Maxime was in his office when Alexandra called him. She had sent Henri and Stéphie away to see if there were any more eggs, promising them chocolate mousse if there were. Félicité was sitting on the sofa, looking pale and unhappy.
‘The children’s mother was here!’ said Alexandra, less calm now she felt she could be. ‘She wants to take them away to live with her. Only not Stéphanie. I didn’t realise she wasn’t actually related to the other two.’
‘Lucinda? Lucinda is here?’
‘She’s just arrived back. She’ll be staying with her mother, apparently. Where is the Count? Could he be asked to come home? And can I legally stop Lucinda taking Félicité and Henri?’
‘She can’t drag us out of here against our will,’ said Félicité.
‘Félicité says they don’t want to leave, but what’s the legal position?’ Alexandra asked.
‘I don’t know, but I can find out and I’ll cable Antoine and tell him to get home as soon as possible.’
‘Do you know when he might be here?’ asked Alexandra, hoping she didn’t sound pathetic. She was used to solving her own problems and needing help was disconcerting.
‘I can’t tell you that, I’m afraid, chérie, but don’t worry. He’ll come as soon as he can. I’ll send the cable now.’
Alexandra told Félicité what Maxime had said.
‘It’ll probably take at least four days for him to come,’ said Félicité, sighing. ‘He travels all over the world. He could be anywhere. China possibly. Although if it’s China it’ll take even longer for him to get here.’
‘Well, let’s hope it’s not China,’ said Alexandra. ‘Come and see if the others found some eggs. And even if they haven’t, I think we should make chocolate mousse anyway.’
A few days passed before they heard from Maxime that the Count was on his way home. Alexandra suggested they prepared David and Jack’s rooms, who were due to arrive the following evening. Rather to her surprise the children agreed and they set off to the rather distant part of the chateau where their new tutors were to stay.
Félicité found some wonderful antique, lace-edged bed linen in an armoire. Henri fixed a wobbly leg on one of the beds and Stéphie picked vases of flowers for both bedrooms and the bathroom. Henri said men didn’t like flowers, but Alexandra said that sometimes they did.
‘What will David and Jack expect me to do? Write essays and things?’ said Félicité, obviously a bit anxious about the impending arrival of her tutors.
‘I’ve never met Jack, but I expect he’ll be nice if he’s a friend of David’s. I don’t know what David is like as a tutor, but he was a very good friend to me in London. He had a flat at the top of the house where I lived, but he used to cook for me, he taught me to drive, he taught me all about antiques—’
‘But he wasn’t your boyfriend?’
Alexandra laughed. ‘No. He was more like an older brother, or an uncle. He was always giving me good advice. He was the one who taught me how to mend china, only I got better at it than he was quite quickly.’ She didn’t think it was appropriate to explain that there was another reason why David could never have been a boyfriend. ‘He’s quite a bit older than me, too.’
‘How old?’
‘About thirty-five, I think. Too old for me.’
‘Papa is thirty-five,’ said Félicité.
Alexandra thought about Félicité’s father. She had only met him that one time in Paris but he had made a big impression on her. And although she was five years younger than she had stated on her application form, she didn’t think he was too old for her at all. But of course, he would think that she was too young. Maxime was nearer her in age, so why wasn’t she thinking about him, instead of M. le Comte?
‘Do you like music? And maths?’ she asked.
‘Henri is brilliant at music,’ said Félicité. ‘Have you heard him play the cello?’
‘That was Henri? I have heard little phrases of music but I thought it was a record.’
‘He’s very shy about people hearing him play, but he’s very good. He should have proper lessons really.’
‘I’ll speak to your father about it,’ said Alexandra, feeling very remiss that she hadn’t known about Henri’s talent.
‘As for maths,’ said Félicité, ‘do they matter?’
‘I didn’t take any exams in maths but I know how to budget. Jack might expect a bit more of you than that. But I can almost guarantee that both David and Jack will be good teachers.’ Alexandra gave a rueful smile. ‘As long as your grandmother is satisfied, and your mother, of course.’
