Franck had noticed how carefully Alpha had sniffed them when they got out of the car. The dog had gathered lots of information and taken it in, without them even realising, and would already have been able to find them anywhere in the hills, in the forest. With their scent, he could either hunt them down or rescue them. The dog’s head was resting on his knee and Franck felt closer to him than ever before. He drank a large glass of the infusion Lise had made by immersing various plants in the big jug of water. He looked at the little posy undulating in the glass pitcher; it was like a flowering tea. With the dog at his side, Franck was reminded of the fundamental ambiguity of life. It wasn’t about being the good guy or the bad guy, just as business wasn’t about submitting or attacking; it was a question of balancing two opposing sides. That duality is inherent in every animal. The sweet cat that purrs when you stroke it becomes a pitiless murderer of field mice once it’s outside. Just as you can sometimes catch a flash of anger in the sleepy poses of wild beasts at the circus, and the submissive paws they put on their tamers’ backs can take the head off a buffalo. Many hidden instincts lie dormant in even the most affectionate animals; legs ready to run, jaws ready to grip prey and teeth ready to tear it to pieces.

*

Liem and Travis came back down from their room, followed by Lise. They seemed more mellow since she had shown them around. Franck noticed that they were suddenly relaxed and revived, friendly and alert. They were smiling. They walked over to the outside table where Franck sat. Lise told them she’d made another cold drink with herbs, herbs she had picked in the meadow and left to infuse. She had been trying out all sorts of odd things since they arrived, and Franck was always slightly worried that one of the plants might turn out to be poisonous.

Travis glanced at the dog sitting at Franck’s feet, while Liem, evidently more interested in animals, went up to him but couldn’t decide whether to bend down or not. He didn’t dare stroke him.

‘Can I?’

‘Have a go and you’ll see.’

‘Your dog is strange, it’s like a wolf.’

‘He’s a bit of both.’

‘When did you get a dog?’

‘It was the dog who adopted me.’

As for Travis, he couldn’t get over the house and its setting, ‘You were right, Franck; this place is insane. There’s something about it, I don’t know what, but something.’

‘Maybe it’s because we’re going to sign the contract here,’ replied Franck, casually returning to the reason for their visit.

‘You know what, I completely forgot to bring the champagne. Have you got any here?’