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TESS HESITATED BY THE drawing room door. They were bound to have heard Jack’s car and she guessed Charlotte would be eager to know how the evening had gone, but part of her would have liked to slink upstairs to her room and an early night. She was about to turn away when the door opened and Charlotte called her in, offering a glass of wine as an inducement. Tess walked in to see Andy asleep on the sofa and the television on low.
‘Bless him, he’s worn out. All that fresh air today, and running around after James. Come on, let’s go into the kitchen and we can chat.’ Charlotte held a bottle of red wine and two glasses and led the way to the kitchen where they perched on stools while Charlotte poured the wine.
‘I can tell from your flushed cheeks and the sparkle in your eyes you had a good time. So...?’
Tess grinned.
‘Yes, I did. Jack was...lovely. Interesting to talk to and an attentive host and the restaurant and food were great.’ She took a sip of her wine, trying to avoid Charlotte’s probing gaze. ‘Have you been to the Fleur? I can recommend it.’
Charlotte waved a hand.
‘Several times. It’s not the food I’m interested in, and you know it. Did he say anything about going out again?’ She leaned forward over the counter.
‘Yes, and earlier mentioned he might show me his house sometime.’
‘And?’
‘And what?’
‘Are you interested in “dating”?’ Charlotte asked, signing quotation marks in the air with her fingers.
Tess swallowed more wine while she thought about it. Did she want a relationship as she was about to start a new job and while in the middle of a major house renovation, being carried out by the said possible boyfriend? It wasn’t great timing, no, and what happened if they fell out? Tess looked up to see Charlotte staring at her, her lips twitching in amusement.
‘What’s funny?’
‘You. I can read your face like a book and you’re weighing up what to do, all the while knowing full well you want to go on seeing Jack and can hardly wait to get into bed with him.’
Tess spluttered, drops of wine dripping down her chin.
‘You’re impossible, Charlotte!’ she managed to say, dabbing at her face with a tissue thoughtfully handed to her by Charlotte.
‘I’m also right, and there’s no point denying it. But I’ll stop teasing you and go and wake up my husband so we can all go to bed. Sweet dreams,’ she said, blowing her a laughing kiss as she left.
Tess couldn’t help smiling. Her friend was right so she might as well admit it and go upstairs and hope for ‘sweet dreams’.
She woke the next morning after a somewhat restless night, with no recall of particular dreams, only a feeling of lack of sleep. Struggling to wake, the memory of Jack kissing her good-night made her smile. Okay, it wasn’t a proper kiss, but it had felt good to have him hold her for a moment. And if they did go out again, then the next kiss might be more thrilling. Hugging the thought to herself, Tess shuffled into the shower to start the day.
‘Morning. Enjoy yourself last night?’ Andy asked, looking up from the Sunday newspaper spread over the kitchen table.
‘Yes, I did, thanks. Lovely meal. You were conked out on the sofa when I came home,’ Tess said, grinning.
Andy rolled his eyes.
‘God, I’m already turning into my father, falling asleep in front of the television. Makes me feel old and Charlotte’s offered to buy me a pipe and slippers!’ A look of mock horror crossed his face, followed by a grin.
‘And where is your loving wife?’ Tess filled a mug with coffee and sat down beside him.
‘She’s taken James out for a walk, hoping to wear him out a bit before we go to Colette’s for lunch. He becomes over-excited when he’s with other children and seems to have a bit of a crush on Freya, Jeanne’s little girl.’
‘I’m looking forward to meeting everyone. I have vague memories of Nick, though he was so much older than Colette and me and probably thought we were a real nuisance. How old are Freya and Harry?’ She took a swallow of coffee, waiting for the caffeine to kick in.
Andy frowned.
‘I think Harry’s five and Freya must be three, I guess. Harry’s at school and considers himself quite grown-up compared to his baby sister, but he’s a nice kid, if a bit boisterous. Freya’s a sweet little thing and more like her mother.’
