Page 58 of A French Inheritance
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Friday morning and Briony was up extra early to take Meg for a walk to the lake. Sitting on the bench watching Meg swim in the water, her thoughts drifted to that last entry in the diary. She felt so sad for her great-grandmother. Briony could hardly imagine how different and difficult life had been in those days, living in a patriarchal society where black was black, white was white and there could be no grey in between.
There were birds flitting to and fro in the early-morning sunlight and unexpectedly Briony saw a flash of blue land on a small branch overhanging the lake. She held her breath as the kingfisher sat there for a moment before suddenly taking off, diving to expertly catch a small fish and flying away. Briony smiled. It had to be a good omen to finally see a kingfisher on today of all days.
Elliot stopped by on his way to the practice with flowers, a good luck card and gave her a tight hug and a quick kiss. ‘Good luck. I’ll try to pop back at midday; if not, I’ll see you tonight.’
Briony, with Meg on the lead, and Jeannie walked up together to the brocante. The bunting pinned around the entrance was fluttering in the morning breeze. Yann had fixed the newly painted sign declaring the unit to be ‘Briony’s Belle Brocante’ above the door. The handcart, now filled to capacity with tumbling geraniums, petunias and yellow pansies, had been positioned to one side of the door, the bicycle with its overflowing basket of mixed flowers was leant against the side wall. Everything about the brocante brought a smile to Briony’s face.
She opened the door and stood for a moment just taking in the scene before her. The parrot cage was hung in the far corner with a huge green fern inside it. There were two of Marie-Louise’s paintings, now framed, hung on the wall behind the worktable with its card machine, notebook and pen for writing sales in, and a pile of business cards. Three or four tables had been placed strategically to create a sense of space and room to walk around. Everything for sale had a price tag attached to it. She hoped that people would realise that if there was no price on an item it wasn’t for sale. The framed Cannes Film Festival programmes hung on the far wall came into that category, as did Great-granny Marie-Louise’s paintings. If the right collector came along, she might be persuaded to sell the Festival programmes, but the paintings would never be sold.
By 10.30 when nobody had appeared, Briony was struggling to stay positive. Jeannie and Holly tried to cheer her up saying it would happen. People would come. And they did.
Between eleven o’clock and twelve thirty, they had fifteen cars appear on the yard. From comments Briony overheard, people were pleased to discover both the artisan workshops as well as the brocante. She smiled as she saw Holly wrapping pottery carefully, several times during the morning. There weren’t many sales in the brocante, but people said they would be regular visitors. And Calvin found himself monopolised by a woman in jodhpurs and wax jacket, thrilled that she had found someone local to mend the leather tack for her five horses.
Everyone who came was offered a welcome glass of rosé and Briony handed out her business cards. Meg spent most of her time under the table nearest the door watching everyone.
Lunchtime was quiet, as expected, and Jeannie handed around salad baguettes and, as everyone had a coffee from her large flask, Lucy appeared with a basket containing cake. She apologised as she handed Briony a large good luck card. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t make it down earlier, but I hope the morning went well.’
Elliot appeared briefly and snaffled a piece of cake, kissed Briony and was gone again.
The village clock could be heard striking two o’clock as the first of the afternoon customers appeared in the yard. The afternoon was even busier than the morning had been, with people constantly arriving and leaving.
As she closed the doors at five o’clock, Briony reminded Holly and Calvin that they were invited for a barbeque supper at Owls Nest to celebrate opening day and to thank them for their help.
* * *
By seven o’clock, Yann had sausages and pork chops on the barbeque and people were standing or sitting around chatting. The table was full of salads, crisps, cheese, pastries, the champagne was being poured and everyone was relaxed.
Briony looked around and smiled. All her favourite people were in the garden. Jeannie looking happy with Yann at her side. Lucy and Adam were talking to Holly and Calvin, while Carla was playing with Meg, Luna and Django.
Elliot appeared at her side with two glasses of champagne and handed her one. ‘Happy?’
Briony nodded. ‘There’s just one person missing tonight who I wish could be here…’ She sighed. ‘But if she were, none of this would be happening.’ She held out her glass to Elliot and they clinked glasses and Briony said quietly, ‘Granny Giselle.’
After everyone had left and Briony and Jeannie had cleared up, they shared a small nightcap together before bed, sitting out on the terrace as dusk fell.
‘Granny Giselle would be so proud of you,’ Jeannie said quietly. ‘You’ve started to live the life she hoped you’d find in France.’
‘I missed her tonight,’ Briony said. ‘But I think she was here in spirit.’ Briony was quiet for a moment as she stared down the garden towards the trees. ‘Are you okay about working the brocante tomorrow on your own? I’ll pop down in between guests arriving, but I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to stay.’
‘Yann is coming to keep me company, so don’t worry; between us, we will manage. I doubt we will be as busy as we were today.’
‘Okay. Oh, Mum, look,’ Briony uttered a gasp and held her breath as she saw the head of a tawny owl appear in the hole of the broken branch, pause briefly before launching itself into the air and gliding across the garden. ‘Finally, proof that Owls Nest does still have an owl. What a perfect end to the day.’
* * *
Briony and Jeannie walked up to the brocante together with Meg on Saturday morning. They tidied the tables and the shelves, making sure everything looked neat and tidy and putting out some extra stock.
‘What time is Yann coming to join you?’ Briony asked as she prepared to leave and go to the farm.
‘Any time now,’ Jeannie said. ‘He’s going to take Meg for a walk when he gets here.’
‘I think there’s only one set of guests arriving today, so hopefully I’ll be able to pop down and check on you mid-morning. I’ll see you later.’ And Briony made her way up to the farm, hoping it wasn’t all going to be too much for her mother.
‘The guests in No.2 the Stables left early this morning,’ Lucy said. ‘No guests in either No.1 or No.2 this current week, sadly. So just one welcome basket to go in the Cider House, plus a quick check around in there as usual, and then if you could do the domestics in No.2. and set it up ready for the next guests.’
‘What time are today’s guests due?’
