Page 39 of Secrets Beneath a Riviera Sky
She smiled to herself. That scarf, like her Celtic pendant, had been one of the things that Agnes had hidden away but could always lay her hands on. She hadn’t brought the scarf with her to France but she knew exactly where it was back home in Devon. She looked forward to reuniting Denice with it one day.
34
‘After all our hard work today I think we deserve some fresh air and maybe a glass of wine at one of the bars?’ Edwin said as he and Francine closed the last box full of stuff to go to Sunny Bank.
‘Definitely,’ Francine agreed. ‘A walk along the quay would be great. Some sea air to blow the cobwebs away. Maybe Piers will be on his boat and I can finally introduce the two of you.’
Piers’s boat was all closed up and there was no sign of him as the two of them walked past. ‘Another time,’ Francine said. ‘Going for a coffee in his cafe might be better.’ They walked on further until they were level with the big hotel on the bend of the coast road.
‘Shall we have a glass of wine in their bar?’ Edwin said. ‘Or would you prefer somewhere else?’
‘It looks a bit intimidating,’ Francine said. ‘I don’t really feel dressy enough for a place like that. Let’s wander back. There’s a small place in the square near the steps by Theo’s cottage.’ They retraced their steps but this time as they passed Piers’s boat he was on board and smiled in welcome as he saw them. Francine introduced the two men and Piers insisted they stepped on board for a glass of wine.
‘Zazz, she helped us out in the cafe yesterday morning. We were so grateful. My son, Dominic, took her for supper last night in his favourite Italian bistro to say thank you.’
‘The same son who took her to the cinema the other evening?’ Francine said. ‘She didn’t mention it to us.’ She glanced at Edwin, who simply shrugged his shoulders.
‘No rule that she has to tell us her every movement,’ he said. ‘She’s been independent now for some time and once we return to Devon, we’ll have no idea of what she’s up to down here.’
‘With my boys I am much more relaxed about their social life whereas with Mel, I have to stop myself from being too inquisitive,’ Piers smiled. ‘Perhaps it is something to do with a father’s protection towards a daughter.’
‘Maybe,’ Francine said. ‘Although I don’t recall Oscar being overly blessed in that direction towards me. It was always Mum and Theo looking out for me.’
‘Frankie, you had friends looking out for you down here,’ Piers said quietly. ‘I remember Theo telling me to take care of you because…’ He hesitated. ‘Because of your difficult home life.’
‘I didn’t realise that,’ Francine said. ‘Belated thanks,’ and she smiled at him.
‘It was always a pleasure to see you every summer,’ Piers said.
‘We were over on Saint Honorat yesterday and I was telling Edwin about our nighttime camp fires on the beach on Saint Marguerite beach.’
‘Ah, the good old days. Impossible to do that now, too many rules and regulations,’ Piers said.
‘Kids today don’t know what they’re missing,’ Francine said, finishing her wine and glancing at Edwin. ‘I think we’d better make a move. We’ve got more house clearing to face tomorrow and I think an early night would be a good idea.’
They were walking back up to Oscar’s, when Edwin said. ‘How well did you really know Piers in the past? He seems very fond of you still all these years later. Calling you Frankie is not something I’ve ever dared to call you in all the time I’ve known you.’
‘It’s what all my friends down here called me. I guess it was a teenage name that I outgrew.’ Francine glanced at Edwin, surprised. ‘You’re not jealous, are you?’
‘No. Just interested.’
‘Piers and I were close but we were never a couple in that we slept together. I think if I hadn’t left like I did, then maybe something would have happened between us that summer, I honestly don’t know. I always looked forward to seeing him but I hadn’t thought about him in years. It was quite a surprise meeting up with him.’ Francine shrugged. ‘Now he thinks I’m an uptight English woman. Very different to the “spontaneous” girl he knew all those years ago. I know you think I’m too hard on Zazz,’ Francine said. ‘Does that mean you agree with Piers that I’m uptight?’
When Edwin didn’t answer straight away she stopped and looked at him. ‘I’ll take your silence as a yes then.’
Edwin took hold of her hand. ‘I think you get uptight over things you cannot control because you care. Zazz is a good kid, she’s grown into a lovely young woman and now she has to find her own way in life. You can’t keep protecting her. As for not being spontaneous, well work and responsibilities tend to take precedence over spontaneity for us all. But,’ Edwin squeezed her hand, ‘we are coming to the time of our lives when we can decide how busy we want to be and make time for ourselves. I think we can practise doing things together on the spur of the moment. I don’t remember you ever being particularly spontaneous but I do remember you being fun. Maybe you need to try and re-kindle your inner Frankie?’
The rest of the walk home continued in silence. As they closed the front door behind them Francine turned to Edwin.
‘I fancy a soak in the bath tonight rather than having a shower.’
‘While you go ahead and soak, I’ll check my e-mails. I’m expecting one that might mean I have to go home sooner than I planned.’ Edwin went through to the kitchen as Francine made for the stairs.
‘Give me a shout if you want me to scrub your back, Frankie,’ Edwin called out.
Francine turned and stared after him before going upstairs and into the bathroom. Like that was going to happen. Of course she didn’t want him to scrub her back. That would only lead to them having sex and after that uptight remark she wasn’t in the mood. She turned on the taps and once hot water was gushing into the bath poured in an extravagant amount of bath oil and soon the perfume of her favourite rose-scented bath oil began to fill the bathroom air.
Checking that her towel was on the rail, she stripped off, leaving her clothes on the floor and stepped into the bath. She lay back and closed her eyes, letting the hot water sooth and relax her body as she tried to empty her mind. Bliss. But it wasn’t long before niggling thoughts began to creep back in. She’d always thought of herself as level-headed, in control, calm in a crisis and generally capable of dealing with anything life chose to throw at her. Uptight though? Did that really describe her these days? She was beginning to suspect it did.
