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

‘Maybe we should just pack these things now,’ he says calmly, seeing me caught between giving chase at Cora’s command and common sense. ‘It’s not worth getting too stressed about,’ he says. ‘It’s the end of market.’

‘Not worth getting stressed about? It’s the thin end of the wedge! No wonder we have problems round here with that attitude.’ Cora marches off, skidding on a macaron. Her friends follow her, frowning in Henri’s direction.

‘Come,’ Henri says, leading me back to his bistro. ‘Let me help you clear up.’

‘Shouldn’t I tell someone what just happened?’ I ask, thinking maybe I should at least report it to the woman from the mayor’s office.

‘Sometimes people do things because they have to. They don’t mean to hurt anyone. That young person didn’t mean any harm,’ he says, with real kindness. ‘Here, let me give you lunch by way of making it up to you.’ He holds up a hand at my hesitation. ‘I insist,’ he says, and I can’t help but smile at his kind offer.

I fold the tablecloth and stack the table and chair ready to go back to Fabien. I tie Ralph to another chair, this time outside Henri’s bistro, and give him a bone Henri has found for him to chew. Then, I pick up all the runaway macarons from the doorways of the shops opposite and sweep up those crushed underfoot with a broom borrowed from Henri. As I sweep, I spot something out of the corner of my eye. It must be what fell out of the shoplifter’s pocket, I think, as I reach down and pick it up. I stare at it and shove it into my own pocket. I have no idea what to do with it, but it must mean something to someone.

THIRTEEN

I sit outside Henri’s, at a table for two, next to the wooden railing with rectangular window boxes along the edge, filled with red geraniums, that denotes his terrace. As lovely as it looks, I’m feeling a little uncomfortable. This is a first for me. I have never eaten in a restaurant on my own before. I look around. Plenty of others are alone. Men and women. Not on their phones, they’re focusing on their food and taking in the passing world in front of them. I sit back and try to relax, letting the sun massage my face. Henri puts a small jug of rosé in front of me, then pours me a glass and tells me, ‘Enjoy!’

‘Are you going to join me?’ I ask, then realize I may be giving out the wrong signals.