by Minna Howard
Xavier must have read something in her face for he asked. ‘Have you had any news from Hugo? He must almost have finished his trip by now.’
She looked away across the garden; she could feel his gaze on her. How should she respond? Why had she not gone up to Hugo? It was so strange; he was her husband, whom she loved, though in a peaceful way compared to her feelings for Xavier.
To her relief, the campervan now arrived back. Eadie got out and came across the lawn to join them.
‘Ah, Flora, did you have a lovely day?’
‘Yes, I went to the Citadelle.’
‘Oh, we love it there,’ Eadie said, ‘and the shops, I see you’ve been shopping. Bought some nice things?’ She eyed the bags with the excitement of a child.
It was a relief to talk of something safe and Flora took out her purchases, but now Xavier got up, saying, ‘I’ll leave you two ladies to it and go and check on Laurie. See you both at supper. It’s Martha and Sylvia’s last one. They are leaving in the morning.’
‘Oh, I didn’t know,’ Flora said, feeling the days were slipping by and she’d lost track. ‘So what about the cats? Who will look after them?’
‘I said I’ll look after them,’ Eadie said. ‘We are here for a few more days and we might even take them with us.’
‘Oh, will you have room for them all?’
‘We’ll see, but we must leave soon if we are to go on to Italy. We’ve friends we’ve promised to visit,’ Eadie said.
‘Yes, the days are passing,’ Xavier said as he left them.
Eadie said. ‘We discovered a lovely artists’ shop and I found everything I needed, so tomorrow I’ll get down to work. I might even be inspired to paint some more pictures.’
‘Sounds great, longing to see them.’ Flora had been about to get up and go to her room but Eadie obviously felt like chatting.
‘So what else did you do there? It must have been very crowded even though the summer season is nearly over. Not so much happens in September.’
‘I saw… Hugo,’ she heard herself saying as if confessing a sin to a priest.
‘Hugo? So he’s back?’ Eadie sounded pleased.
‘I don’t know and please don’t say anything… I just want to see what happens,’ she said, grasping Eadie’s hand.
‘My dear, of course I won’t, if you don’t want me to. You must have your reasons for this. You can count on me to keep any secrets.’ Eadie stroked her hand. ‘Relationships are tough, even the best ones, and there’s not much I don’t know about them.’
‘I was wandering in the street, looking for somewhere to eat and I saw him and Edmund, the man he’s meant to be sailing with, at a restaurant. They’d finished and were paying and I could easily have gone over to them, but I didn’t, I just watched them leave, and I don’t know why.’
Eadie was silent for a moment before saying. ‘You’ve got to find each other again. I understand you’ve hardly had any time living alone together and now that the most important task of your lives, bringing up children, is over you have to get back together again,’ she paused, ‘or not.’ Her eyes were kind, her hand warm and strong in Flora’s.
Flora said. ‘I understand that but I don’t know what Hugo wants, if he even wants to stay with me.’ She had an empty feeling in her, as if the very centre point of her life had vanished. Though it had not, she told herself firmly. She had a job she loved and could now give more time and energy to friends, interests, to her husband.
‘You must sit down and talk about it, be really honest with each other and see where it leads,’ Eadie said. ‘We all reach crossroads in our lives and we must face them full on.’
Before Flora could answer, Alegria appeared, yawning and stretching, from the villa. ‘Hi,’ she said sitting down beside them. ‘I’m so hot, I wish I could be bothered to change into my bathing suit.’
‘You could always skinny dip,’ Eadie teased her.
‘Not in front of everyone.’ Alegria looked shocked. Eadie laughed and picked up one of the straw bags Flora had bought for her daughters.
‘I love this, so colourful, I might buy one for myself,’ she said, admiring the flowers sewn on to the front.
‘I hope they’re not too bright,’ Flora said, remembering how pretty she thought they all looked arranged in the shop under the blazing sun. ‘They might look rather garish in a grey British winter.’
‘They’d certainly cheer it up.’ Eadie said.
‘What do you think, Alegria?’ Flora turned to her.
‘Pretty, are they for the girls?’ Alegria asked, arranging herself on her sunbed.