‘Sounds like it’ll be fun and the weather looks great,’ she said, looking at the sun streaming through the window. Andy nodded and went back to his newspaper, leaving Tess with her thoughts. Their peace didn’t last long as the kitchen door swung open and James rushed in, hurling himself at his father, who swung him, giggling, up in the air. Charlotte followed more sedately, her cheeks pink from their walk. After a fresh cup of coffee, she announced it was time to get ready for lunch at Colette’s and Tess returned to her room to freshen up. Downstairs again, Andy loaded up the car with what he referred to as The Toddler Essentials and Charlotte grabbed wine and a home-made dessert from the fridge.
‘We can hardly go empty-handed, can we? Thought we could pick up some flowers from a stall on the way to Bordeaux.’ Charlotte handed Tess the bag with the wine and dessert and managed to gather up James who had been running up and down the hall. Tess sat in the back with James, safely strapped in to his car seat and Andy drove. James kept chanting, ‘goin’ to see Freya’, as he gazed out of the window, his little hands tapping his legs. After a few minutes Andy turned up the sound on the car stereo, catching Tess’s eye in the rear window and winking. She grinned, preferring the melodic tones of Adele to James’s chanting.
As they drove along La Route de L’Ancresse, Charlotte asked Andy to pull in to a lane on the right. Attached to the wall were wooden shelves holding beautifully presented bunches of flowers and Charlotte bought a couple, dropping the money in the honesty box.
The scent of sweet peas and freesias accompanied her back in the car.
‘Gorgeous, aren’t they? I usually buy from this lady if I’m around here. I hope Colette likes them.’
‘Bound to. I’d almost forgotten the Guernsey tradition of selling home-grown produce by the wayside. Beats supermarket buys any time,’ Tess replied, sniffing the heady scent.
Andy rejoined the main road and carried on towards Bordeaux and five minutes later they drew up in their hosts’ drive, alongside a battered Land Rover.
‘Freya ’ere! Freya ’ere!’ James cried, struggling to get out of his seat.
Tess leaned across and undid his straps, pulling him into her arms.
‘Come on, James, I can’t wait to meet your friend, Freya.’ She waited for Andy to open the door and passed him the wriggling child before getting out of the car and helping Charlotte to unload the boot. James ran to the front door, opened by Colette who was holding the hand of a little girl, who promptly let go and flung her arms around James.
‘That’s the famous Freya, I presume?’ Tess grinned at Charlotte.
‘Yes, and she’s adorable. Isn’t young love sweet?’ she said, with arched brows.
Tess, laughing at the insinuation, followed her friend to join Colette and the others. After various hugs and kisses they all made it inside the house, with Colette ushering them to go straight through to the garden. Tess would have recognised Nick, he and Colette had similar dark blue eyes and shared a certain kind of ‘look’. He was laughing next to a dark-haired woman who could only be Jeanne, with a wide, open smile. Jonathan was running after a little boy who was a miniature version of Nick.
‘Hello, Tess, good to see you after all these years. Colette was so excited when you got in touch,’ Nick said, giving her a kiss on each cheek. Up close she saw the deeper lines in his tanned face and flecks of grey in his hair. ‘And this is my wife, Jeanne.’ He put his arm around Jeanne, pulling her closer.
‘Hi, Jeanne, nice to meet you at last. I’ve heard so much about you from Colette. And your gorgeous children.’ The women exchanged kisses and then they were joined by a red-faced Jonathan and Andy and Charlotte. As more greetings were swapped the noise level increased, made worse by the excited children running around the lawn.
‘I think we all need a drink, don’t you?’ called Jonathan, pushing his glasses up his nose.
He was answered by a chorus of ‘yes, we do’ and headed to a make-shift bar set up on the terrace. Tess joined the queue and chose a gin and tonic. It was likely to be a lively and long lunch. Realising Colette wasn’t outside she went in search of her, finding her, as she might have guessed, in the kitchen finishing off the preparations for lunch.
‘Hi, do you need a hand? You shouldn’t have to manage alone.’
Colette looked up from the salad she was preparing and smiled.
‘To be honest, while Rosie’s enjoying her nap, I love nothing better than messing around with food. So calming and...and grounding when you’ve had little sleep. Anyway, there’s not much needs doing. You should be mingling, getting to know people; that’s why I invited you all round. Have you spoken to Jeanne yet?’ She carried on slicing avocados and tomatoes like the pro she was, leaving Tess with knife envy.
