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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

Henri walks back into the kitchen, as if revisiting somewhere he used to know well and taking in how nothing but everything has changed. He nods his approval and pulls out a bottle of red wine from the rack.

‘Um, are you supposed to be drinking?’ I ask.

‘This is France, dear girl. It’s practically recommended.’

I’m sure that’s not true, but I don’t argue. Nor do I attempt to step in as he struggles to release the cork. Eventually he succeeds, to his own relief.

He brings three glasses and puts them on the table, as if trying to fit into an old suit he used to wear. Not that I’d ever seen Henri in anything other than chef’s whites, because he was always working. He pours three glasses, then sits and raises his.

‘To good health, good friends,’ he looks at me, ‘and new beginnings.’ He gazes at Rhi, who blushes.

‘Now, ma chérie,’ he says, ‘tell me everything that has been happening. And I mean everything.’

Henri is back and everything will return to how it was. I feel a huge sense of relief as so much responsibility lifts from my shoulders.

FIFTY-FIVE

‘So, you see,’ I say to Henri, after I’ve told him nearly everything. I don’t tell him the details of the night Fabien and I spent together. But I do tell him how I fell in love with him, and have hurt him more than I could ever have imagined. I was trying so hard not to get hurt myself that I have hurt the one person I really loved. I sigh, and so does Henri.

‘She’s a proud young woman is Stephanie,’ says Henri, nodding.

‘But I didn’t think she’d do that. I just wanted her to reassure me, tell me it wasn’t her, and we could find out what really happened. I should have told her I knew it wasn’t her. But she didn’t give me the chance. She assumed I’d suspect her. But I know she wouldn’t have done it to me. I just need to find a way of making her understand that.’

He pats my knee reassuringly. ‘Parenting young adults is like trying to navigate a stormy sea. We don’t always get it right.’

Is that what I’ve been? Like a parent to her? Henri smiles, and suddenly that’s exactly how I feel. Like a parent who messed up.

‘It will be okay, Del. Just give it time.’

I sniff, take the paper napkin Henri hands me and blow my nose. Then I straighten myself, feeling like a boxer who has been knocked sideways and is still reeling. I’m wishing I could fight just one more round, but I’m not sure I’ve got the strength or the skills.

‘Del, you have done such a wonderful job here,’ says Henri.