Page 104

Polite. Stay polite.

Madame Gombert gave me a warm smile and clasped my outstretched hand, her amber-colored eyes twinkling.

“Hello, Emily. Welcome to Le Manoir Des Noyers,” she said in English but with a strong French accent. “Come, you are tired and thirsty after your journey.” She put her arm around me and led me up the stone steps into the hallway.

I liked her immediately.

The hallway was wide, with a stone floor and a steep stone staircase with an iron balustrade that led to the upper floor. She took me into the kitchen, which had a well-worn pine table, with twelve chairs around it. Behind the table was one tall picture window that looked out on to the front driveway. The kitchen was decorated in a pale yellow with old pots and pans and curios on the wall. There was an enormous fireplace, which was swept clean, and piled high with logs. A couple of steps led up to the kitchen proper where there was a range oven, two sinks, several cupboards and a window that looked out on the field behind the house.

Madame Gombert handed me a glass of lemonade. “Cîtron pressé,” she said. I took a sip, and the tang of lemon was delicious and refreshing. “This should put some color back on your beautiful face,” she said, and her compliment warmed me to my toes.

Dylan brought in our cases, put them in the hallway, and followed Lulu into the kitchen. Madame poured both of them a drink.

“Emily can sleep in the upstairs front room on the left. Lulu and I will be in the usual room,” Dylan murmured.

Madame smiled at them, though she looked with ill-concealed curiosity from one to the other.

Lulu put her empty glass down and said in French, “Thank you, Madame. I’m going to change and take a swim in the pool.” She turned to me. “Emily, do you want to swim?”

“I don’t have a swimming costume. I left them in Kent.”

“Why didn’t you say?” Dylan asked.

I shrugged.

“You can borrow one of mine. Come.” Lulu smiled.

I glanced anxiously at Dylan, who shrugged.

My bedroom had a large ornate brass bed, and was newly decorated in fine shades of pale blue. Placing my small suitcase and bag on the bed, I looked out of the window. I could see down the driveway toward the village. In front of the house, opposite the road, there was a field of sunflowers and behind that a wood of many different greens that clung to the rolling hillside. The view was idyllic.

From my bag, I retrieved the photo frame with the picture of my family and put it on the bedside table when Lulu bounded in with two bikinis.

She grinned. “Here, take your pick.”

“Bikinis?” I squeaked, and she smirked at my expression of alarm.

“Emily, you have a lovely figure when you’re not wearing your baggy sweatshirts.” She wrinkled her nose with distaste. “You’ll look great in either of these. Anyway, it’s only us here, and the pool’s very private.”

She dashed off to change, leaving me daunted at the scraps of material she’d left on the bed.

I chose the plain turquoise bikini, because there seemed to be more to it, and went into the en suite bathroom to shave and change.

“Are you ready?” Lulu called at my doorway.

Shyly, I came out of the bathroom, feeling exposed.

Lulu looked stunning. She wore a tiny red bikini that covered the essentials and that was all. Over it all, she had on a white see-through kaftan. With a towel tucked under her arm, her designer shades perched on her head, and white FitFlops, she was pool ready.

“I thought that color would suit you. You look amazing. Don’t be shy. Put a T-shirt on, if that helps.” She stood patiently while I grabbed my T-shirt, my flip-flops, and the towel that was at the end of the bed. Then I followed her back down the stairs.

Dylan was seated at the kitchen table in deep discussions with Madame Gombert. It looked serious. He glanced up as we passed the kitchen doorway but didn’t say anything. Lulu did not look his way.

Oh dear! How long are they going to keep this up?

Lulu turned right out of the front door and went through a small gate into a grassed area. Screened behind a line of small conifer trees and a wooden fence was a generous swimming pool, and around it were several sun loungers covered in blue-and-white-striped comforters. Lulu dropped her towel on one of them and took off her kaftan. She had the most glorious body. She tied her hair up so it sat on top of her head in a stubby ponytail. She looked fabulous. She always did; she had such effortless style.

She grinned at me. “It’s so hot here.” She raised her face to the blazing midday sun. “I love this pool. Come on, Emily, it’s always warm.” And she dived in elegantly at the deep end.