Page 9 of The Magic of Provence (A Year in France #3)

‘What a grand party it was… Well done, Laura. I don’t think I ever gave any of you girls a birthday party like that. You were lucky if I found the time to make a cake.’

‘That’s not true, Mam.’ Laura was sitting on the floor of La Maisonette’s living room playing with Lili.

‘You always made us a wonderful cake. And top hat treats. Oh…’ She tapped her forehead.

‘Why didn’t I think of making them? All you need are some marshmallows, chocolate and Smarties.

They used to be my favourite party food. ’

‘I’ll make them for you at our next party.

’ Ellie was on the other end of the sofa to Jeannie, breastfeeding Bonnie.

‘Even if it’s mine.’ But then she sighed.

‘I’d better start planning for Bonnie’s first birthday though.

The bar has been set far too high. What am I going to do? Find a unicorn to do pony rides?’

Fi came out of the kitchen to put a basket of bread on the table, beside plates loaded with ham and cheese. ‘You could put a sparkly horn on Marguerite or Coquelicot. I’m sure they’d be delighted to join in the fun and give rides to everyone.’

‘Do you know, we’ve never thought of letting Theo ride them? He’d love that.’

‘I could get a wee saddle and do some lead training with them while I’m here, if you like.’

‘Where would you go to find a saddle?’ Jeannie asked.

Fi shrugged. ‘I could ask Christophe. He’d know where the nearest saddlery or tack shop was.’

It was impossible to miss the glance that flicked between Laura and Ellie.

‘What did you find to talk about with him for so long yesterday?’ It sounded like Laura was deliberately keeping her tone casual. She wasn’t even looking at Fi as she reached to pick up Lili’s new stuffie. ‘Look, sweetheart. Donkey. Can you say “don-key”?’

‘Pa-pa,’ Lili said.

Fi joined in the laughter but she wasn’t thinking about the only word Lili knew so far as she turned to fetch the pepper grinder and jar of mustard.

No… she was remembering that long conversation. When she’d tried to slip quietly out of the group to go and pat Heidi but Christophe had followed her moments later.

‘He was easy to talk to,’ she said as she put the condiments on the table. ‘He speaks English extremely well.’

‘He does,’ Ellie said. ‘I had no idea how well because he only spoke French the first time I met him. He’s just as fluent in Italian because his mother’s Italian and his father was French.

He was born in Menton, which is the closest French town to the Italian border, but moved to Vence as a child.

That’s how he became friends with Julien.

He’s lovely, isn’t he? And Heidi is just gorgeous. They adore each other.’

‘They do,’ Fi agreed. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call their dog the love of their life.’

Laura laughed. ‘I wonder what his wife thinks of that? Or his girlfriend.’

‘No wife,’ Ellie said. ‘I’ve never heard the full story, but Julien said he had his heart so badly broken with his first love that he joined the “why buy a book when you can have a whole library” gang.

And, yes, I believe he’s had many girlfriends but I expect it’s only one at a time.

Nobody who loves children and animals as much as Christophe does could be a heartless playboy.

Julien doesn’t agree with me but I think he’ll settle down one of these days.

He’s like a second dad to Theo, Lili adores him and he was over the moon when Bonnie was born.

He might not even realise it himself, but he needs a family of his own.

’ She reached down to scratch the ear of the little white dog who was curled up beside her feet as if she was looking for a way to change the subject.

‘I’m glad it wasn’t Heidi I ran over,’ she added lightly.

‘You couldn’t put her in a bicycle basket and go shopping like I used to do with my wee Pascal.

She’s nearly the size of one of the donkeys. ’

‘She’s not even fully grown yet,’ Fi told them.

‘But that was something else we talked about. How, when Christophe found he’d bought a house with two abandoned donkeys next door, he’d been happy to help look after them.

’ She glanced at Ellie. ‘He said they were very important for them both in such a difficult time in their lives, after Theo’s mother died. ’

‘That’s true,’ Ellie said quietly. ‘Julien and Theo named them after the poppies and daisies that grow everywhere around here. Theo still loves them, so we’ll always look after them but…

Fi’s idea of training them is brilliant.

They might like having something more to do than stand around looking cute. ’

‘Did you know that there are herds of donkeys kept in the forests around here?’ Fi asked. ‘They get moved around and are kept in one area with electric fences, to eat all the undergrowth. It helps to reduce the risk of fires.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘Christophe looks after them. Along with his friend, Didier, who’s the farrier who looks after our donkeys’ feet.’

