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Back Escape to the French Farmhouse Save as PDF
Chapters (79)
  1. COVER
  2. About the Author
  3. Also by Jo Thomas
  4. DEDICATION
  5. ONE
  6. TWO
  7. THREE
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. EIGHTEEN
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. TWENTY-SIX
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. TWENTY-NINE
  34. THIRTY
  35. THIRTY-ONE
  36. THIRTY-TWO
  37. THIRTY-THREE
  38. THIRTY-FOUR
  39. THIRTY-FIVE
  40. THIRTY-SIX
  41. THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. THIRTY-NINE
  44. FORTY
  45. FORTY-ONE
  46. FORTY-TWO
  47. FORTY-THREE
  48. FORTY-FOUR
  49. FORTY-FIVE
  50. FORTY-SIX
  51. FORTY-SEVEN
  52. FORTY-EIGHT
  53. FORTY-NINE
  54. FIFTY
  55. FIFTY-ONE
  56. FIFTY-TWO
  57. FIFTY-THREE
  58. FIFTY-FOUR
  59. FIFTY-FIVE
  60. FIFTY-SIX
  61. FIFTY-SEVEN
  62. FIFTY-EIGHT
  63. FIFTY-NINE
  64. SIXTY
  65. SIXTY-ONE
  66. SIXTY-TWO
  67. Epilogue
  68. Acknowledgements
  69. RECIPES
  70. Lavender shortbread
  71. Apricot jam sponge cake
  72. Lavender lamb
  73. READ MORE
  74. Prologue
  75. ONE
  76. TWO
  77. THREE
  78. FOUR
  79. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

Rhi looks at me, then at the plants, picks one up, digs a hole with her hands and puts the plant back. ‘Am I doing it right?’

I smile and nod. Lou, in her painting clothes, takes a plant and does the same. I sniff. ‘How about it, Tomas? Shall we plant the lavender too? Start again?’

And he nods. I just wish Stephanie was here with us.

We spend the afternoon replanting the lavender, in the heat. When we’ve finished those, we plant the ones Fabien brought from Serge. We’re much better at planting lavender than we are at painting and house renovation. We wear big straw hats against the afternoon sun, and the repetitive nature of the work seems to bring us comfort as we wait for news. In the middle of the afternoon, I hear a car pull up the drive. Fabien’s truck. I’m hot, dirty, and my face is still puffy from all the crying I did earlier.

Rhi takes one look at me and says, ‘I’ll go.’ Before I can say anything she’s run round to the front of the house, while I dust myself down. Tomas follows her, with Ralph.

I take a deep breath, lift my head and walk round the side of the house, in time to see Fabien’s truck disappearing down the drive in a cloud of dust.

Rhi turns to me and shrugs. ‘He wanted to know if there was any news of Stephanie,’ she says. ‘I told him Henri had seen her, but she hadn’t come home. He brought Tomas a present.’

It’s the rocking horse. And, by the look of it, Fabien’s given it a makeover. He’s even painted ‘Tomas’ on the saddle. Tomas is thrilled and is already climbing aboard. Ralph is looking at it warily – he has competition.

I don’t know what I was expecting from Fabien, but not the cold shoulder. Rhi is staring at me, and I know she’s wondering if anything has gone on. ‘It was just a kiss,’ I say quietly, even though it was so much more.

We walk around to the side of the house. My back aches, but I’m determined to finish getting the plants in. If nothing else, it stops me thinking about the mess I’ve made of things, and backache is the very least I deserve. Maybe I should just go home. Maybe this was a stupid idea.

As the sun sets, the sky turns a beautiful shade of blue, pink, and then purple, the colour of lavender again. At least I’ve started to bring lavender back to the mas: I will have done something good to leave behind, if I go, something that didn’t make more mess.

I walk into the cool kitchen and pour a glass of water. I offer Rhi and Lou wine, but no one’s really in the mood.