As they climbed up to her bedroom, it struck Meredith that all was not well here. Steph and David had chosen this life, following a dream of living in France; apparently running a B&B was the number one dream of all Brits moving to France. But it was a demanding business, and by the looks of things, it was overwhelming them.

‘Come on, sit down, you’re exhausted,’ Meredith insisted.

‘It’s been a bit of a heavy week. Those LeBruns are very demanding, always wanting something new. And they do have five children. To be honest, it’s the one downside of running somewhere like this.’ She took Meredith’s hand and squeezed it. ‘You don’t know how great it is to be able to admit that. It’s so lovely here, and David is really patient. I just feel so guilty that I’m always so bad-tempered these days! Anyway, forget about me. Tomorrow we’ll ring Jo and be three Meads girls together! Maybe we can persuade her to hop over while you’re here. You could always share a bed . . .’ She chuckled at Meredith’s shocked expression. ‘I don’t mean it, you idiot!’

Meredith clinked her champagne glass against Steph’s. ‘Long live good old Meads. I wonder what it’s like now? They’ve probably got en suite bathrooms!’

‘And underfloor heating,’ laughed Steph. ‘Do you remember how bloody freezing it was?’

‘Do I?! I used to get dressed in bed!’

They giggled away, bonded by the memory of that tougher era, until Steph found herself yawning unstoppably, suddenly overcome by tiredness. She tried to suppress it, but Meredith couldn’t help noticing. ‘Come on – drink up and get yourself off to bed.’

‘But you’re only here for a little while,’ Steph sighed.

‘There’s plenty of time. Do you get any time off tomorrow morning? I’d like to walk along the river and find the château, if that’s OK with you.’

‘St Savarin? It’s about a mile away. Yes, that’d be lovely.’ She hugged Meredith one last time. ‘Eleven o’clock? Then I could get the dinner sorted first.’

‘Perfect. Sleep well.’

‘I will. See you in the morning.’

When she’d gone, Meredith opened her French windows and stood on the balcony for a moment. All didn’t seem to be well in the Adams household. It was just as well she was a solutions woman – they clearly needed some solutions here.

Two

Guillaume, the barman of the Café de la Paix, stood behind the bar twirling his moustache in the small mirror he kept for this very purpose.