She went into the dining room to find the table had already been laid. Before she had time to comment, David was at her elbow with a glass of white wine. He was obviously trying really hard. She decided not to dwell on why this might be, but she knew he still wasn’t being honest about something. Well, it had better lie till Ronnie and Nicky were safely departed.

In the afternoon, to Steph’s relief, they wandered into the town, only returning in time for a quick bath and tidy-up before coming down to dinner.

‘Do we really all have to sit together?’ Ronnie enquired in a loud whisper.

‘It’s part of the ethos in a chambre d’hôte,’ David pointed out gently. ‘People come to us because they like to meet other people. Almost like a big dinner party, as somebody said once.’

‘I hate dinner parties.’

‘Come on, Mum,’ Nicky wheedled. ‘You only hate them because you hate cooking. Tonight someone else is cooking and you can be free to chat to all these nice people.’

‘Think of the Queen,’ murmured Steph as she served drinks for David to distribute. ‘She has to mix with all sorts of types and she always looks so gracious.’

‘That’s all very well,’ Ronnie replied in a martyred tone. ‘But a lot of these people are French!’

Thirteen

‘Oh, Mum, it’s absolutely perfect!’

Nicky stood at the top of the sweeping stone staircase that led from the château down to the terrace below. ‘Can’t you just picture me in my gorgeous Pronovias mermaid dress? Everyone will be blown away!’

‘What?’ gasped Ronnie. ‘Those dresses from Barcelona that cost more than a Spanish holiday?’

‘Everyone wears one these days,’ Nicky shrugged.

‘Not everyone, Nicola. I saw one from Zara in Marie-Claire for £39.99.’

‘Maybe you think I should get mine in Oxfam,’ flashed Nicky angrily. ‘And save the world at the same time!’

‘What a wonderful idea,’ Ronnie replied without even a shade of humour.

‘Don’t worry,’ Nicky told her. ‘I’ll get Dad to pay!’

‘Good luck with that!’

Meredith, Jo and Sophie, who were standing by ready to answer any questions, tried to avoid each other’s eyes in case one of them started to giggle and set the others off till they collapsed in a quivering heap. Definitely not good for business.

‘Would you like a full tour?’ suggested Sophie brightly. ‘We could start in the dungeons, or donjon as the old duke calls them. This really is a medieval castle, you know.’

‘To be honest,’ Ronnie replied, looking bored, ‘I’d rather just see the parts we’d use for the wedding.’

‘Fair enough. Let’s just run through the whole experience, shall we? Would you be wanting to have family staying in the château rather than a hotel?’