Eadie patted her arm before getting up. ‘Just going to find Susie and ask whether she minds if we stay a little longer while I finish the paintings. Also,’ she frowned, ‘Serge doesn’t think the van is very well. It might be nothing but we don’t want to break down on our way to Italy. Serge thinks it might need a new part. He can fix it if he can get one.’
Flora watched her go, feeling better after confiding in her. She wondered if Eadie would say something about it to Susie. There was nothing she could do, just wait and see if Hugo came back and then take her advice and try to get to grips with this new life stretching before them.
‘Please don’t say much to Susie and Matt about what happened when Jean Claude appeared,’ Alegria said quietly. ‘Ben’s saying nothing but you saw how over protective Matt is.’
Before Flora could respond Laurie burst upon the scene in his bathing trunks with Xavier close behind him.
‘Alegria, you promised you’d race me.’ Laurie, obviously completely recovered, jumped into the pool splashing them all. Alegria laughed, sat up saying that she was too tired to change, though at last she was persuaded to go and put on her bikini. She sauntered about in it, obviously knowing how good she looked. Flora thought it was probably for Xavier’s benefit, but he took no notice and came over and stood beside her.
He put a hand on her shoulder, smiling down at her, the proximity of his body sending hers into overdrive. All her good intentions of keeping their attraction for each other under wraps vanished.
She was about to lean back to be closer to him when they heard Eadie call out and looking round, she saw Hugo and Edmund walking across the lawn.
37
Xavier moved away from her and at the same moment Laurie flicked water at him making him jump back laughing.
‘Race you.’ Alegria jumped in and shot off down the pool, Laurie turning to follow her. All this gave Flora time to collect herself; she got up and went across the grass to greet her husband.
‘So you’re back. Good time?’ she said, feeling suddenly shy.
‘Yes, for a moment.’ Hugo bent and kissed her, the friendly sort of kiss you might give a maiden aunt.
‘Oh, are you off again, then?’ she asked, looking into his face, trying to gauge his mood. He looked relaxed, fresher, slightly tanned. He waved to Xavier and Alegria, embraced Susie and greeted Didi and Tony, who asked how things had gone.
‘The boat’s in dock,’ Edmund said morosely. ‘We had a few hairy moments when the engine wouldn’t work properly, kept cutting out, so it needs to be fixed before we go too far. We have sails, but they are not much good if there is no wind.’
‘Oh, bad luck,’ Tony said. ‘What sort of boat is it?’
Flora did not hear his answer because Hugo was handing over a cool bag to Susie. ‘I’ve bought this Camembert with truffles. Don’t worry about me for dinner. I’ve had a late lunch and Edmund is going back to his family.’
‘Oh, thanks.’ Susie opened the bag and at once the pungent aroma of cheese and truffles hit them. ‘This is delicious, thanks, but we have plenty of supper if you want some and you’re welcome to stay too, Edmund.’
Edmund said rather reluctantly. ‘That’s very kind, but my wife’s expecting me.’
I’m sure she is, with open arms, Flora thought bitchily.
Flora turned away and caught Xavier’s gaze. She was hit by a pang of sorrow and g
uessed he felt the same.
Flora hovered beside Hugo, feeling shy with him now he was back. How foolish she was to feel like this about her own husband. Or was it guilt?
‘Have you lost your mobile? Did it go overboard? I sent you a message.’ She said lightly.
She thought Hugo had a shifty look about him but before he could answer Edmund said. ‘No, we both thought we’d turn them off. It’s exhausting being on call all the time, you can’t truly relax.’
She felt anger rise in her. ‘You could have said you were doing that before you left,’ she said. ‘I was worried sick when I couldn’t get hold of you.’ She faced Hugo. ‘What if something had happened to the girls?’
‘But nothing did, and if it had, I’m sure they’d have coped,’ Edmund said, in the sort of voice a nurse might use to soothe a frantic patient.
Hugo looked awkward, his eyes not meeting hers. ‘No, I’m sorry, love. I should have let you know. We are both so stressed, and we thought… well, I should have told you.’ He touched her arm. ‘I’m sorry, what did you want me for?’
