The Road Trip

by Susanne O’Leary

  Leanne waved her hand impatiently. ‘Yes, yes, whatever. What else does it say?’

  ‘It says…’ Maddy scanned the article. ‘Oh my God, this is amazing!’

  Leanne stood on the brakes, and the car came to a screeching halt on the hard shoulder, accompanied by much tooting and blinking of headlights from other cars.

  ‘What? What?’ she shouted. ‘Tell me. I can’t drive and listen to you at the same time.’

  ‘Calm down. I’ll read it to you.’

  Leanne snatched the phone from Maddy. ‘I’ll read it myself.’ She looked at the screen, scrolling down, her eyes widening. ‘Edwina Huntington-Smith, née Abbingley, is a distant cousin and close friend of the duchess of – wow. So, she’s very well connected. She was flower girl at the duchess’s first wedding, it appears. And,’ Leanne continued, ‘her husband, Sir Horace, is a former chairman of the boards of several well-known car manufacturers such as Jaguar and Ford UK, among others. He is also high profile in local farming in the area, his farm having switched from beef to tillage and organic fruit and vegetables. And he breeds Leghorns and Bantam hens. Edwina,’ Leanne read on, ‘is a well-known hostess in the area and often throws parties attended by her many famous neighbours.’

  ‘Like the one last night,’ Maddy said. ‘Gosh.’

  ‘Golly gosh, indeed. This’ll be brilliant for our blog.’ Leanne handed the phone back and started the car. ‘I hope we can get the contract sorted so we can start.’

  ‘I got the email with it attached from my dad this morning. He says he’ll go through it so we don’t have to. We’ll just sign it once the Women Now people get back with their signature. It’ll all be done electronically too and then we’re off in a hack.’

  ‘Great.’

  Maddy put her phone back into her bag. ‘I hope they’ll accept the terms. We agreed to their fee, but we wanted a certain percentage of the profit from advertising too, so they might balk at that. Plus, we have full rights to photos and whatever we write.’

  ‘Pretty stiff terms,’ Leanne muttered. ‘But I get the point. This could be something we – or I, in any case – might develop, so it’s a good thing to have everything settled. Your dad’s great to do this for us.’

  ‘He’s a true brick.’

  ‘Here’s the exit to the motorway now,’ Leanne announced. ‘We’ll be in Oxford before you know it.’

  ‘Well, in about an hour anyway. But this car is such a smooth ride. I might have a little snooze while you drive.’

  ‘Snooze away,’ Leanne said. ‘And dream pretty dreams of Prince Charming and his beautiful castle in the hills. That’s what my dad used to say when I was little girl.’

  ‘How sweet.’ Maddy smiled and closed her eyes. The purring of the engine and the gentle motion of the car was almost hypnotic, and her mind drifted to the past and that real castle she had been to once in her distant youth.

  * * *

  The afternoon at Ludo’s uncle’s restaurant was fun and filled with laughter. Les Deux Toques proved harder to find than Ludo had said. Maddy walked around the Marais turning into narrow lanes, finding herself down dead ends and in tiny squares, where washing hung from the windows of old houses and music could be heard here and there. The air was thick with the smell of garlic, herbs and newly baked bread. After a lot of asking around, she finally found it in the middle of a sunny street lined with cafés and quaint shops selling arts and crafts and second-hand books. She pulled the red door open and entered the little restaurant, where guests, engaged in lively conversations, were finishing their lunch. Infused with the smell of excellent food, the restaurant felt instantly welcoming.

  A waiter sprang to attention as she approached the counter. ‘Mademoiselle? A table for one?’

  Maddy smiled. ‘No, I’m not eating. I’m here to meet Ludo and his uncle.’

  ‘Ah.’ He nodded and pushed the door behind him open. ‘In the kitchen.’

  ‘Merci.’ Maddy entered the kitchen, where two chefs were busy preparing the last orders and the head chef – Ludo’s uncle, Maddy supposed – was arguing with a young boy in a stained white apron.

  ‘I will not tolerate this kind of sloppiness,’ the head chef shouted, gesturing with a ladle. ‘You’d better sharpen up or you’re fired. Go and work in McDonald’s for all I care.’

  The boy hung his head. ‘Oui, chef,’ he whispered. ‘I’m sorry. I was careless.’

  Maddy backed towards the door. She would wait for Ludo outside. But someone caught her by the arms from behind. She twirled around. ‘Ludo!’

