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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

I stand up, knocking over my wine, which spills over my legs. Rhi and Lou jump up too. I run to the front of the house. Ralph is barking and I can’t hear what Stephanie is saying. She’s out of breath from running and trying to talk and to hold back tears all at the same time.

‘What? What is it? Ralph, quiet!’ And for once Ralph does as he’s told.

Stephanie bends over, her hands on her knees, and takes a deep breath. Rhi runs out with some water. But Stephanie doesn’t take it and waves it away.

‘Is it Tomas? What’s happened?’

She shakes her head. ‘Not Tomas, he’s fine. He’s with JB at the clearing by the river. I couldn’t carry him.’ And I realize this is probably the first time she’s left JB with Tomas. So if it’s not Tomas, what or who is it? She takes a huge breath. ‘It’s Henri!’

‘Henri?’ we all exclaim, and stare at her.

‘I think he’s having a heart attack!’

THIRTY-EIGHT

When we arrive, out of breath and hot, Fabien is already there. The suitcases have been abandoned by the front door and Ralph has followed, running close behind us down the river path to the clearing.

‘JB came for me,’ he says, nodding to JB with Tomas in his arms. ‘The ambulance is on its way.’

I look at Henri lying on the ground, like a giant oak tree having been felled. His face is ashen. The man I’ve seen at the clearing, with the long beard and hair, and very kind eyes, is kneeling beside him.

‘Alain has given him the kiss of life,’ says Fabien. ‘Henri is very lucky he was here.’

I wonder what Henri was doing in the clearing.

Stephanie is beside me, tears running down her cheeks, her face racked with worry. Even Ralph seems to sense the seriousness of the situation and lies down beside Henri, as if to keep him warm.

I crouch and take his hand. ‘Stay with us, Henri. Just hang on in there.’ I’m willing him to hang on until the ambulance arrives. This man has been a lifeline to me since I moved here. And I’m not the only one, by the look on Stephanie’s face.

When the ambulance arrives Fabien explains who Henri is.

‘Do you want to go in the ambulance with him?’ a kind paramedic asks me in French, as I scramble to my feet. He and his colleague move Henri on to the stretcher and into the ambulance.

‘Um, well …’ I look at Fabien and then Alain, who has retreated back into the shadows of the big pine tree and the sofa.

‘You go,’ says Fabien.

‘We can look after things here, take Ralph back,’ says Rhi.