‘Only briefly, it was becoming a little noisy with the children screaming their mutual delight at being together. She seems nice and they make a great couple, don’t they?’
‘Yes, and they’ve been so generous to me. Did I tell you Nick as good as financed my restaurant?’ Tess shook her head and Colette went on to tell her how, after Nick and Jeanne became a couple, he let his sister have the proceeds from the sale of his cottage to start her business.
‘What a wonderful gesture! No wonder you’re all so close.’ Tess sipped her drink, wistful as she thought of Clive in Canada. They’d been such good mates and as they’d grown older, he’d been the one to look out for her, as Nick did with Colette.
‘Hey! You’re looking sad, not allowed under my roof. What’s the problem?’ Colette asked, touching her arm.
‘Nothing really, just missing Clive. Canada’s so far away and I envy you having Nick so close.’
Colette pulled a face, saying, ‘I am lucky, I know. My family’s not spread their wings like other local families. But hey, Clive’s doing well you told me, so he might come over for a holiday sometime. Now,’ she added briskly, ‘cheer up and go and chat to Jeanne. She’s dying to know all about your house and what you’ve found. I scent a new book idea for our favourite local author.’ Colette grinned, shooing Tess away with her hands.
Back outside she found Jeanne and Charlotte huddled together, their heads close, while their menfolk played with the children at the bottom of the garden. Tess smiled. A bit of peace.
‘Ah, there you are! Come on, I’ve been telling Jeanne about your wonderful inheritance and she’s been all ears.’ Charlotte beamed at her and Jeanne moved to make room for her on the garden bench.
Tess was happy to answer Jeanne’s questions, catching the gleam of interest in her blue eyes. The world of writers was new to her, but it was clear Jeanne and Charlotte were dedicated inhabitants, with Jeanne having now published several books, both fiction and non-fiction.
‘I’ve always focused on the German Occupation in my historical books, but Charlotte sparked an interest in me about Victorian Guernsey when she wrote her latest. And what you’re telling me about Eugénie and Hugo is absolutely fascinating. Definitely cue for a book,’ Jeanne said, leaning forward
‘See? I said she would be interested, didn’t I?’ Charlotte said, tapping her aristocratic nose.
‘We don’t know the whole story yet so it might turn out to be less exciting than we think. But I’m happy to fill you in once we’ve read the diaries, which won’t be that soon as it’s hard going translating from the French.’
‘Thank you, depending on what you find, it might form the basis of either a novel or non-fiction. Hugo’s such a popular figure, either way it’s got legs.’ Jeanne twisted her hair round a finger, looking thoughtful.
Their conversation was interrupted by Colette calling out that lunch was ready and could they come into the dining room. The men rounded up the children, while the women went indoors clutching their glasses.
‘I thought the children could sit together at their own little table if you’re happy with that?’ Colette said, pointing out a small table set for three.
‘Great idea, James has come along really well with his eating and being with the older two might make him feel more grown-up.’ Charlotte watched as her son proved eager to sit next to Freya and the mothers grinned at each other. The adults sat at the table to enjoy their starters and Colette positioned a baby-monitor nearby to listen out for Rosie. Tess and her friends tucked in to insalata tricolore served with crusty bread and the conversation around the table became animated. By the time they had finished the main course of coq au vin Tess felt as if she’d known them all her life. Colette, walking past her to check on Rosie, whispered in her ear, ‘All right? Are you enjoying yourself?’
Tess turned and whispered back, ‘Absolutely. They’re a great bunch.’
‘Good, another time you must bring Jack, I’m eager to meet him. Charlotte says he’s a dish and I’m surprised you didn’t tell me about your date last night.’ Colette’s eyebrows rose in enquiry.
She felt her face flush. ‘I didn’t want you reading too much into it. He took me out to dinner to thank me for what I’d done for Larry. Wasn’t a date as such.’ She sounded unconvincing to her own ears and by the look on Colette’s face, she didn’t believe it either. Grinning, she squeezed her arm before going up to Rosie’s room. Tess was left wondering why it was women were so keen to see their girlfriends hooked up with men. Perhaps it had something to do with the overdose of domestic harmony surrounding her. Catching sight of the three children squealing with delight at each other’s company, she thought they may have a point.