‘Her daughter – she’s in America or somewhere. That’s why we have the keys. Otherwise do you think I’d bother with all this?’

‘And Singapore, why is the telephone number for Singapore?’

‘How should I know?’

‘Sorry, Madame Dauclercq, I just want to make sure I understand. It is you that looks after the gîte?’

‘We help out, that’s all. My husband mows the fields, and believe me, you have to mow them every month at the moment, otherwise it would be a jungle up there, a jungle, I tell you. I hope you’re not expecting a beautiful lawn. You’ll see as you go up. Even when we cut it, it grows back straight away.’

Franck gestured to the barn and mischievously replied, ‘But I imagine that works out well for you; all the grass you mow for them makes hay for you, right?’

‘In a way … Let’s just say it suits everybody.’

‘And has anyone rented the gîte before us?’

‘The girl used to come for a bit in the summer, but they live a long way away. And then with children it’s impossible. I hope your children are older – or your grandchildren, I don’t know …’

Lise and Franck never knew what to say in this situation. As if they were at fault for not having children, as if it weren’t possible to not have children.

‘We don’t have children,’ said Lise, as casually as possible.

The woman found this strange, as strange as the big black car that had thrown up so much dust when it came into the yard, dust that was still floating in the air.

‘Then you’ll be fine, but it’s tough living up there; there’s no telephone, no heating and no pressure in the taps. And I should warn you that there’s a big open water tank behind the box trees, but you mustn’t drink from it or you’ll get cholera.’

‘I hope you’re joking …’

‘I’m telling you because that’s what everyone used to say. In any case, I wouldn’t give that water to my goats.’

‘Is it deep?’

‘Of course, it’s huge! It’s only animals that drink there – it attracts them. You’ll hear them at night, trust me, and sometimes they fall in. A drowning animal makes a lot of noise … Right, well, I have three rows of beans to pick, and I’m behind, what with the heat today …’

Lise answered with disconcerting good humour: ‘But that’s great! You know what, we’ll do our shopping with you. Can we get some beans from you?’