‘Just to know you were still alive,’ she said, walking away from him.
Laurie had got out of the pool now and hovered around, dripping, while Alegria went into the hut to change. Flora picked up her shopping and slipped into the villa, her thoughts in turmoil. Her mobile went and it was Ella.
‘Hi, Mum. How are things?’
‘Oh, Ella… how good to hear you.’ Her feelings of loss for her girls were so strong she almost cried out. She struggled to pull herself together and not alarm her daughter.
‘So, having a great time?’
‘Yes, it’s lovely here. How are you getting on?’
‘Yeah, but it takes some getting used to…’
Flora detected a downbeat note in Ella’s voice. Was her daughter’s dream over already? She hoped her own voice sounded encouraging. ‘New places always do, darling, but you’ll settle, meet new people. How is Isabel getting on?’
‘OK. She’s got this bloke, they’re mad about each other so I don’t see much of her.’
Flora guessed the scenario, the bane of poor Ella’s life. Her younger, incredibly pretty sister had a boyfriend and thus not enough time for Ella. Flora ached for her.
‘You might meet someone yourself and anyway, you have Becky.’ She mentioned her great friend who’d gone out there with them. ‘How is she enjoying life?’
‘Becky has met someone too.’ Ella sighed. ‘Everyone seems to be pairing up, only I haven’t met anyone – a boy I mean – I want to go out with.’
‘Better to be free than tied down by someone for the sake of it,’ Flora said, suddenly imagining herself with Xavier, close in each other’s arms. And yet she’d loved Hugo, surely still did love her husband, the father of their children.
‘That’s true, Mum.’ Ella sounded better, or was she just making an effort for her?
The bedroom door opened and Hugo came in. ‘Oh, here’s Dad. Do you want a word with him, darling?’ To her shame she felt relieved Hugo was here to take over. He and Ella had an extra special bond and she felt helpless with their daughter being so far away.
‘Yes… haven’t spoken to him for ages. I’ll be fine, Mum, just felt a bit down, wanted to touch base,’ Ella said, her voice stronger now.
‘Ella,’ she mouthed at Hugo. He almost grabbed the mobile off her in delight.
‘Darling Ella, so good to hear you, how are things?’ He lay back on the bed. Flora went into the bathroom, shut the door behind her, stripped off and turned on the shower to get ready for supper.
38
There was rather a jolly atmosphere at the supper table. Martha and Sylvia were leaving in the morning and Hugo had returned. He seemed rather more upbeat than he had before and it later transpired that he’d made a plan to visit Isabel and Ella in the States. This he threw to Flora as a sort of olive branch, taking her by surprise. They must look into dates to fit in with her job because she must be there for the opening of the new gallery, he said.
It was strange, Xavier thought, that the last meal together at the end of a holiday was often a cheerful affair.
Hugo’s return was being celebrated, at any rate by Susie and Matt. Susie had insisted Flora and Hugo sit together on his first night back but Xavier had sensed a slight reluctance on both their parts. Maybe he was just imagining it, even willing it to be so.
He felt sad tonight. The love he’d felt for Flora all those years ago had blossomed again. His heart had lifted the moment he’d seen her come into the garden on the night they’d arrived.
He sensed Eadie watching him from the other side of the table, resplendent in a flowing gown and with a spray of flowers in her hair rather like an elderly bride.
Watching Hugo and Flora, Xavier saw how stilted they seemed together, but then Flora was probably furious with him for going off and not keeping in touch. Darcy would certainly not have stood for it even if she had tended to play away when he was gone.
‘Did you get to Italy?’ Eadie asked Hugo.
‘No, sadly not,’ he said.
‘Oh what a pity. We hope to go soon. So, what happened?’
‘We set off from the marina,’ Hugo began, with the air of someone embarking on a round the world boat race, ‘and we’d gone a fair way, when Edmund realised the engine wasn’t working properly. He’d tried to fix it but… well.’
‘But you were away some days, what were you doing?’ Flora asked.