Our donkeys?

Aye… it felt like the creatures who’d given her such a welcome when she’d arrived back here were part of her own family. She’d told Christophe that she was a farrier herself and that she had her own tools in her car, so she could do the next trimming of Marguerite’s and Coquelicot’s hooves.

It felt as if Laura and Ellie were being careful not to exchange another glance that might suggest there was something significant in that snippet of information that revealed they’d found more than Christophe’s dog to talk about.

There wasn’t, of course. He’d been easy to talk to.

Like any veterinary surgeon would be when he was talking about animals, including his own beloved pet.

As far as Fi had been aware, any significant glances during that conversation had been entirely between Christophe and Heidi.

He’d been being kind, that was all, taking the time to talk to her.

Maybe that was why she had lain awake for so long last night, remembering every minute of that conversation. That kindness could be what had made Christophe Brabant even more attractive than his ridiculously good looks did.

And Ellie was right. He had to be a genuinely kind man to have a dog who made no secret of how much she adored her owner.

Dogs – and horses – knew when someone could be trusted.

She was undoubtedly also right about the many girlfriends in his past, and present, life.

What man who looked like Christophe would have the slightest problem attracting feminine attention?

‘I think I did know that,’ Ellie said. ‘Didier was telling Theo about the forest donkeys the last time he was here and we were watching the girls get their pedicure.’ She was smiling as she eased her nipple out of the slack mouth of a now sound-asleep baby.

‘I love it when she gets completely stoned on milk. I’ll tuck her into her car seat and then I can have my lunch.

I’m so hungry and it never gets old, having the French version of a ham and cheese sarnie. ’

‘I’m a wee bit peckish myself.’ The click of Jeannie’s knitting needles stopped as she reached the end of a row. She poked the needles into the ball of lemon-coloured wool and left her knitting on the arm of the sofa as she got to her feet. ‘I’ll put the kettle on for a pot of tea, shall I?’

‘I’m onto it,’ Fi told her. ‘Just come and sit yourself down.’

Laura reached for her baby bag and extracted a jar of baby food and a plastic spoon. ‘What’s on the menu today, Lili? Ah… risotto aux champignons . Miam, miam … Let’s warm it up. Are you going to come and sit on Maman’s knee to have your lunch?’

Lili held out her arms to be picked up.

‘She doesn’t say much,’ Fi said, putting the teapot onto a trivet. ‘But she knows what she wants.’

‘Mushroom risotto? For a wee bairn?’ Jeannie shook her head. ‘You would have been having something boring like mashed carrots at that age.’

‘Or neeps and tatties.’ Ellie was smiling. ‘But look at us, Mam. We’ve all grown up just fine.’

‘Aye, that you have.’

‘Remind me to show you the menu that comes home from Theo’s school every week,’ Ellie said. ‘They have a four-course lunch. Salad, main, cheese, and fresh fruit for dessert. I think today’s meal is roast duck with cauliflower béchamel.’

Lili opened her mouth like a baby bird to accept each spoonful of her risotto during lunch and Laura managed to eat some bread and cheese herself at the same time. Fi ate a ham sandwich but she was only half listening to the chatter around her.

She was wondering what sort of saddle would be suitable for a donkey. Something treeless would be easier to fit, she decided: small and light with a handle on the front for a child to hang onto.

She tuned back into the conversation as Jeannie was deciding which of her daughters’ homes she would spend her afternoon in today.

‘I think I’ll go back with you, Laura,’ she said. ‘Lili’s due for her big sleep and I can get some more knitting done. I need to finish Bonnie’s cardigan before I leave or it’ll be no use at all. It’s already feeling like a Scottish summer here.’

‘Cardies are always useful,’ Ellie assured her. ‘How long are you staying?’

The sudden silence only lasted a heartbeat but it sent something like a tiny shiver through the air.

‘I haven’t quite decided,’ Jeannie said. She hesitated, then added, ‘There is something I want to do while I’m here, if I can.’

‘Oh?’ Laura was wiping Lili’s face. ‘What’s that?’

‘I want to find out more about the artist who did that painting over the fireplace.’

It was just a tiny tremor in her voice that gave away the depth of what was hidden under those words. Or maybe it was the feeling that something very fragile and irreplaceable had been picked up, without permission, and was in danger of being dropped.

Whatever it was, it made them all turn slowly to look at the painting.

The silence was longer this time.