Page 26 of A French Country Escape
‘Hey, Alice and I are going for a drink tonight in the village bar – why don’t the two of you join us?’
Penny answered first. ‘Love to. What time?’
‘About eight o’clock. Sasha?’
‘Thanks. Shall we walk down together, Penny?’ The thought of walking into the village bar for the first time on her own was frightening. Freddie had been on a couple of occasions and said everybody had made him feel welcome, but Sasha would appreciate the reassurance of someone alongside her the first time she braved the bar.
‘Good idea. I’ll come to the cottage at about a quarter to eight.’
20
Ingrid and Peter were in the sitting room when Penny arrived back at the château, paperwork and a monthly planner open in front of them. Both looking thoughtful and stressed.
‘What’s up?’ she asked.
‘We’ve each had a phone call this afternoon,’ Ingrid said. ‘Mine was from a woman who wants to hold a wedding reception for approximately thirty people here after their civil marriage in themairie.I told her I’d get back to her; I didn’t feel I could turn her away instantly.’
‘Mine was from the chairman of the church fundraising committee,’ Peter said. ‘Would we hold a village fete in the grounds later this year when the tourists are around, to help raise some much-needed money. I said yes, no problem, but your mum thinks there could be.’
‘I don’t see the problem with either of those two events,’ Penny said, looking at them. ‘You’re planning on doing wedding receptions, so you’ve got your first booking.’
‘The problem with this particular booking is that it is in two and a bit weeks. We are simply not ready. We don’t have half the equipment we need. And with me not being able to even moveproperly, it’s out of the question.’ Ingrid gave a deep sigh. ‘But your father can’t see that. He says we should just say yes and get on with it.’
‘Why is it such short notice? Shotgun wedding?’
‘Apparently the venue they wanted to use has had a major flood in both the room booked for the reception and in the kitchen. It’s going to be at least a month before they’re up and running again. The bride doesn’t want to have to cancel guests or move the wedding date.’
‘Okay. And why is the village fete a problem later in the year?’ Penny asked.
‘The committee want us to arrange the fete on their behalf,’ Ingrid said. ‘If they were doing all the organising and just wanted to use the grounds, it would be fine. But a) we know nothing about running an outdoor event in France, and you can be sure there will be mountains of bureaucracy to deal with. And b) we have no contacts for fete entertainment like… like, oh I don’t know, a bouncy castle for the children, or ice cream vendors, balloon sellers, or anybody in fact,’ and Ingrid threw her arms up in despair. ‘And yet, knowing all of this, your father stubbornly refuses to ring the chairman back and say sorry, no can do.’
Penny took a deep breath. ‘Right. Here’s what I think. You, Mum, ring the woman back and confirm you will let them have the wedding reception here. She will need to come and talk to you – us – within twenty-four hours about the menu and how they would like the room decorated, and anything else they would like to make the day special. Also tell her she will need to pay us a non-refundable deposit when she comes. Once we know whether it’s a sit-down meal or a buffet, we can start to organise things.’
‘We? I hope you’re saying what I think you’re saying?’ Ingrid looked hopefully at her daughter.
‘I’m here and will stay for long enough to cook and help you sort out everything for the wedding. Happy?’
‘Deliriously so,’ Ingrid said, sniffing and trying to surreptitiously wipe a tear away. ‘Does this mean you might stay on longer afterwards?’
‘Mum, I have no idea what I’m doing long term yet. Let’s just deal with the wedding first. As for running the village fete,’ Penny said, ‘think of the brownie points you’d earn from locals, so I think you should do it. I have an idea, but I need to talk to someone first, but I’m fairly hopeful you won’t have to ring and say no can do, Dad. Give me twenty-four hours, okay?’
Peter gave her a thumbs up. ‘Thanks, love.’
‘Right, hope you don’t mind, but I’m going out tonight. I know it’s my first night home, but Colette has invited Sasha and me to join her and Alice for a drink in the village bar. I did promise to cook dinner, so I’d better get to the kitchen.’
‘Don’t worry, I’d planned a simple meal for tonight. New potatoes, fresh asparagus and salmon steaks,’ Peter said.
‘Want me to make a hollandaise sauce?’ Penny asked.
‘Yes please,’ Ingrid said. ‘Love your hollandaise sauce. And we can have a glass of the champagne you brought before you go out. We need to celebrate you being here.’
When Penny and Sasha walked into the busy bar later that evening, Alice and Colette were already there with a bottle of red wine and four glasses on a table tucked away in the corner. Lucas, standing at the bar with Jean-Paul and another couple of men, gave them both a cheery wave. Jean-Paul smiled and nodded, and Sasha smiled back.
Colette introduced Alice to Sasha before pouring the wine. ‘Santé! À nos nouveaux amis.’ They all clicked glasses and took sips.
‘Mum loved that sketch of Starlight. She was wondering whether she could commission you to do a painting for her?’ Colette looked questioningly at Sasha.
‘Yes, of course, but I need a couple of weeks to get my studio up and running. If she looks at my Etsy shop, she’ll get an idea of the things I can do.’
