Page 13 of A French Inheritance
Le Ville Lumière and I miss you. Lunch at the weekend when I return?
Look forward to seeing you then.
Jeannie typed quickly and pressed send.
9
Elliot parked his 4x4 in front of his cottage and sat for a few moments thinking about his day. Shadowing Julian had been a useful exercise, giving him an opportunity to learn a little about how the practice was run and who was who. Not that he could remember many names. For the past few years, Julian had managed a team of three other vets plus himself, so now there would be five of them to share the busy rota, which hopefully would give everyone a lower workload, with all five of them rarely on duty at the same time. Two veterinary nurses and a receptionist made up the rest of the team and there was always a vet on call for emergencies.
Julian explained they were mainly a small animal clinic, as farms with actual livestock were few and far between in the area. ‘There are a few goat and sheep farmers making cheese and, in winter, additional flocks of sheep are brought down from the mountains, but no dairy farms with cows in the immediate vicinity. The summers are too hot. There’s an ostrich farm not too far from here that seems to be thriving though.’ Weekday mornings were given over to routine operations, like castration of cats and dogs that had been booked in, whilst the afternoons were on a rendez-vous system for people to bring their pets in.
‘And don’t just expect cats and dogs,’ Julian warned Elliot. ‘We’ve had everything in here, from rabbits, snakes, donkeys, parrots, chameleons – even had a small pet tiger for a few visits until we managed to persuade the owner it would be better for everyone if it was in a zoo.’
Elliot had been impressed with the behind-the-scenes set-up, including an X-ray machine, a good-sized operating theatre, a recovery room with various-sized crates and beds, and the office with a professional coffee machine. ‘Spend the majority of my evenings in here catching up with the paperwork,’ Julian grumbled. ‘I mainline coffee at times.’ When Elliot raised the question of Luna, Julian assured Elliot that he was happy for Luna to accompany him. ‘Have to keep her out of the operating theatre obviously, but anywhere else, no problem. It’ll probably be good for our image too.’
Elliot grabbed the bottle of champagne he’d stopped off in the village to buy from the passenger seat, opened the car door and jumped out. Tomorrow, he was assisting with a couple of female cat castrations in the morning and then he was the vet on duty in the afternoon. Tonight, he was going to celebrate his first day in his new job with Adam and Lucy.
Whistling happily, he walked across the yard to the farm. Luna was at his side as soon as he opened the kitchen door and he quickly made for the fridge and placed the bottle in the door shelf. ‘A small thank you from me to you two, and also to toast the future,’ he said, grinning at Lucy and Adam before starting to stroke Luna.
‘The day went well then?’ Lucy said, smiling.
‘Yep and I’ve cleared it with Julian for Luna, so she can come with me starting tomorrow.’
Adam was already tucking into the toast and pâté Lucy had placed on the table and Elliot sat down and joined him.
‘The fish pie will be ready in about five minutes, so don’t fill up on the starter,’ Lucy warned them.
Over supper, Elliot told them how his day had been, and they toasted his future before talk turned to Jeannie and Briony.
‘Did Jeannie mention what was happening with the cottage – are they going to keep it or sell it on?’ Adam asked.
‘Didn’t come up in conversation and I didn’t like to ask. Briony seems nice, but both of them seemed a bit preoccupied.’
It was almost eight o’clock when Elliot pushed his chair back.
‘Thanks for supper, Lucy. Now I’m gainfully employed again, I think it’s time I started to cater for myself a bit more. Get out of your hair at mealtimes.’
‘Don’t be silly, at least get settled in at work first,’ Lucy said. ‘I know you, it’ll be pizzas all the way and that’s not good for you.’
Elliot grinned at her. ‘You know me too well. Okay, Thank you. But I will have to start being more self-sufficient soon. I’m going to give Luna her evening walk down to the lake, shall I take Django as well?’
Adam shook his head. ‘Lucy and I are going to discuss her interior plans for the stables and we’ll take him for a walk as we talk.’
The walk to the lake had become something of a nightly ritual for Elliot since the day he’d arrived on the farm. As the spring evenings stayed lighter longer, Elliot knew the evening walk would get later and later, but tonight mid-evening was a perfect time. Up through the farmyard, into the Top Field and then a gentle saunter down towards the lake. Ten minutes sitting on the bench, letting his thoughts drift as he watched the evening activity of the birds as the sun set had become a soothing end to his days. It was a special place that over the months had seemed to help him heal the hurt of the past year and begin to nourish hopes for the future. He always felt so much better when he turned for the cottage that he thought of as home these days.
As he opened the last gate, he glanced down towards the lake and saw a hunched figure on the bench. Damn. Briony. He’d retreat and go through the vines instead. But Luna had a different idea and was through the gate and streaking down the field before he could stop her. Elliot sighed. Luna was unlikely to come back when he whistled and it would be rude not to at least say good evening now that his presence would be known.
Perhaps Briony was getting ready to return to the cottage and he would still get some time down here alone after she left. Fingers crossed. But as he got closer, he realised it was an older woman. A woman who was stroking Luna with one hand and with the other desperately trying to wipe the evidence of tears from her face.
Elliot stopped and stood still until the woman had pushed her tissue back into a pocket and then he carried on walking slowly towards her.
‘Hello, you must be Jeannie. I’m Elliot. I met your daughter, Briony, here yesterday. She received a warm welcome from Luna as well,’ he said, giving her a smile.
Jeannie nodded. ‘Yes, I’m Jeannie. Luna and I already renewed our acquaintance this morning up at the farm. Nice to meet you, Elliot.’ She stood up. ‘I’ll leave you in peace to enjoy this beautiful oasis your brother has created.’
‘Please don’t leave on my account,’ Elliot found himself saying. ‘Luna seems to want you to stay.’ He smiled at the dog, who was rubbing her face against Jeannie’s leg. ‘I promise not to annoy you with chatter. We can both sit with our own thoughts and watch the birds and listen to the noise of the cicadas.’
Elliot sat down on the bench. After a second’s hesitation, Jeannie joined him and Luna lay down in front of both of them.
