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

We stand behind his chair and stare at the screen. Fabien, Carine and I are silenced by what we’ve just seen.

‘Cora!’ I say eventually. ‘I knew it was her all along. I just wanted Stephanie to tell me it wasn’t her.’ My fists are tight with fury. ‘But she needed me not to ask.’

‘You can see it clearly,’ says the mayor. ‘Here.’ He points to the screen as he reruns the footage. ‘She appears round the back of the hut, just as you are walking away with Fabien. Stephanie and JB are with Tomas, who has had enough for one day.’ He seems to chuckle. ‘She takes the box and slides it into Stephanie’s bag, there, by the door, where she dropped it when she went to Tomas.’

I’m so angry I can hear the blood whooshing in my ears! Not just angry with Cora, angry with myself for even questioning Stephanie or JB for a second!

‘She even takes her banner back as she leaves,’ he points out. She’s leaning into the water and dragging it out. ‘No doubt intending to be back with it again tonight.’

‘If only I hadn’t walked away,’ I say. ‘If I’d stayed at the clearing until we’d locked up, none of this would have happened.’

‘You were dumping me, remember?’ Fabien says drily, his joy at finding Stephanie conclusively innocent forgotten, his hurt evident. My cheeks tingle and burn – I’m not sure whether with embarrassment, regret or fury about Cora.

‘Yes,’ I say, hanging my head. ‘Very badly if I remember it correctly. I’m sorry.’

‘Sorry for dumping me or sorry for doing it so badly?’ He raises his eyebrows, his lovely green eyes shining again.

‘Both,’ I croak.

‘Okay, well, let’s sort out Cora, and then you two need to talk,’ says Carine. ‘Talking is always the best option.’ She smiles at the mayor and I wonder what decision she has come to and hope it’s right for everyone. ‘And to think it was Cora’s idea to put in the CCTV, to get rid of the homeless in the town.’

‘I think we can agree she’s about to be, er, hoist by her own petard!’ says the mayor. ‘You leave Cora to me and my police officers,’ he says.

‘In the meantime, there’s probably someone else you should speak to before you talk to me,’ says Fabien. ‘Would you like a lift?’ he says kindly. It’s all I can do not to hug him.

‘Please,’ I manage. I just hope Stephanie will agree to see me, because if she won’t, I don’t think I’ll be able to stay around here any longer. My time at Le Petit Mas will be over and all my happy memories destroyed. Which may be exactly what I deserve.

FIFTY-EIGHT