Page 37 of A French Country Escape
‘Bonjour. Nice to meet you, Maddie, and you, Jade,’ Sasha said, smiling down at the little girl who must have been about five or six.
‘Hello. Freddie’s told me all about how you and he came to live in France,’ Maddie said.
‘You’re English,’ Sasha said, surprised, wishing Freddie had told her about Maddie and Jade before introducing them.
Maddie nodded. ‘Been over here seven years now.’
‘Do you live in the village?’
‘My mother lives in one of the newer houses on the edge of the village. We live in the next one over. How do you like living here?’
‘We both love it, don’t we?’ Sasha said enthusiastically, turning to her brother.
‘Best thing we could have done,’ Freddie answered. He glanced at his watch. ‘Sorry this is such a short meeting, but I’ve got to get back to paint the orangery this afternoon.’
‘And I’ve got a couple of puppies at home to sort out,’ Sasha explained.
‘Freddie said I could come and see the puppies one day,’ Jade said, looking up hopefully.
‘If Freddie said that, then I’m sure he’ll arrange it,’ Sasha replied.
‘Not today?’ Jade pulled a miserable face.
‘We will make a definite date soon,’ Freddie promised.
‘Okay,’ Jade nodded happily.
‘Maddie, I’ll give you a ring and arrange it, okay?’
‘Bye then, Maddie, Jade. I hope to see you both again soon,’ Sasha said as she and Freddie turned to leave. She gave her brother a questioning look. ‘Maddie seems nice. Any particular reason you wanted me to meet her?’
‘No. I had no idea she was going to be here today. I’ve wanted you to meet Maddie for a few weeks now, so I grabbed the opportunity to introduce the two of you.’
‘And now I have?’
‘I thought maybe we could invite her and Jade for tea or something?’ Freddie ran his hand through his in-need-of-a-haircut hair. ‘Anyway, can we talk later? I’ve got some painting to do.’
27
It was early evening when Jean-Paul arrived at the Cottages du Lac, the large trailer behind his tractor piled high with everything Sasha and Freddie had bought. Freddie, hearing the noise, came running down from the château as Lucas drove in with the things from Eliza’s cottage in his car. Quickly, Sasha put Mimi and Mitzi in the garden out of the way and the three men began unloading the trailer.
The wrought-iron table and four chairs were placed straight on the terrace. The small cupboard and the worktable were carried upstairs to the workroom. Freddie’s settee and matching armchair were quickly placed in his sitting room. Sasha’s final purchase, a large office desk with eight drawers which she’d spotted as she was leaving thevide-grenier, was the last thing to be unloaded.
Lucas took the box of birdcages out of the car and said he’d take the crockery and everything else up to the château. Freddie jumped into the empty passenger seat and went with him to carry on painting the orangery.
Sasha and Jean-Paul, left alone, looked at each other. ‘Café?’ Sasha asked, picking up her phone from the kitchen table and opening the translation app, ready to use it.
‘Merci,’ Jean-Paul said, pulling his own phone out of a pocket. They both left the volume turned on this time. It wasn’t perfect, but at least they were communicating.
Sitting out in the garden with their coffee and Mimi and Mitzi at their feet begging for attention, Sasha felt a flash of boldness. ‘Would you like to come to supper one eveningaprèsthe wedding. A thank you for all your help – today and with the terrible two,’ she said, laughing at the pups chasing their tails.
‘Thank you. I would like that,’ Jean-Paul said hesitantly in English, without first translating it from the French.
‘Brilliant. You said that perfectly,’ Sasha said.
‘We do some more puppy training soon. They know “sit” and “stay” now. We need to make sure they come when you call and to heel.’
‘That would be good,’ Sasha nodded.