  He kissed her on both cheeks. ‘Ma petite Madeleine. You found us. Don’t worry. My uncle runs a very tight ship. Anyone not doing his job gets strips torn off him. He’s really quite sweet.’

  The head chef, a stocky man with thick black eyebrows and a bulbous nose, stopped shouting. ‘Ludo!’ he exclaimed, his angry expression swiftly changing like the sun coming out of a dark cloud. He clapped the young boy’s shoulder. ‘Go on. That’s enough. You’ll do better tomorrow, okay?’

  The young boy melted into the shadows, and the head chef went to kiss Ludo and shake hands with Maddy. ‘Bonjour,’ he said. ‘I’m Jean Montrouge. Please call me Uncle Jean. I see Ludo did not exaggerate your Irish beauty. That porcelain skin, those blue eyes… The little freckles on the nose… Très belle!’

  Maddy blushed. Nobody had said she was beautiful before. ‘Thank you.’ Up close, with his smile lighting up his rough features, this man was charming.

  He put his hand on Ludo’s back. ‘But you want to eat, no?’

  Maddy shook her head. ‘Thank you. I’ve already had lunch.’

  ‘A little dessert, then? With coffee?’

  ‘We’ll have some crème brûlée,’ Ludo said. ‘And if there’s a table free out there, we could all sit down. I’m a little tired after the lunch rush hour. I had to wait tables today. My uncle is a real slave driver.’

  ‘You have to learn how to run a restaurant,’ Uncle Jean remarked.

  ‘I know.’ Ludo took Maddy’s hand. ‘Let’s go and sit in the restaurant. I have a proposition for you.’

  ‘A what?’ Maddy followed Ludo back into the now nearly empty restaurant.

  ‘A proposition,’ he said, after they had sat down at a table by the window.

  Maddy looked into his melting brown eyes and thought whatever it was, she would say yes. She wanted to be with him, in his space. ‘Tell me.’

  ‘I have been asked to do a job tonight. A catered event in a castle just south of Paris. Beautiful place by a lake. It’s a wedding. Could be very busy. But I have been offered free accommodation once the dinner is over in the old part of the castle, far away from everyone else. The wedding party will be staying in a nearby hotel, as the château is not taking overnight guests. So…’ He paused. ‘I was wondering if you’d like to come with me?’

  ‘To the château?’ Maddy asked. She laughed. How stupid that sounded. ‘I mean will we…?’

  ‘Separate rooms,’ Ludo said. ‘Adjoining. With a shared balcony.’ He touched her cheek. ‘We won’t do anything you’re not comfortable with. Will you come with me tonight, Maddy?’

  Unable to reply, she looked down at the pink linen tablecloth.

  ‘I know we’ve only just met,’ Ludo said, his voice a near whisper, ‘but I have a feeling I’ve known you all my life.’

  ‘I bet you say that to all the girls,’ she teased, trying to lighten the mood.

  He took her hand. ‘No. I’ve never said that to anyone, because it wouldn’t have been true. But you haven’t replied to my question.’

  His eyes were burning into hers; Maddy was suddenly speechless. She knew what would happen if she went with him. She shouldn’t go. But a night with him, in an old French château… how utterly irresistible. She leant back, away from his dizzying closeness and his scent and his warm breath on her face. ‘I…’ She swallowed. ‘Yes,’ she heard herself say. ‘I’d love to go with you to the château.’

  Chapter Twelver />
  A sudden squeal cut into Maddy’s daydream. She sat up. ‘What? Are you in pain?’

  ‘N-n-noo,’ Leanne stammered. ‘But there’s something moving.’

  ‘Moving? Where?’

  ‘Under your grey pashmina in the back seat.’

  ‘What do you mean? I don’t have a grey pashmina.’ Maddy craned her neck to look behind her. ‘That thing? It’s not mine. I thought it was yours.’

  ‘No,’ Leanne snapped, trying to keep the car from swerving into the next lane, narrowly missing a van. ‘Not mine. But whoever it belongs to, it’s hiding something. Can’t you see? It’s moving. I just noticed it in the rear-view mirror.’

  Maddy glanced at the heap of soft grey cashmere. Nothing. ‘I can’t see what you’re going on about.’ She twisted around and put her hand on the crumpled pashmina. There was something underneath. She could feel it. Then it moved and Maddy screamed, snatching her hand away. ‘Oh my God! You’re right! It’s… I don’t know… a rat?!’