‘My mother!’ Félicité tossed her head. ‘She has no right to come here and demand that we live with her!’
‘Your father is coming and will sort that out, so you have no need to worry. Now, is there anything else you can think of that David and Jack might need?’
Alexandra and Félicité looked around the room together. It was sparsely decorated but with what Alexandra thought was a lit à demi-ciel which gave the room some grandeur. It had a high top, protruding about a foot from the wall, from which hung (somewhat threadbare) curtains. In England it would be called a half-tester bed, but she remembered one turning up on a stall on the Portobello Road when she was there selling antiques with David, and being given the proper name.
‘Grand-mère likes to dry her face on a linen towel,’ said Félicité, ‘but I couldn’t find any.’
Alexandra laughed. ‘They’re men, they’ll be fine with the towels they’ve got.’
As she and Félicité walked back to the kitchen, Alexandra asked, ‘Why isn’t there more furniture here? I mean, there’s enough, but it’s not full. Is there a reason?’
Félicité shrugged. ‘I know that Papa inherited the chateau and the title from his uncle. It happened before I was born, but maybe Papa and my mother just bought the minimum of furniture they needed then. I think my mother liked the idea of living in a chateau but didn’t really like living in the country.’
‘That would explain it, I suppose. Now, I wonder if we’ve got anything to eat except chicken?’
‘Chicken is what the farm produces,’ said Félicité. ‘That and a few pigs and sheep.’
‘David is a brilliant cook,’ said Alexandra. ‘You’ll enjoy his food, I promise. And he’s going to love the produce. You laugh at me getting excited by garlic at the market – he’ll go into ecstasies.’ She paused. ‘He can be a bit … flamboyant.’
Félicité laughed. ‘Grand-mère may hate him.’
Alexandra shook her head. ‘No, she’ll love him. He’ll make sure of it. I just hope his friend does the same.’
The following afternoon, Alexandra and the children were sitting at the table under the trees on the terrace at the side of the chateau, playing rummy, when two men pushed open the wrought-iron gates that opened on to the area. One of them called, ‘Anyone at home?’
Alexandra put down her cards and rushed over. ‘David! You’re early! I wasn’t expecting you until tonight!’ she said and threw herself into his arms.
After a few moments hugging and exclaiming, David said, ‘Lexi! You look different! When I saw you last, you were all elegant, like Audrey Hepburn. Now you’re a sultry peasant, in your off-the-shoulder dress and bare feet. More like Brigitte Bardot.’
Alexandra laughed. She had missed his teasing. ‘I’m like this during the day, but not when it gets colder in the evening and I put on a cardigan.’
‘Meet Jack – Jack, this is Alexandra who you’ve heard all about. Lexi – this is Jack who can teach maths and music and is very interested in the area.’
Jack came forward to take Alexandra’s hand. She noticed that he limped slightly and had a stick. He was older than David – in his fifties – with thick, greying hair and dark eyebrows over kind, twinkling eyes. Any worries that Alexandra had had about him being suitable vanished. He seemed just as nice she had promised the children he would be.
‘Hello,’ he said. ‘Delighted to meet you at last and thank you so much for inviting me.’
‘We’re delighted to meet you too. Félicité? Henri? Stéphie? Come and meet your tutors.’ Alexandra didn’t want to make too much of introducing David and Jack to her charges. She felt they’d be more receptive if they could just observe them for a little while. ‘Would you like something to drink?’ she said. ‘Something to eat?’
‘That would be delightful,’ said David, who had shaken everyone’s hand. ‘We did have a snack on the way here, but we wouldn’t say no to something. Maybe some cheese?’
‘We always have cheese,’ said Stéphie, who liked to be helpful. ‘I’ll bring some.’
David smiled at her. ‘Thank you so much. That would be very kind.’
