Page 39 of A French Affair
Belinda nodded. ‘Of course.’ She hesitated. ‘Max has been given a promotion at work. A marina in the Vendée. They’re going over there to live in a few months.’ She hoped Molly didn’t hear the catch in her voice. ‘They’ve asked me to go with them, but…’ She shrugged.
‘In my experience, things always work out for the best,’ Molly said and patted her arm. ‘This will too. Ah, here’s Nigel with the coffee.’
Belinda was grateful that Molly didn’t pursue the subject in Nigel’s hearing.
Nigel put the coffee on the table next to a pile of files, including one Belinda couldn’t help notice labelled Camping dans La Fôret. He turned to give Belinda a cup of coffee.
‘Everything all right the other side of the river?’
Belinda gave him a brief nod as she took her drink. ‘Yes, the madness of Easter has died back. Everything is ticking over. In fact, now that you’ve sold Moorside and you’re spending more time here, I haven’t really got a lot to do.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I think I’d earn my keep more back in Brittany at the moment.’ She felt bad about not telling them that returning to Brittany had been at the foremost of her mind for days, ever since she’d looked through the box of her mum’s belongings. Now it wasn’t just about getting the campsite fully functional, although that was important too of course.
Nigel regarded her thoughtfully before picking up the campsite file. ‘I think I overreacted asking you to come back and stay. I didn’t think Molly was going to be such a model patient. I was actually going to suggest today over lunch that you returned to Brittany. We’ll take a look through the file and decide which jobs can go on hold and which should be marked urgent.’
Molly stood up. ‘I’m going to leave you two to sort out the details. I’ll be in the conservatory if you need me, with my book.’
‘Alain tells me the campers that have turned up were happy to stay despite the lack of facilities,’ Belinda said, trying not to show her relief that Nigel was all for her returning to Brittany early.
‘He told us that too when he rang yesterday but said there were a couple of things that needed sorting.’
Belinda bit back on a retort about Alain not talking to her, saying instead, ‘Off the top of my head, that would be the old café-cum-restaurant, the cabins still haven’t been refurbished completely, the drive potholes need filling in, the communal washing-up area and the loos need updating. And then there is the question of deciding where to put the glamping pods and sourcing them.’
‘We’ve decided not to go for pods this year,’ Nigel said. ‘Maybe next year, but Alain has suggested a couple of tree houses would be more in keeping.’
Belinda stared at him. ‘I thought the whole idea was to go upmarket. Appeal to modern-day families.’
Nigel shrugged. ‘They’re only on hold, not cancelled. As for the other things, let’s work through them, decide what needs to be done and reset the budget.’
For the next hour, the two of them went back and forth over things until they were both happy with the plan going forward.
‘That’s sorted,’ Nigel said. ‘Are you happy to go back and work with Alain again?’
‘Of course,’ Belinda answered. ‘I want to finish the job.’
‘From what he tells me, you’ve both sorted out your initial antagonism towards each other. He reckons you’re okay.’ Alain looked at her. ‘You think the same about him?’
Did she think he was okay? Yes, she supposed she did really. He couldn’t help his annoying French attitude that hid his good traits, from her especially.
Belinda sighed. ‘Let’s say we muddle along together now. There is one thing we haven’t discussed – Bernie living in one of the cabins. Does he stay or do you want him to leave?’
‘He stays. Alain says he’s not a problem, just somebody who hasn’t had the best deal in life. He’s going to help around the site.’
‘Have you two finished yet?’ Molly called out. ‘It’s almost lunchtime and I’m hungry.’
‘Two minutes,’ Nigel answered. ‘Just need to sort out a ferry ticket for Belinda.’
Two hours later, after an enjoyable lunch, Belinda left to drive home, her mind buzzing with plans for the campsite. The feeling, though, that her input hadn’t been strictly necessary because certain things seemed to have been already decided between Nigel and Alain niggled away at her. She wished Alain had seen fit to discuss the tree house plan with her rather than have her find out from Nigel. Bespoke tree houses would certainly offer campers something different and would fit in with the ethical side of the campsite that Alain seemed to be pushing. But was her determination to make it a profitable business for Nigel going to cause more problems between her and Alain?
The fact that she was able to return to Brittany so soon filled her with mixed emotions too. Nigel and Molly thought she was going back just to help finish the campsite improvements for them. They had no idea of her secret agenda to dig around in the past and try to uncover the bitter truth behind her parents’ break-up all those years ago.
That evening, as Belinda took BB along the river for his last walk before bedtime, she phoned Chloe to tell her she was returning to France the next day.
‘That quickly? I thought Nigel needed you here?’ Chloe said.
‘The campsite needs me more if it’s to be ready for the summer season,’ Belinda explained. ‘Now that Nigel’s sold one hotel and manages the other one himself, that doesn’t leave me a lot to do at Riverside for the time being, so it makes more sense for me to be over there.’
‘I suppose so,’ Chloe agreed. ‘I was just hoping to see more of you over the next couple of weeks. Have you thought any more about the Vendée?’
Belinda hesitated. How could she explain to her daughter that since the night she’d opened the box and made her discovery, she’d pushed everything else outside of work to the back of her mind. ‘Still weighing it all up, darling. There’s months before you go yet.’
