Page 11 of A French Affair
‘Is that a problem for you?’
For no longer than a split second, a look of discomfort flitted across Alain’s face, gone so quickly that afterwards Belinda wondered if she’d imagined it.
Alain nodded. ‘Yes. We ’ave to open as quickly as possible. Said that’s why he was sending you over, to speed things up.’
‘Nigel is a businessman, he knows it takes time to recuperate an investment. I doubt that he’s expecting this place to turn any sort of profit for at least three to five years. With the amount of money we’re going to spend on new equipment and facilities, personally I’d say it’s probably going to be even longer.’
Alain muttered something under his breath that Belinda didn’t quite catch, before forcing a smile on his face. ‘You ’ave details in that folder of yours?’
‘Yes. Is your plan on the computer?’
Alain nodded.
‘Let’s print it out and then we can take both of them with us when we do a site inspection,’ Belinda said, relieved when Alain opened up the plan on the computer and pressed the print button without grumbling at her.
Before they started to walk the site, Belinda insisted Alain show her the house she’d seen yesterday. ‘Manager’s house? Is it habitable?’
Alain nodded. ‘Yes. Needs a damn good clean though.’ He pulled a bunch of keys out of his pocket and inserted one in the lock.
The house, a typical Breton conversion from an old farm building many years ago, was basic, but Belinda could see its potential. Downstairs, there was a kitchen and a large sitting room with a wood burner. A steep open wooden staircase led upstairs, where there were two double bedrooms, a single bedroom and a bathroom with a big old-fashioned bath and overhead shower.Get the house cleaned ready to live in, was the first thing that went on Belinda’s list.
‘We’ll get this place cleaned up ready for you to move in.’
Alain shook his head. ‘I ’ave no plans to move in until the season starts.’
‘Well, somebody needs to be living on site soon and if it’s not you, it will have to be me. Once it’s clean, I’ll move in while I’m out here,’ Belinda said. It wouldn’t be as cosy as the auberge but at least it would save Nigel some money.
* * *
Three hours later, as they made their way back to the office, Belinda’s head was reeling with the knowledge of just how much she needed to organise. Alain had shown her the tent pitching area of the campsite, which was in desperate need of being mown otherwise they’d be making silage there very soon. The area for visiting camper vans and caravans was almost as bad. She’d learnt that the leases on all the cabins had reverted back to the campsite, including the one she’d seen with a bicycle and flowers.
‘Why does that one look as if it’s lived in?’
‘Because it is,’ Alain admitted. ‘Bernie moved in there a while ago when he had a row with his father. Dad told him he could stay there for as long as he liked. To treat it as his ’ome.’
‘Who’s Bernie?’
‘A villager who needed somewhere to live.’
‘Time to move him out,’ Belinda said briskly, making a note.
‘He’s not doing any ’arm living there,’ Alain said quietly. ‘We can leave him there for a bit. He’s got nowhere to go.’
Belinda looked at him. ‘Nowhere? His parents won’t take him back?’
Alain shook his head. ‘They’re both dead now.’
‘Does he work?’
Alain shook his head again. ‘He’s not the most reliable – unless it involves animals. Then he’s dedicated to their care.’
‘Okay, he can stay for a bit, we’ll work around him,’ Belinda said. Evicting this Bernie wasn’t at the top of her priority list right now. ‘I’ll need to meet him though. Maybe we can get him involved with the grounds here? The patch of ground around his cabin is very tidy and well looked after.’
‘Peut-être.’ Alain shrugged.
At least she and Alain had managed to reach a compromise on certain things, although there had been several fierce arguments during the course of the morning when they’d disagreed over what Nigel would want and what was needed. Including one about not only where the three glamping pods were going to be positioned but the kind of pod to install. But Belinda was content to wait until she had enough information to enable her to win the argument.
There was one thing they were both in total agreement on, however – the whole place needed clearing of all the overgrown shrubs, trees and grass.