  ‘I’m taking that exit,’ Leanne shouted and turned the wheel. ‘We have to get off the motorway and – don’t touch it! If it’s a rat, it’ll bite you. They’re dangerous.’

  ‘I know.’ Rigid with terror, Maddy stared at the bundle. It moved and then was still, then moved again. ‘We have to get rid of it. When you stop the car, I’ll grab the bundle and throw it out.’

  Leanne drove up the exit from the motorway. ‘Good plan. Don’t take your eyes off it. I can stop after the roundabout over there.’

  ‘Okay.’ Shaking, Maddy kept her eyes on the wriggling grey bundle while Leanne took the roundabout on two wheels and turned into a narrow road, finally coming to a stop on the grassy verge.

  Leanne turned off the engine and opened her door. ‘Get out! We have to get rid of that thing.’

  Maddy got out of the car, her legs trembling, and opened the rear door. She was about to grab the bundle to throw it in the ditch when it made a sound. ‘It’s whining,’ she said. ‘Rats don’t whine, do they?’

  Whatever it was writhed under the pashmina and then let out a different sound.

  ‘It’s barking. Can’t be a rat, then.’ Leanne took the bundle out of the car and put it on the grass. ‘It’s a dog.’

  ‘Not just any dog,’ Maddy said as a curly black head peeped out from under the heap of cashmere. She knelt on the grass and peeled off the cover to reveal a small black poodle that immediately started to lick her face. ‘It’s Gidget. That dog Edwina was minding.’

  Leanne stared at the dog. ‘Holy Mother, how on earth did she get into our car?’

  Maddy cuddled the little dog. ‘More importantly, how on earth are we going to give her back? We only have a few hours before we get on the ferry. We can’t drive all the way back to Edwina’s today.’

  ‘Maybe we can pop her into a police station in Oxford? Tell them we found this dog and ask them to contact the owner. I’m sure she’s microchipped.’

  ‘Yes, but the owner, Edwina’s friend, is away. Edwina is only minding it. So the microchip won’t be much help there.’

  ‘Maybe we can give Edwina a call and tell her Gidget ended up in our car? Agree on somewhere we can leave her and then…’

  Maddy kissed Gidget on the nose. ‘It’s okay, sweetheart. We’ll soon have you home again.’

  Gidget struggled out of Maddy’s arms, crouched on the grass and made a big puddle.

  ‘Look, she’s housetrained,’ Maddy squealed. ‘What a good girl!’

  ‘Thank God for that,’ Leanne muttered, taking her bag from the back seat. ‘We have to call them and tell them we found her. Horace gave me a card with their number. Should be here somewhere.’ After a little digging around, Leanne found the card in the bottom of her bag and handed it to Maddy. ‘Here, you call him.’

  ‘Why me?’ Maddy protested.

  ‘Because,’ Leanne said and took Gidget in her arms. ‘We’re going to get you back to Edwina, darling. Aunty Maddy is going to call the nice Horace and he’ll sort it.’ Gidget licked Leanne’s face and nestled into her arms with a contented sigh. ‘Oh, isn’t she sweet,’ Leanne cooed. ‘Like a real live cuddly toy.’

  ‘Don’t get too attached,’ Maddy warned. ‘We can’t keep her.’ She found her phone and dialled the number on the card. It rang several times before there was a reply.

  ‘Toadhead Manor,’ a haughty voice said.

  ‘Is that Horace?’ Maddy asked.

  ‘No. This is the butler. I will get Sir Horace for you. Who will I say is calling?’

  ‘I’m Maddy, one of the Irish waitresses who helped out last night.’

  The voice suddenly changed. ‘Oh, it’s you, dear girl. Horace here. Sorry about that. I have to make sure it’s not any of the tabloids. There’s a bit of a kerfuffle here today.’

  ‘Oh. Hope it’s not serious.’

  ‘Nothing much, really. Just Edwina having kittens about something as usual. What can I do for you?’

  ‘It’s about the dog. The little poodle. Gidget. She, well, she seems to have sneaked into our car last night, and we have only just noticed her.’

  ‘Oh. You found the dog.’

  ‘Yes,’ Maddy said, puzzled by the sudden chill in his voice. ‘Unfortunately, we can’t come back with her, so I was wondering what we should do? Maybe leave her at a police station in Oxford? Then you or Edwina might come and get her?’

