Page 44 of A French Country Escape
They both watched the water for a moment and were rewarded with a quick glimpse of several fish swimming slowly around. And then finally a dragonfly landed on one of the water lily pads, its wings fragile and translucent in the sun as Jade watched it, fascinated.
Freddie and Maddie joined them then, with Maddie telling Jade it was time to say thank you and go home.
‘Thank you for tea,’ Jade said dutifully. ‘I love the puppies. Can I come again and play with them?’
‘Of course you can. Thank you for coming,’ Sasha said, wondering what the quick look she saw pass between Freddie and Maddie meant.
As Freddie turned to follow them to the car, he said quietly, ‘Talk when I get back, okay?’
Sasha nodded, then sat out in the garden waiting for Freddie to return. She had a horrible feeling that what he wanted to talk about was not going to be good news.
A quarter of an hour later when he came back, she made them both a coffee.
‘Jade told me that as a family they are returning to the UK soon,’ she said as she handed him his mug.
Freddie nodded. ‘Yep. Maddie’s parents have decided to leave France and Maddie doesn’t want to stay here without family support.’ He took a sip of his coffee. ‘She’s been on at me about it every time we see each other.’ Freddie took a deep breath. ‘Maddie wants me to sell up and go back too so we can have a proper future together.’ He shook his head and gave a long sigh. ‘I don’t know what to do. I like her a lot, but we don’t know each other that well – we only met a couple of months ago – and now she’s leaving, she’s pushing me to do something I’m not sure I want to do. The thing is, I’ve only just arrived in France and so far, I’m loving it here. Things are working outgreat. Who knows, I might want to go back one day, but right now I don’t.’
‘Could you both settle for seeing each other every week or so? Either here or in the UK? I know long-distance relationships are difficult, but sometimes they work out.’
‘I was hoping she’d stay and move in with me,’ Freddie said quietly. ‘Join her parents later if it didn’t work out.’
‘Is that why you were showing her the cottage?’
Freddie nodded. ‘Turns out old cottages needing renovation on a private estate aren’t her thing. So that’s a no-no. Much better to sell up and buy something modern in England, I’m told.’
Sasha kept her thoughts about that to herself, but inwardly she was beginning to dislike Maddie intensely for the way she was pressurising Freddie. She knew instinctively that Maddie was definitely not the right person for her brother. But she couldn’t say that out loud – yet.
Sasha sighed. ‘You barely know each other. And there’s also Jade to consider. If it worked out, you’d be her stepdad. It’s not good for her to become attached to you and then you disappear out of her life. She seems to be fond of you already, so I think you have to ask yourself a question, or even a couple of questions, about how you truly feel about Maddie. Is she the love of your life? And can you bear the thought of her not being in your life?’
Selfishly, Sasha knew she didn’t want him to go, but she couldn’t voice her own feelings as it wouldn’t be fair. Whatever he decided, she knew Maddie was going to hurt Freddie, whether they stayed together or parted. Freddie needed to talk to someone and with that thought, Sasha came to a decision.
‘Will you do something for me please?’
Freddie looked at her. ‘You know I always will if I can.’
‘This isn’t for me, it’s for you. Will you please talk to Jean-Paul about what Maddie is suggesting you do?’
‘Why? What does he know?’
‘I don’t know, but he’s a local and he knows about things that happened before we arrived here.’
‘Has he said something to you about me and Maddie?’
‘He simply asked me to tell you to be careful,’ Sasha confessed.
Freddie gave a deep sigh. ‘And I thought it was all going so well. Okay, I’ll talk to Jean-Paul in the bar tonight, but I can guess I’m not going to like what he tells me.’
33
Penny, although outwardly calm, was a bundle of nerves as she waited for Lucas to arrive and take her for the lunch she’d finally agreed to. She wasn’t at all sure she was ready yet to let another man into her life. As a friend maybe, but what if he wanted more than friendship? What if he was another Rory? Charming in the beginning before he showed his true colours. No, deep down she sensed Lucas wasn’t like that. Although she knew little about him, she could see by the way he treated Eliza and Alice that he was a decent man through and through. As she heard his car drive up and stop outside the château, Penny took a deep breath and decided she was in danger of overthinking things. She’d simply make the most of a day away from the château and enjoy the company of a man she knew she was attracted to.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked as she settled into the passenger seat.
‘One of my favourite places, Pont-Aven. Did you go there yet?’
Penny shook her head. ‘No.’
‘It’s where the River Aven join the sea, so the town is on a tidal estuary. Very picturesque. It’s only about an hour away. I book a table for one o’clock.’
