Chapter 8
Jean-Luc turned to Hannah and asked something in French. Edie was so distracted by Marina, she didn’t catch what it was. Then she noticed Jessica picking up her backpack.
‘Come here,’ Jessica told Jean-Luc, rising from her seat. ‘Come and sit next to Hannah. Then you can gabble away in French together as much as you like.’
Obediently, Jean-Luc got up and moved to the other side of the table, where he and Hannah sort of huddled together, their shoulders almost touching, and proceeded to strike up an intimate conversation just for two.
Meanwhile, Jessica took the chair beside Edie, crossing her long legs easily, one over the other.
‘Did you buy anything?’ she asked.
Edie shook her head. ‘Not this time.’ She was gazing at Hannah’s flushed face and simpering smile and wondering why Jessica seemed so keen on pushing her and Jean-Luc together. Did she find it amusing? If so, Edie didn’t get the joke.
Jean-Luc might mock his father’s womanising ways, but by the looks of it, he was a chip off the old block. He was certainly doing his best to bewitch Hannah, who was embarrassing herself, she was so smitten. She was like putty in his hands.
‘It’s good to see Hannah smiling for once,’ Jessica said in a low voice, as if she could read Edie’s mind. ‘She seemed so tense yesterday and this morning. Like a coiled spring.’
‘Oh, she’s always like that at the beginning of a holiday,’ Edie replied airily. ‘She works like a demon most of the time and it takes her a few days to unwind. She’ll get there.’
This wasn’t strictly true, but Jessica needed to be reminded of Edie’s long-standing friendship with Hannah. She couldn’t just waltz in and make out she knew more about Hannah’s state of mind than Edie did.
She didn’t seem to get the message, though.
‘She needs to know not all men are like Mac. There are some nice ones.’
A bubble of hot rage swelled and popped in Edie’s stomach. She wanted to tell Jessica to mind her own bloody business. She wished she’d never mentioned she was worried about Hannah and Mac’s relationship.
She was on the point of saying something when she noticed Marina fidgeting, first with her hair, then the hem of her dress. Edie and Jessica had been completely ignoring her.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Edie said, turning to Marina. ‘How rude of us!’
Marina shook her head and leaned forward to take a sip of water from the glass in front of her.
‘No, no, it’s not you. I feel a bit light-headed, that’s all.’
She set the glass back down with a sigh.
‘That’s better. It’s gone now. Perhaps I was dehydrated.’
‘Here you are!’
Edie glanced round and was surprised to see Mac sauntering towards them. He waved at her and gave a cheery smile but her heart sank nevertheless.
He looked quite suave in a red-and-white-striped shirt, open at the neck and rolled up at the sleeves, smart navy shorts and boat shoes. On reaching the café, he stopped right in front of Edie and ran a hand through his thick brown hair.
‘I’ve been trying to call Hannah but she never picks up,’ he said, rolling his eyes.
He glanced round the table and it was only then he noticed Hannah next to Jean-Luc. They were bent over, their knees almost touching, and so deep in conversation, they hadn’t even clocked his arrival.
‘Hannah?’ Mac said. ‘Hello!’
Hannah looked up and started. ‘What are you doing here?’
Quickly pulling back her legs, she straightened up, tucked her hair behind her ears and reached for her sunglasses, which were on the table. ‘I thought you were relaxing by the pool.’
‘I got bored, so I thought I’d come and find you, my darling wife,’ Mac replied, somewhat sarcastically. ‘Aren’t you pleased to see me?’
Hannah gave a small, cool smile. ‘Of course. Come and join us. Would you like a drink?’
He took a chair from the empty table next door and Edie shuffled round to make room. Jessica then made the introductions, telling Mac first about Marina, then her brother.
‘Hannah’s been practising her French with Jean-Luc,’ she said. ‘It seems to be improving by the minute.’
‘She speaks very well,’ Jean-Luc added gallantly. ‘Her accent is excellent.’
Mac looked directly at the Frenchman, examining him, it seemed, rather as you would a laboratory specimen.
‘And where in France do you come from?’ he asked, unblinking.
‘I live in Paris now but I grew up in Lille, in the north. Do you know it?’
Mac’s eyes narrowed. ‘I’ve been through it in the car. It’s not the sort of place you stop to go sightseeing, though, is it?’
Hannah squeaked like a bat. ‘That’s rude!’
‘I’ve been to the Christmas market,’ Edie said quickly. ‘I bought all my Christmas presents there. It was great – very festive.’
Mac shifted his gaze from Jean-Luc back to his wife.
‘Have you had a good look round the village?’
Hannah nodded. ‘There are lots of nice shops.’
‘I need some shaving cream. I forgot to pack it. Coming with me?’
