‘Come on, Furby!’ Lewis pumped the accelerator pedal. The sunshine streaming in through the windscreen was causing him to squint. At last the car sputtered into life and they made it onto the starting line.
La Pommeraye was a 2.5 kilometre hill climb and the trio of bizarre cars and film crew had attracted a large crowd of supporters who lined the closed circuit, cheering for each of the contestants as the cars raced by. Lewis and Bryony were the last to attempt the climb.
They waited by the lights, currently on red. It seemed to take an age for them to change.
‘Go… go… go!’ Bryony yelled as they tore up the hill past the spectators who waved at them. ‘Right bend!’ The car bore to the right, past a house outside which stood three children holding a sheet marked Allez Furby.
‘We have fans,’ said Bryony, clinging to the grab handle as they rejoined the main road and hastened past more fields. The circuit was an ordinary D road with some sharp bends and twists, railings to one side and all exits blocked off. It made for an exciting circuit although the furry Citroën was nowhere near as fast as the cars that usually competed in the annual hill climb.
Bryony adjusted her racing helmet. The strap was tight under her chin and she had to shout so Lewis could hear her commands. He could see the bends but it helped if she warned him of them too, given he had enough to manage with handling the vehicle.
There was no time to take in the fields of meadow flowers or the cows lazily grazing or the high banks of grass filled with people. Lewis was committed to finishing the race in the fastest time possible without crashing, and Bryony to holding on for dear life.
A bend to the left, another sharp one to the right and an inflatable bridge across the road bearing the name of the show. Cameras to the left and the right and cheering French people. They crossed the line.
Bryony high-fived Lewis. ‘Great driving.’
‘Bit different to that track day I did but not bad at all,’ he replied.
They climbed out of the car hoping they’d done enough to win the challenge.
Laura gave a tired smile. ‘Congratulations again, Oscar and Jim. I’m very pleased you got through too, Bryony and Lewis. It is a shame to say goodbye to Deepan and Mira on day four of this contest. I’ll miss them, but I’m also pleased the finalists are the people I’ve got to know the best. Right, we’re down to the last two teams. Tomorrow we’ll begin filming at the Château du Torquet, listed as a historic monument and built in the seventeenth century.’
There were appreciative nods from Jim.
‘You’ll be there over the next two days and take part in two quizzes. The first is a general knowledge quiz and the second is a category round. I’ll go through it tomorrow morning.’
Oscar yawned and stretched. ‘That’s good. I can’t take in any facts tonight. My brain has officially checked out and left the building and I smell after all that driving. I need to shower and change.’
Laura looked at her watch. ‘I won’t be joining you tonight for dinner but Roxanne will and so will Professor David Potts.’
Oscar let out a high-pitched squeal. ‘Really?’
‘Really,’ replied Laura. ‘He wanted the opportunity to get to know you a little before tomorrow. He’s not like a lot of celebrities who want to hide in their own hotel and get away from us all. He actually enjoys meeting people. I expect that’s one of the reasons he has such a tremendous following.’
Bryony threw a look at Lewis. His face was unreadable.
‘I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good time with David. We’re so pleased he’s hosting the show. It’s certainly helped boost ratings.’
Chairs scraped back and the room emptied, leaving only Bryony and Lewis.
‘Fancy getting a taxi into town and going to a café instead?’ asked Bryony.
‘That’s really nice of you but no thanks. You go to dinner. I’ll head off on a run. I’ve been sitting too long today. Some fresh air and a shower will make me feel better.’
‘I’ll bring you up a doggy bag then?’
He made a non-committal noise and went upstairs.
Bryony meandered through the back door and into the garden to drink in the evening warmth and reflect on the events of the day. She discovered a charming wrought-iron seat partly concealed by climbing roses and clumps of lavender, and she sat surrounded by peace. The heat from the late sun soaked into her body, easing her aches. She shut her eyes and sighed contentedly. She could definitely stay here forever.
‘Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.’
She opened one eye. Oscar was standing on the twisted path, camera in hand. Biggie, wearing a baseball cap back to front, urinated contentedly in a flower bed. He spotted Bryony and trotted over, tongue out, sitting obediently for a pat.
‘You’re not interrupting.’
‘Sorry you didn’t win today. I was mega surprised we won the hill climb. I’m normally not a speed merchant at all. I honestly believed we’d be going home and I was so shocked when we found out Deepan and Mira were leaving. I’d got used to them being around. They were really chilled out about everything.’
‘Honestly, I’m happy for you. Jim was euphoric. I loved that little dance you did together when you found out you’d won. We couldn’t have lost to nicer contestants,’ she replied. Lewis had taken the defeat badly. He’d been convinced they’d won the hill climb and been very quiet since the results had been announced. Professor Potts hadn’t helped matters. He’d made several barbed comments about Lewis’s driving and needled him further. It was little wonder he didn’t want to spend any time with the man. They’d not spoken again about Maxwell but she was sure it ate into Lewis every time he set eyes on his rival.
‘Look, I don’t want to be out of order but when we gave our interview tonight, I asked all of Biggie’s fans to look out for your sister. It might help. Maybe one of them has seen her or knows her.’
Bryony was dumbstruck.
‘I wanted to do something to help. I hope you’re not offended.’
‘No. No. Not at all. That was so sweet of you. Thank you.’
‘It was nothing. I love happy endings and I so hope you get one. That’s all. I better get changed now. See you at dinner.’
He jumped up and with a breezy gesture disappeared around the corner of the building. Bryony decided she too ought to change for dinner and wondered if she could persuade Lewis to join them. It would be much nicer if he were there.