BooksBarbecue
Back Escape to the French Farmhouse
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

At that my fury and frustration at the unfairness of life bubbles up in me. I turn to Stephanie, then to Cora, who is smiling at me in triumph. She’s here to ruin all the work Henri has put in, and to make the lives of those who need a second shot at it even harder. Alain, no longer wearing Lou’s hat, starts to walk towards her. I stop him. ‘Here, hold that!’ I say, giving him the big pot. And then I march towards Cora, right up to her, until we’re toe to toe.

‘The mayor is fully aware of what’s going on here,’ she says, taking a step back.

In no mood for her spite today, I grab her placard, pull it from her hands and toss it into the river. I’ll retrieve it later. I just manage to stop myself pushing Cora in after it.

‘Now shove off, Cora!’ I say, sounding more menacing than I ever thought I could. ‘Or these hungry people, whom you consider trash, lower than low, will be forced to help you on your way. And you never know what people “like that” may do. I won’t be able to help you.’

The group takes a step forward. Cora looks at her friend, who drops her own placard, whips off her yellow vest and runs back down the path to town.

Cora looks like she’s chewing a wasp. ‘You haven’t heard the end of this,’ she says, wagging a finger at us all. ‘Savages! The lot of you!’ A dog barks, Ralph joins in, and Cora yelps, remembering yesterday’s dunking. She hurries off towards town, calling after her friend.

The group steps back and laughs, watching her stumble away.

‘Right, where were we? Dinner will be ready very soon.’

We go into the hut and it’s all hands on deck to get the plates out, liners in the bins, food on the hotplate to warm up. Alain is helping Lou and Rhi.

‘Um, excuse me!’ says a very English voice.

It’s Cora’s other friend. The one who always looks like she’s longing to get back to the UK.

‘You’ve missed them. They’ve gone. Sent packing,’ I say. ‘We don’t want any trouble. The only person causing it round here is Cora.’

‘Oh, erm, I’m not here for trouble. Actually, I was wondering if I could help. I think finding something worthwhile to do might help me settle in a bit.’

‘How long have you been here?’ I ask.

‘Seven years,’ she replies, her head hanging. ‘I thought mixing with the expats would make me feel at home, but … I don’t.’ She looks up. ‘I’d like to get involved with the town and thought I could help out here, washing up or something.’

Seven years of wishing she’d never left home!