He extended his hand across the table. Hannah quickly stood up and took it briefly, before letting go.
‘What a shame to break up the party!’ Jessica piped up. ‘Hannah, you and Jean-Luc should arrange another time for French conversation. You might be fluent by the time you get home.’
It was such a provocative comment under the circumstances, Edie gave a silent gasp. Mac’s eyes narrowed even more and his mouth set in a grim, hard line.
‘Mais oui!’ Jean-Luc replied easily. He was either unaware of Mac’s hostility or he was enjoying it. Edie couldn’t decide which.
Rising, the Frenchman pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket and asked his sister for a pen. After writing down his name and number, he passed it to Hannah before kissing her on both cheeks.
‘Call me if you would like some more practice. I’m mostly at home writing during the day. It would be nice to have a break.’
He glanced at Mac and gave a wide, disarming smile. ‘That is, if your husband will allow it.’
Mac’s frown grew deeper.
‘Of course he will!’ Jessica cried. ‘Hannah’s her own woman, aren’t you? She doesn’t take orders from men!’
It was with a great sense of relief that Edie watched Mac and Hannah move off. If they’d stayed any longer, Mac might have punched the Frenchman in the nose.
‘Right, I’d better do some work,’ Jean-Luc said, fishing some cash from his pocket and putting it on the table for his share of the bill.
‘I’ll see you later, big sister,’ he added, bending down to give her a kiss. Then he turned to Jessica and Edie and gave a small bow. ‘Lovely to meet you two ladies. I’m sure we will see each other again very soon.’
Edie had finished her Coke now and gestured to the waiter for the bill.
‘I’m very fond of my brother,’ Marina said in a low voice, when Jean-Luc was out of sight. ‘He has a good heart, but I fear he can sometimes be a little impulsive.’
‘He’s extraordinarily handsome,’ Edie replied. ‘Like a film star.’
Marina gave her tinkling little laugh. ‘I’m afraid he is like our father in certain respects. Women find him hard to resist.’
Without warning, her smile vanished and she looked at Jessica full-on. ‘And what do you do for a living?’
Her question seemed out of place, coming so soon after what had gone before, and Edie shifted uneasily.
Jessica uncrossed her legs and recrossed them the other way.
‘I’m a teacher. I teach general and classical History at a secondary school, the same one as Edie’s.’
Marina cleared her throat. ‘Ah, so you know all our old myths? About the gods looking down on us humans from Mount Olympus, toying with us for their sport?’
Jessica’s eyes widened slightly, but she held Marina’s gaze.
‘Oh yes,’ she replied, deadpan. ‘I love the Greek gods. Powerful yet flawed. Full of anger, jealousy and lust and so mischievous. They were much more interesting than today’s gods, don’t you agree?’
* * *
After leaving the café, Edie looked about for Anthea but didn’t see her. She was probably at her next appointment by now. Before heading home, Edie decided to pop in to Marina’s studio to take a quick look at her paintings. Jessica, who’d already seen them, waited by the harbour wall.
Edie liked Marina’s work, which was strong, impressionistic and vibrant, focusing mainly on outdoor subjects – the sky, mountains, water, rocks, animal bones and trees.
‘They’re stunning,’ Edie said, flinching slightly when she noticed the price tag on one of the smaller canvases. ‘Sadly, I can’t afford to buy one. Maybe one day. You never know.’
Marina crossed her slim arms and smiled graciously.
‘There are not many people who can afford to go round buying original artwork. Unfortunately, those who can aren’t always the people you’d most want to have your work hanging on their wall.
’ She shrugged. ‘But beggars can’t be choosers.
And I’d rather have my paintings on display than stuck in a storeroom. ’
‘Of course. May I take some photos?’
Edie proceeded to take a few shots before saying goodbye and going to rejoin Jessica. There was no sign of Hannah and Mac, so they agreed to send a text and walk on home ahead of them, grabbing some supplies from April’s on the way.
Meaty had gone now and April was jiggling a grizzling Nikos on one hip. She was somewhat distracted, so the women quickly chose a ready-cooked chicken, bread, salad ingredients, ripe peaches and some pastries before trudging back up the mountain with their bags.
They barely spoke en route. Edie was still cross with Jessica and afraid she’d say something rude, while Jessica seemed lost in thought.
Ralph was on a lounger by the pool when Edie went to find him. He was in the shade under a tree with a book in one hand and a glass of water by his side. He looked so comfortable and settled, she wondered if he’d moved at all since she’d been away.
‘Hey!’ he said, looking up from his book when he spotted her walking towards him. ‘How did it go?’
While Jessica was still in the kitchen, unloading the bags, Edie quickly filled him in on what had happened.