  ‘No,’ Horace said.

  ‘What?’ Maddy stared at Leanne and made a what-the-hell face. ‘What do you want us to do with her, then?’

  ‘Keep the bitch,’ Horace said and hung up.

  * * *

  ‘What did he say?’ Leanne asked.

  ‘Keep the bitch.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘That’s what he said.’ Maddy stroked Gidget’s silky fur. ‘Maybe we should. I’d love to keep her. She’s adorable.’

  Leanne hugged the dog to her bosom. ‘I know. So cute. But you have to call him back. We can’t take a dog on the ferry.’

  ‘Why not?’ Maddy asked, an idea forming in her mind. ‘I was just thinking what a terrific mascot she’d be. And how great she’d look in all the photos. Nothing like a dog to attract attention on the Internet. I’m sure we’ll go viral if we have her as our star.’

  ‘You’re nuts,’ Leanne said. ‘We can’t take a dog on a ferry to Holland. It’s against the law. She needs a passport and microchips and stuff like that. We could end up in jail. Go on, call your man now and tell him it’s not possible.’

  Maddy sighed. ‘Oh, okay, then.’ She dialled the number. When Horace answered, she started to talk very fast. ‘Listen, Horace, we can’t keep this dog. She belongs to Edwina’s friend who, I’m sure, will want her back soon.’

  ‘No,’ Horace said morosely. ‘We have to keep her for the summer. I tried to make Edwina see reason, but she wouldn’t listen. I’d be eternally grateful if you could keep the little monster for the next few weeks, at least.’

  ‘But why?’ Maddy asked, confused. There was a note of panic in Horace’s voice that seemed odd considering the size of the dog. ‘What have you got against her? I mean you have two ginormous Great Danes, so what harm can an itsy bitsy little poodle do?’

  ‘Plenty,’ Horace snarled. ‘All over the house. And she’s been at my prizewinning hens too. Not to mention that she sleeps in our bed and farts all night. Possibly the result of being fed foie gras and smoked salmon. Edwina dotes on her and baby talks to her. I can’t stand it any more. When she disappeared last night, I was hoping she’d never come back. Please, please keep her. At least a couple of weeks. I’d be willing to pay.’

  ‘But we’re on our way to Holland,’ Maddy cut in. ‘We’re on a long journey around Europe. We can’t take a dog without a passport with us to the continent.’

  ‘Ah, but she does have a passport,’ Horace said, a note of triumph in his voice. ‘Just look in the glove compartment. And she’s been microchipped too. She was supposed to travel with the owner, but it turned out the husband didn’
t want her, so Edwina volunteered.’

  ‘What?’ Maddy exclaimed. ‘So you put the dog in our car?’

  ‘I’m afraid I have to plead guilty to that one. You must have been tired. You forgot to lock that wonderful machine.’

  ‘Oh, feck.’

  ‘A lucky break, I’d say,’ Horace remarked.

  ‘I could contact Edwina and tell her what you did,’ Maddy said.

  ‘Please don’t.’

  ‘But she must have told the owner the dog is missing by now.’

  ‘No, she hasn’t. Too chicken to face the wrath of that particular woman. Edwina won’t say a word until she has to. When the dog is found or her friend returns – whichever comes first. Edwina might even tell her the dog caught some kind of flu and died.’

  ‘She wouldn’t.’

  ‘You don’t know Edwina. But there’s something else…’ Horace’s breathing became laboured. ‘I didn’t want to alarm you, but I haven’t been very well. Heart trouble. I’m having surgery in a couple of weeks. I need peace and quiet until then.’

  ‘Oh,’ Maddy said. ‘I’m so sorry. Okay… I’ll consult with Leanne, and if she says yes, we have a deal.’

  Horace heaved a huge sigh. ‘Splendid.’

  ‘Just one thing before I hang up. What if Edwina sees pictures of the doggie on the Internet? We might include her in some pictures for a website we’re taking part in, you see.’

  Horace let out a laugh. ‘Edwina hasn’t a clue about the Internet. Or computers. She wouldn’t know a laptop if it bit her in the arse.’

  Maddy couldn’t help giggling. ‘Okay, then. I think we can help you out. But only for the month, okay?’

  ‘You have saved my life, darling girl,’ Horace said and hung up.

  ‘What was that all about?’ Leanne asked after Maddy had put her phone away.