So much lawn, thought Francis, and so much night lighting, disorienting the moths and bats. Although it was still quite early and none of the other guests were yet in circulation, most of the signs of last night’s party had already been dismantled and removed. He had promised Hunter that he would take a look around Le Plein Soleil and see what could be done to increase the biodiversity of the property. Ploughing up the lawn would be a good start. A field of mixed grasses, with mowed paths winding through it, would be filled at this time of year with wildflowers and poppies. Hunter had nine acres, an astonishing amount of land in the circumstances, but a relatively small amount in the context of wilding. The larger drama of this part of the Mediterranean landscape was its dryness and the abandoned, unmanaged scrub covering the hills and mountains a few miles back from the monstrously popular coast. It was a brittle zone, a fire hazard made more incendiary by the lack of animals, wild or domestic, to control the accumulation of leaf litter, pinecones and dead wood that made fires so violent and hot that nothing could survive their passage. The average amount of dead wood was three times higher than a hundred years ago, and after each fire, the rain washed away more topsoil making a poorer environment for the regeneration of pines and oaks.