Page 33 of A French Inheritance
‘Thank you, I really do appreciate it,’ Briony said. ‘See you then. Have a good evening.’
She’d been home less than ten minutes when there was a double toot of a car horn outside. Curiously, she opened the front door to find Elliot in his 4x4 with Luna looking out of the back window.
‘Adam tells me you’d like to look at a Kangoo. Jump in and I’ll take you. He’s rung the owner and told him to expect us.’
‘Oh but I…’ Briony stopped. She didn’t want to be on tenterhooks, wondering if she was going to say something that would upset him. But she really did want to see the car. ‘I’ll just get my bag.’
As they drove down towards the coast, Briony said, ‘I hope Adam didn’t put pressure on you to take me. But I’m really grateful.’
Elliot gave a small shrug. ‘He knew I was the best person to look at this car – I had one years ago in the UK. It was a great car.’
‘Did Adam tell you how to find where we’re going?’
‘I’ve put the directions in the satnav. Basically we’ve to head for thebord de mer, and then take Boulevard Leader up towards the Croix des Gardes and the house we want is about two kilometres up on the left-hand side.’
Fifteen minutes later, they were pulling up behind the red Kangoo itself, with the owner, Francois, sat inside waiting for them.
After some introductions, Elliot took the car for a test run and came back smiling. ‘It’s a good one,’ he said. ‘Thecontrol techniquewas done only last week, which is good. Just drive up the road and back to make sure you can see over the steering wheel, you being five feet nothing.’
‘Cheek!’ Briony said, hiding her surprise at how relaxed Elliot was with her this evening.
‘The seat is quite low,’ Elliot said, grinning at her.
Briony drove the car up the road, did a three-point turn in a layby and drove back down to Elliot and Francois, smiling happily.
‘Francois says you can have the car for three thousand euros,’ Elliot said. ‘He thinks you’ll give it a good home.’
‘Yes please,’ Briony said, holding out her hand to shake on the deal. ‘I’ll give you a deposit and come back tomorrow with the rest of the money if that’s all right. I don’t have any insurance yet.’
Francois promised to have all the legal papers for the transfer ready to sign and thecarte gris, the French version of the logbook.
Sitting in the passenger seat as Elliot drove them back to the cottage, Briony gave a contented sigh. ‘Thank you so much, Elliot. I know you’re probably tired after a day at work and the last thing you needed to do was drive me around.’ She hesitated and glanced across at him. ‘Can I cook you supper as a way of saying thank you? Nothing fancy – you have a choice of pasta or pizza – but I do have wine.’ Elliot had been good company tonight and he clearly knew about cars, Kangoos in particular.
There was a short silence and Briony waited for him to refuse her offer, but to her surprise he accepted.
‘Thanks, a bowl of pasta would be good. I’ll drop you off, take the car back and walk down with Luna, give her a little bit of exercise.’
* * *
After Elliot had dropped her at the cottage, Briony rushed inside and started to organise supper. First, she set her favourite soft jazz playlist playing, and hummed happily along with it. It was nice enough to sit outside, she decided and set the table on the terrace with cutlery and wine glasses. She lit a couple of anti-mosquito candles and opened a bottle of red wine before going back into the kitchen and quickly making some garlic bread as a small aperitif, tossing a green salad together to accompany the pasta, grating some parmesan cheese and topping up the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar in their respective containers.
Luna arrived before Elliot and barked impatiently at the garden gate to be let in. Briony laughed and lifted the latch and the dog was immediately at her side wanting a stroke.
Elliot arrived half a minute later and handed her a piece of paper. ‘I forgot to give you this. I made a note of the registration number andcarte grisdetails, you’ll need those to arrange insurance before you bring Pascal home.’
‘Pascal?’
‘Your Kangoo’s name. Typically French, don’t you think?’
‘Yes, it is. Thank you. Come and sit down. Have a glass of wine while I go and put the pasta on. There’s some garlic bread to stave off your hunger pangs whilst the pasta cooks.’
As they sipped a glass of wine and nibbled the garlic bread, Elliot looked at her. ‘I hope you’re happy with Pascal, but are you sure it’s what you wanted? It’s a useful vehicle, but it’s more of a van than a car.’
‘True.’ Briony was silent for a few seconds. ‘Originally I planned to get a new or newish car on contract, but I saw the Kangoo and I knew it would fit in perfectly with some new plans I might be making. Although I haven’t actually decided on whether or not these plans are workable or even whether it’s a good idea.’ She realised she was verging on talking nonsense when she caught Elliot’s amused glance. ‘Sorry that wasn’t very clear, was it?’ She picked up the wine bottle and topped up both their glasses. ‘I’ll fetch the pasta. Then I’ll explain why I bought Pascal.’
As she placed the bowls of pasta on the table, she said, ‘I haven’t mentioned my idea to anyone else yet, so it will be good to get your reaction, good or bad. Being Lucy’s Girl Friday for the summer is great, but eventually I’m going to have to have some sort of other income. The only thing I know anything about is the second-hand trade, antique, vintage, however you want to describe it, having worked in it for nearly ten years. Owls Nest is full of collectables and everyday French items that people like to buy. Granny had a really good eye, but it’s not necessarily things that I would want, so I already have enough stock to start in a small way.’
Elliot listened intently as she told him about her light-bulb moment in the market. ‘I’d obviously start slowly, but Pascal will be a great asset in picking up larger items when I find them. And if in the end I decide running a brocante is not viable, he will make a fine run-around second car for Mum and me whether I buy a newer car or not.’
