She’d only been away for less than a fortnight, but so much had been achieved. The entertainment area had been pressure-washed and the picnic tables cleaned and put in place. The outside of the restaurant had been washed down, but peering through a window, Belinda could see the inside was still a shambles. Getting that ready for the season would be top of her agenda now, especially as Nigel had decided to employ staff to run it rather than lease it out.

Wandering on down through the site, Belinda stood and looked out over the river and remembered Fern saying something about an annual fishing competition. Fern. She needed to let her know she was back and arrange to meet up. See if she could give her any advice on how she should approach finding the missing link to her past.

As she turned to walk back past the cabins, BB bounded ahead happily and barked joyfully at Bernie sitting drinking a coffee at the table in his patch of garden. He raised his cup and pointed at it, looking at Belinda nodding and smiling. Belinda smiled back but shook her head, gently refusing what she took to be an offer of coffee. ‘Merci, Bernie, but non.’

If only he spoke French he could probably tell her something about the fishing festival. Maybe he liked to fish. Belinda remembered Fern saying she thought he understood simple French, he just didn’t like speaking it.

She gestured in the direction of the river. ‘Pêchez-vous?’

Bernie nodded vigorously.

‘Avez-vous pêche au festival de la pêche ici?’ Belinda said slowly and clearly.

Bernie’s face broke into a big smile at her words. He held out his arm and hand towards her, indicating he wanted her to wait and dashed into the cabin. Seconds later he was back and handed her a photograph of himself proudly holding a big fish and a plaque that said 1st Prize.

‘Félicitations,’ Belinda said, smiling as she handed the photo back. She tapped her watch. ‘Le travail. À bientôt.’

Leaving Bernie, Belinda made her way back to the office, hoping that Alain would be there and free to discuss the things in the file. Half an hour later, she was regretting that hope. They’d gone through everything, including the siting of the tree houses to replace the pods, except the plans for a newly refurbished restaurant. It was then the discussion turned into an argument.

‘There isn’t time to refurbish the restaurant for this season, so it makes sense to keep it as a basic café and employ a couple of people to work there for us. I’ve had an idea too about sourcing food, which I need to research more. Then, at the end of summer, we can organise a complete renovation,’ Belinda said. ‘After that, we can advertise its availability for functions in the spring.’

‘Functions? Why? And what sort?’ Alain almost snapped at her.