Chapter 11
11
Sasha, glad that Ingrid had reminded her about the book club, was looking forward to the evening. Reading on her Kindle in bed last thing at night, once Freddie had set up their internet connection, she’d managed to almost finish The President’s Hat , enough to be able to say she’d enjoyed it, anyway. She was also looking forward to meeting some more of the villagers. She’d suggested to Freddie that he might like to join her, but he’d declined. ‘You know I’m not much of a reader,’ he’d said. ‘Anyway, tonight I thought I’d wander down to the bar in the village.’
The sun was shining on the weeping willow on the far side of the lake in front of the Cottages du Lac as Sasha left to walk to the chateau. The willow’s long drooping branches were bursting into life and becoming greener by the day as spring progressed. Other trees scattered around the grounds, ancient oaks and horse chestnuts, were also showing signs of responding to the warmer weather as their leaves cautiously opened, giving a green edge to the outline of their branches against the sky. Another week or so and they would be a mass of leaves.
Two or three cars were already parked down the side of the chateau and Sasha hoped she wasn’t late. When she hesitantly pushed at the open kitchen door and peered inside, Ingrid immediately came to welcome her.
‘Sasha, come on in and meet everyone. They are all in our small sitting room,’ and Ingrid took her through.
Six or seven people were holding glasses of wine and helping themselves from plates of nibbles that had been placed on small tables between the chairs.
‘Does Peter not come to the book club?’ Sasha asked.
‘When we choose something he likes,’ Ingrid said, laughing. ‘Tonight he is planning to try and trace some more of his family history whilst it’s quiet in the kitchen.’
The first people Ingrid introduced her to were a retired teacher, Benjamin, and his wife, Suzie, from the UK, who said how nice it was to have another English member in the club as they didn’t really speak French.
‘What they mean is, they don’t even try to speak the language, which is naughty of them and upsets the locals,’ Ingrid muttered sotto voce as she led Sasha towards a small group of people talking quietly amongst themselves.
Sasha, surprised to see Jean-Paul, gave him a smile before Ingrid began her introductions.
‘This is Madame Eliza Albertini,’ she said to Sasha before turning to an elderly woman and speaking French as she introduced her to Sasha.
‘ Bonjour, Madame Albertini ,’ Sasha said, smiling at the petite woman with the white hair; she received a warm smile and a quiet ‘ Bienvenue ’ in return. She reminded Sasha of the main character of one of her favourite childhood books – Mrs Pepperpot. ‘You know Jean-Paul already, and this is Lucas Briet, Eliza’s grandson, who is staying with her at the moment,’ Ingrid said.
Whilst Jean-Paul smiled and said a quiet ‘ Bonsoir, Sasha,’ Lucas gently shook her hand and stared into her eyes as he said, ‘ Enchanté and welcome, mademoiselle .’
‘ Merci ,’ Sasha said, smiling. Lucas and Jean-Paul – both in their early thirties she guessed, and clearly friends – couldn’t be more different. She noticed that Jean-Paul didn’t quite roll his eyes at Lucas’s exuberant greeting, but clearly found it amusing.
‘You know Josette from the boulangerie,’ Ingrid said, moving on to another couple. ‘This is her husband, Robert.’
Before Sasha could respond, two women hurried into the sitting room. ‘ Désolées, tout le monde. Sorry we’re late.’
Sasha glanced across to see Colette and an older woman who had to be her mother, the likeness was so striking. Colette waved at her, mouthed ‘We’ll talk later,’ and they both went to join Eliza and Lucas, who immediately poured them a glass of wine each.
‘Time to start, I think,’ Ingrid said and held up a copy of The President’s Hat . Everyone fell silent. ‘I enjoyed this. What about everyone else?’ She quickly translated her words into French for the benefit of those who didn’t speak English. Soon, there was a lively discussion going on in two languages, as some thought it was slow and a bit dull, whilst others had enjoyed it and were going to read the author’s other novels.
As the discussion slowed down, Lucas went around the group offering more wine to those who wanted it, and talk became general as people began catching up with all the latest village news. Sasha settled back in her chair, happy to listen and absorb the scene that she wasn’t quite a part of yet. She watched Jean-Paul chatting quietly with Eliza for a few moments and received a smile from him when he glanced across and caught her looking. Colette and her mother were talking to Ingrid, and Benjamin and Suzie were talking – or maybe arguing – with each other, Sasha couldn’t decide.
When Lucas appeared at her side offering her a top-up of wine, she declined. ‘ Non, merci .’
‘ Vous parlez fran?ais ?’
‘No,’ Sasha said, shaking her head. ‘I am going to learn, but right now I just have a few phrases from learning French at school.’
‘I speak English, so it is not a problem,’ Lucas said. ‘You like living in France?’
‘We haven’t been here long, but I’m loving it so far.’
‘ We ? You have a husband? He is not here tonight?’
Sasha laughed. ‘No, I don’t have a husband. My brother and I bought the Cottages du Lac. I live in one and he lives in the other.’
‘ Très bien .’
Knowing that ‘ bien ’ meant good, Sasha wanted to ask why he thought it was good, but Lucas was smiling at her as he took his phone out of his pocket.
‘Give me your telephone number, s’il vous pla?t , and I send you mine. Then I can teach you French. Or help you when you need it.’
Before Sasha could hand over her phone, Colette joined them.
‘Lucas, are you flirting with Sasha already?’
‘ Non . I am just offering the help,’ Lucas said, slipping his phone back in his pocket.
‘He can be quite useful at times actually,’ Colette said. ‘He’s come in handy more than once,’ and she flashed him a smile.
‘I forget to tell you,’ Lucas said. ‘Grand-maman say to me that Alice, she come home for the summer soon. Alice is my sister,’ he said, turning to Sasha. ‘She and Colette are great friends. You and Alice will like each other too, I think.’
Josette and Robert were the first to leave because of their early morning start at the boulangerie. Ingrid called out a general, ‘ Bonne nuit , everyone, and don’t forget next month’s book choice is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. A real English classic.’
Sasha thanked Ingrid for inviting her, said goodbye and ‘ Bonne nuit ’ to everyone and started to walk home, having gently refused Lucas’s offer to accompany her. She smiled as she remembered that they never did exchange phone numbers. Shame. She rather liked the idea of getting to know Lucas better. With his fair hair and blue eyes that smiled at her with Gallic charm, he seemed to be full of fun, even if he was a bit of a flirt. And hadn’t she decided that there would be some fun in this new life of hers?