this evening,” he said. “I have made the poulet Basquaise, the chicken in a rich sauce of the Basque people. And to begin the meal, a terrine.”

Ellie wasn’t sure what a terrine was, but she smiled politely as they took their seats.

The first course was produced. The terrine was a thick slice of what looked like various chopped meats surrounded by aspic.

It was served with thin slices of toasted bread and decorated with a sprig of rosemary.

There were definitely herbs in the dish.

Ellie tried to make out the flavours. Rosemary?

Thyme? She realized she had no idea that something so simple could be so full of amazing flavour sensations.

She had always liked to cook and prided herself on her cooking, but the dishes had always been simple ones: a piece of meat, vegetables and potatoes, roast beef, pork chops, liver and bacon, stews.

She did make shepherd’s pie with leftovers, or occasional steak and kidney pies, but they were flavoured with salt and pepper at best. Nothing like this attack on the taste buds.

I’m going to learn how to do this, she thought.

She noticed the others were also scraping their plates clean.

“I don’t know what that was supposed to be,” Mavis said. “I didn’t like the look of it to start with, but it didn’t half taste good.”

“It pleased you, mesdames?” Henri asked, whisking the plates away.

“It was wonderful,” Ellie said. “If we stay here, perhaps you will teach me how to make such a dish.”

“It would be my pleasure to give you instruction,” he said. “But wait until you taste the poulet.”

Chicken was regarded as a luxury item at home, and Ellie roasted one on special occasions, but chicken had never smelled like this dish put before them: the rich, red sauce clearly had tomatoes in it, but so much more. The chicken fell off the bone.

“I don’t think I’ve enjoyed food so much for years,” Dora said when they had finished.

“When one cooks for oneself, it is hard to get enthusiastic about food. It was usually the most convenient thing that didn’t require me to make saucepans dirty—a lamb chop, a piece of poached fish, or even scrambled egg or toasted cheese. Now I find I have quite an appetite.”

“Maybe this was all you needed to make you well again,” Mavis said.

Dora looked at her almost fondly. “Oh no, my dear. It’s my heart, you see. It’s gradually slowing down until it stops.”

“Then we’ll get it sped up again,” Mavis said.

Dora smiled. “If only you could. I was becoming weary of life until now. It didn’t seem to matter that the stupid heart would just stop one day. But now ... I don’t think I’m ready to go after all.”

There was no dessert tonight as Henri said that the main course was rich enough and he thought that fruit and cheese were more appropriate. Nobody argued with that. When he brought their coffees, there was the sound of male voices outside and some of the men came in.

“It’s cold enough to freeze your balls off,” one was saying, then stopped short when he saw that ladies were present. “Mille pardons, mesdames,” he muttered.

Ellie noticed that the big pirate, Nico, was amongst them, tonight wearing a navy woollen coat with the collar turned up. “Ah, the English ladies. So you are stuck with us, eh? You found your luggage, I hope,” he said. “We helped Louis move your automobile. He has told you what was wrong, yes?”

Ellie nodded.

“You are lucky you made it here with no water in your radiator,” he said. “And now it will take time to fix. You will have to stay here, I think. That pleases you?”

“Yes,” Ellie said. “We are happy to stay a little longer. This place is most agreeable.”

“More agreeable than those big towns,” one of the other men said. “There it is all about rich people showing off their wealth. What shall I wear today?” and he mimicked a woman tossing back her hair.

“What is more, the food is better,” a third man added. “Henri here knows how to cook. In those big hotels, they think the English don’t appreciate fine food. Although if you stay longer, do not let that Madame Adams cook for you. You will be poisoned in minutes.”

The other men laughed.

“So, will you take a drink with us?” Nico asked. “A cognac to finish the meal?”

“Oh, I don’t think—” Ellie began but Dora cut her off with “Thank you, why not?”

He snapped his fingers, and Henri produced small glasses of cognac while the men sat at the next table. The men introduced themselves: Francois, Jacquot, Luc, Nicolas.

“We do not stand on ceremony here,” Francois said. “You probably think it shocking that we introduce ourselves by our first names, but I think it easier than last names you probably can’t pronounce. Besides, you will move on and never see us again.”

“Eleanor, Theodora, Mavis, Yvette,” Ellie replied, feeling awkward with such familiarity.

The other women acknowledged this with a half-hearted bob and a muttered bonsoir.

“You all know French?” Francois asked.

“I do, although it is mostly of the schoolgirl variety,” Dora replied. “Yvette is French. This lady does not. We will have to translate for her, unless you gentlemen speak some English?”

“Not me,” Francois said. “Nico does.”

Nico shrugged. “It is long time now,” he said in English. “I do not practice and forget much.”

“So how is it at the pension?” Luc asked them. He was younger with a cheeky grin. “Is it up to your standards?”

“It’s certainly simple,” Ellie said. “But it’s clean. It will do for now.” She was going to add something about the villa but stopped, suddenly shy about sharing too much.

They took their leave soon afterward.

“You see, Yvette? They are not such brigands and corsairs when you get to know them,” Dora said as they walked home. Yvette merely shrugged.