‘Yes, what were you doing?’ Ben jumped in. ‘You said the boat’s in dock.’
Xavier listened intently to this exchange. He’d seen Hugo follow Flora to their room and imagined that she would have questioned her husband already.
Hugo appeared a bit flustered. ‘We had to load up with provisions before we left. That took a day, and we were a bit late leaving, but we had a good day, day and a half on the water before things went wrong. We had to get the boat taken out of the water to see what had happened. It all takes time. You know that, Flora, you spent your youth mucking about with boats.’
‘I did,’ she said, saying something quietly to Hugo that Xavier couldn’t make out. It was obvious that she was not happy and his heart bled for her.
Darcy had contacted him this evening. Her father had started a new treatment, which made him very sick, and she was making nutritious soups and feeding him tiny amounts every hour or so, determined to fight all the way for him.
‘I don’t know when I’m coming back.’ Darcy sounded stressed. ‘Can you keep Laurie longer?’
‘Of course.’ He felt a surge of joy, before feeling ashamed. He liked her father and was sorry he was suffering. ‘So, is the treatment working?’
‘We don’t know, but it’s his last chance and he must take it. It’s hard.’ Her voice wobbled.
‘I’m so sorry, give him my best and stay as long as you need to. I’ll get Laurie to ring you later. He’s gone for a walk to the village with Alegria, Susie’s niece.’
‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘I’ll keep you posted.
When Laurie returned Xavier told him that his mother had rung and sent her love. He was afraid he might be upset that he’d missed her, but he just said, ‘cool’ and went on to describe their walk and the ice cream he’d chosen.
‘Alegria made me choose one I’ve never had before. She said I must be adventurous.’
‘And did you and what did you choose?’
‘Fraise, strawberry, and I had to ask in French.’
‘So do you now know all the flavours in French?’ he asked.
‘Oui, Papa.’ Laurie giggled.
The party round the supper table was now disturbed by a woman and a young girl coming into the garden.
Matt got up to greet them. ‘Hi, can I help you?’
‘We’ve just arrived here and saw your message about a cat,’ the woman said.
‘We hope it’s Mazy,’ the girl added, ‘but she didn’t have kittens.’
‘Well, she has now,’ Silvia said
coldly. ‘You are the first person to react to our notice and we are leaving tomorrow, so I hope she is yours.’
The girl took a step back but her mother was more forthright. ‘We were told about it by a neighbour who we saw by chance, otherwise we might not have known until the morning. We’ve just arrived from Britain. Mazy was meant to be being looked after by a housekeeper in one of the villas but they said she’d run off.’
‘Did they not see our notice?’ Silvia asked.
‘No, they don’t live in the village and don’t often go there.’ The woman looked annoyed. ‘The person who usually looks after her couldn’t do it this time.’
‘You better come and see,’ Matt said. ‘They are in our airing cupboard.’ He led the way into the villa with Sylvia close behind.
‘Well, that hopefully solves that,’ Martha said with a laugh. ‘I was beginning to worry that Silvia would hide them in her suitcase.’
‘Would she? Wouldn’t someone hear them meowing,’ Laurie asked, having wanted one of the kittens himself.
‘No, she knew she couldn’t really take them,’ Martha said. ‘They belong out here. They are French cats so let’s hope they do belong to those people.’
Xavier got up and said quietly to Susie that he was going to take Laurie to bed and, at the same time, Flora got up with Didi to help carry some of the plates to the kitchen. He watched her while he whispered to Laurie that it was time he went to bed.
‘Not tired,’ Laurie said, half asleep.
‘You can’t fall asleep over your plate. You’ll get gravy in your hair,’ Alegria said cheerfully. ‘See you in the morning and we’ll have another swimming race.’
‘OK,’ Laurie agreed reluctantly. ‘I want to say goodnight to the kittens too,’ he announced.
Xavier saw Flora come out of the kitchen into the garden and she glanced round before turning back into the villa. A few seconds later, he followed her with his arm round Laurie.
Hearing them, Flora turned. ‘Going to bed, Laurie?’ she asked.
‘Not sleepy,’ Laurie grumbled.