‘Me? I’m lurching from one disaster to another here!’

‘No, you do what you think is right at the time. You were right about leaving Ollie and you were right to stay here,’ says Lou.

‘And about Stephanie and JB,’ says Rhi.

‘You won’t go until you’ve said goodbye to her, will you?’

They smile and shake their heads.

‘What if we had another go at getting the chambre d’hôte business up and running? You could stay longer!’ I’m grabbing at straws.

‘Well, I don’t think our decorating skills are up to it. And where would the guests stay if we were taking up the bedrooms?’

‘True …’ I nod.

We gaze at each other sadly, wishing our time together hadn’t come to an end. But we all have to move forward and get on with our own lives.

‘What will you do when you get home?’

‘Go back to the business, maybe look at expanding and getting another shop. That would keep me busy,’ says Rhi.

‘I might book a cruise,’ says Lou. ‘Find myself a wealthy man to keep me in the manner I’d like to become accustomed to.’ We laugh, because if we don’t, we might cry.

‘And you?’ asks Rhi.

‘I’ll carry on doing the markets, and making the desserts for Henri. And I want to bring back the lavender field so I can make essential oil and soaps.’ Even thinking about being in the field, with the scent of the earth and the lavender, fills my soul with well-being and joy. I’m happy here, content, and that’s not a bad place to be.

‘There’s an afternoon flight we can get from Marseille,’ says Lou. The internet connection was obviously, disappointingly, behaving itself for once.

‘Best we get packing,’ says Rhi, busying herself as she always does when she’s upset. There’s a real reluctance in the air: none of us wants to say goodbye.