Chapter 18
18
Penny stood on the deck of the Pont-Aven ferry, watching the Devonshire coastline recede as the boat powered its way out into the English Channel. A strong wind was blowing and the sea was rough but right at that moment, Penny didn’t care. She was finally on her way to France. It was time to tell her mum and dad that she was free and coming to see them. That she had broken away. She’d phone them and then go and find a coffee, and come back out here to drink it. Taking her mobile out of her bag, she went to open WhatsApp when a voice said, ‘Penny Chevalier, what an unexpected surprise.’
Penny turned a smile on her face. ‘Alice Briet.’ She and Alice had met fleetingly a couple of times since Ingrid and Peter had bought the chateau, but never for long. Once when they’d all gone to the same restaurant in the next village for Sunday lunch, and Alice had been there with her grand-maman, and Ingrid had introduced them. The second time had been a few months later when they’d bumped into each other in the local shop, and they’d gone for a drink together in the village cafe. Penny knew that Alice had a busy job somewhere in the West Country and like herself, rarely got to France for a break.
‘I’m going to Grand-maman’s for the summer,’ Alice said. ‘Are you going to be around for a bit? Or is this a flying visit? Be nice to finally get to know each other properly.’
‘Not sure about the whole summer, but definitely a few weeks,’ Penny said.
‘Great. I’m going to treat myself to breakfast in the restaurant. Join me?’
‘I need to phone home and arrange for them to meet me at Roscoff. They don’t know I’m on this ferry. It’s a rather—um—unexpected visit,’ Penny said, pulling a face.
‘You don’t need to phone. Lucas is meeting me, so we can take you home. Come on, let’s get some food – whilst we eat you can tell me all about why you’re going home unexpectedly. And afterwards, I’ll tell you my tale of woe.’
‘Are you sure Lucas won’t mind me cadging a lift?’
‘No, course not. You know how laid-back my young brother is.’
Penny shook her head. ‘No, I don’t. I’ve never met him. He’s always been away working when I’ve been home. I’ve hardly been back in the past year anyway.’
‘Well, you’ll meet him this afternoon.’
Once they had trays of food – a full English for Alice, croissants for Penny and coffee for both of them – they found a window table and settled down.
‘So, come on, tell me all,’ Alice said as she cut into her eggs and bacon. ‘I’m guessing a man is at the root of it, they usually are.’
Penny sighed ruefully. ‘You’re right. I’d realised for some time that Rory wasn’t the right one for me, and if I was in any doubt, my dad told me to get out of the relationship a couple of months ago; he could see I wasn’t happy. Anyway, to cut a long story short, it all came to a head last week when he lost his temper with me and became abusive. A really strong signal that it was time to leave. Dawn, my best friend, helped me and here I am on my way to France.’ Penny took a drink of her coffee. ‘What happens next though, I have no idea.’ She shook her head despairingly at Alice.
‘I’m in the same situation,’ Alice said. ‘Not because of a man, but because my job literally went up in a cloud of smoke. I was the events manager for a large historical house – think Chatsworth size. My accommodation, one of the perks, came with the job until one night, an electrical fault caused a terrible fire. Not on the scale of the one in Windsor Castle years ago but devastating all the same, so much was destroyed. Luckily no one was hurt but…’ Alice gave a deep sigh before putting on a faux-sympathetic voice: ‘ Rebuilding is going to take a year or two, here’s your redundancy pay, thank you for your service and goodbye .’ She put her knife and fork down on her plate. ‘Not their fault but…’ She shrugged. ‘Life goes on. Something will turn up I’m sure – for you and me.’
For the next four or five hours, the two of them divided their time between going out on deck for fresh air until the wind drove them back inside, and to the lounge with its comfortable seats, and cups of hot chocolate from the cafe. The duty-free shop killed the last half hour of the journey as they browsed the shelves. Alice bought a box of her grand-maman’s favourite biscuits, and Penny decided a bottle of champagne drunk with her parents would celebrate her freedom nicely.
Queuing to pay, Penny looked at Alice. ‘I know you’re French, but you speak English very well.’
‘That’s because of living in the UK for my job for the last few years; I’ve had to use it all the time.’
‘Is Lucas the same? Or does he only speak French? My French is a bit rusty to say the least.’
Alice laughed. ‘Lucas, he gets by with Franglais, although, mind you, I think he speaks English better than he lets on. He’s a typical Frenchman in that respect! You’ll see what I mean soon. Another ten minutes or so and we’ll be docking in Roscoff.’
Penny and Alice were quickly through customs and out into the arrivals foyer. Alice said a rude word when she couldn’t see her brother. ‘He’ll either be waiting, parked where he shouldn’t be, or in the cafe. Come on, let’s look outside.’
They didn’t have to go very far, as two sharp toots on a car horn got their attention immediately. Lucas waved and came across to greet them. ‘Alice, my favourite sister,’ and he hugged her tight before giving her a kiss on the cheek.
‘Idiot, I’m your only sister – at least as far as we know, so there’s always a chance of another one turning up, I suppose. This is Penny, Ingrid’s and Peter’s daughter. She needs a lift home.’
Lucas smiled as he held out his hand. ‘ Bonjour and welcome.’ Penny smiled at him and quickly retrieved her fingers before he could completely crush them. The unexpected warm and fuzzy feeling that had flooded through her body as Lucas had held her hand was impossible to ignore, though. Where on earth had that come from? She could only hope that Lucas hadn’t noticed her reaction to his touch.
Once the suitcases were stowed in the boot, they were off. Penny sat in the back and zoned out for the next half hour or so as Alice and Lucas chatted in French about their grand-maman and other people in the village she hadn’t yet met. It wasn’t until she heard Lucas mention the new owners of the Cottages du Lac that she began to listen and try to translate the French.
‘I think they are about our ages, so new friends all round. Sasha has just taken the last two of Bruno’s pups. She’s been helping Ingrid at the chateau since the accident.’
Penny was instantly on the alert at Lucas’s words. ‘What accident?’
Lucas glanced at her in the rear-view mirror. ‘I’m sorry. You didn’t know? Nothing is broken. Your maman fell out of the Land Rover. A badly twisted ankle.’
Penny exhaled. ‘My mother does tend to be a bit accident-prone at times and it’s always her ankles that take the brunt.’
‘I’m sure having you home will aid her recovery,’ Lucas said. Five minutes later, he turned onto the driveway of the Chateau du Cheval.
‘Even after two years, it’s strange coming in through these gates. I always feel I should be going down the route de galop to the Cottages du Lac and Grand-maman,’ Alice said.
‘ Plus ?a change, plus c’est la même chose ,’ Lucas said. ‘The more things change, the more they stay the same.’