‘I’ll come and help pick if I’m around.’

‘Betsy will be delighted to hear that.’

‘Just Gran?’ He gave me a cheeky smile.

‘Me too, obviously. Many hands make light work.’

‘I see. You just want me for my muscles.’

‘Amongst other things,’ I said coyly.

‘Oh, yeah?’

‘Your sausage,’ said Didier smugly, appearing again and pointing to the untouched one on my plate. ‘I thought it might beat you.’

He topped up our glasses with a gracious smile even though I’d barely touched mine and looked most put out when we both collapsed with laughter.

‘About the harvest …’ said Jensen carefully. ‘I suppose once the grapes have been pressed and the crop is in, we ought to start thinking about putting the vineyard up for sale. Gran only wanted to stay until the end of the season.’

My stomach lurched instantly.

‘I don’t want to think about it. Even if you do put it on the market, the wine in the tanks will still need to be looked after, the 2016 vintage will be ready to sell, the 2017 vintage will be ready for its dosage, there’ll be so much to do …’ I felt a lump in my throat at the thought of leaving it all behind.

‘I know, Lottie.’ He gave me a sympathetic smile, checked his watch and signalled for the bill. ‘But there’ll always be something to do, whenever we try to find a buyer.’

‘In my head I’m already planning for the 2018 vintage,’ I said excitedly. ‘I’ve been talking to Sidney—’

‘You’re still in touch with him?’

I nodded. ‘Weekly. He’s got a wealth of knowledge, and as his own family don’t seem to want it he’s happy to share it with me. I happened to mention that we use less Pinot Meunier in our sparkling wines than the other two varieties even though it makes up a third of our vines, and a couple of days later I received two bottles of still white wine from him: Pinot Meunier. Guess what?’

He looked amused by my eagerness. ‘What?’

‘It was fantastic. Flinty and just the right side of acidic with notes of currants and cherry.’

‘I’ve never had a still Pinot Meunier.’ Jensen’s forehead crinkled thoughtfully.

‘Exactly!’ I felt a fizz of enthusiasm, maybe if I could get him to see a way to take the vineyard in a new direction, he’d see the business as a challenge instead of simply his grandfather’s achievement. ‘It hasn’t taken off here. Yet. We could lead the way. And pink sparkling. Not that that’s new, but we should do it. Pink is in. Look what it’s done for gin!’

A waiter appeared with the bill and a card machine. I reached for my purse but Jensen waved it away so I carried on talking while he paid.