‘I’ll get the wine,’ said Henri, obviously a bit shy and glad of an excuse to escape for a bit.
When Stéphie and Henri had gone, David turned to the dog. ‘And who is this handsome chap?’
‘That’s Milou,’ said Alexandra. ‘He looks after us. He’s very good at it.’
‘Does he sleep in a kennel to repel intruders?’ asked Jack.
As Alexandra knew that Milou slept with Stéphie or Félicité but didn’t want to say in case it caused embarrassment, she changed the subject. ‘I hope you like goat’s cheese,’ she said. ‘Most of the local cheeses are goat.’
‘There’s an opportunity for someone to make a joke about old goats,’ said Jack, ‘but I think I’ll refrain.’
‘How did you get here?’ asked Alexandra a little later when she’d seen the new arrivals had everything they wanted.
‘We brought the car,’ said David. ‘It’s parked in front of the chateau. Then we realised no one was in, so came round the side and found you here.’
‘It’s good that you’ve got the car,’ said Alexandra. ‘It’ll give you some independence.’
‘Yes,’ said David. ‘I want to buy some antiques.’
‘And I just want to explore the area,’ said Jack.
‘Why?’ asked Stéphie.
Jack smiled at her. ‘I was here on holiday before the war. When I heard David here talking about coming I thought: This is my chance. It’s handy for me that I teach maths so I’ve got an excuse to come.’
Stéphie seemed satisfied with this explanation.
‘And, of course, if I buy too many antiques, I’ll have to rent a van anyway,’ said David, ‘in which case, Jack can drive the car home.’
‘Would you like me to teach you a card trick?’ Jack asked Henri, who’d been building card houses while David and Jack had their cheese and some pâté.
‘Do you know one?’ asked Henri.
Soon Jack was shuffling cards and getting Stéphie to pick one and it wasn’t long before Henri knew the trick too. ‘Arithmetic is really helpful for card tricks,’ Jack said finally. ‘As well as a bit of magic.’ He took a card from behind Stéphie’s ear and caused a lot of giggling.
Alexandra couldn’t help noticing that while Henri and Stéphie were quickly relaxed with David and Jack, Félicité held back. Alexandra found herself understanding the older girl completely. She wasn’t interested in card tricks and didn’t want to be forced to learn anything against her will. And yet Alexandra knew if Félicité wasn’t taught at home she’d probably be sent away to school.
‘I do hope you two men are going to be good teachers,’ said Alexandra. ‘So far I’ve had the children’s grandmother wanting to move in to look after them, probably so they learn proper manners, and their mother wanting to take them away and possibly send them to boarding school in England. But if you two can teach them something maybe everyone can stay here.’ She smiled at the group. She was partly saying this to gently remind Félicité what her options were. ‘I’d better go in and do something about dinner,’ she said.
‘I’ll come and give you a hand,’ said Félicité.
Alexandra didn’t do more than smile her thanks but inside she was amazed. It was the first time Félicité had volunteered to help, even if it was to distance herself from her new tutors.
‘And the market is tomorrow?’ said Jack at dinner, a few hours later.
‘Yes,’ said Alexandra for at least the third time, ‘we’ll go in my car – the estate’s car – as usual. You’ll both love it, I’m sure.’
‘What, the car? Or the market?’ asked Jack.
‘I am absurdly excited at the prospect of the market,’ said David and then yawned. ‘Now, if I can remember how to get there, I think I’ll take myself off to my palatial quarters.’
‘I’ll come too,’ said Jack. ‘Delightful as this is, enjoying this charming company and eating such delicious food, it’s been a long day.’
The moment the men had left, Alexandra said, ‘Now, Stéphie, I must get you off to bed too. You must promise not to tell your grandmother I let you stay up so late.’
‘It’s even past my bedtime!’ said Félicité, helping her sister with the heavy chair.
‘And don’t you dare confess that to Grand-mère!’ said Alexandra. ‘We’ll never hear the end of it!’
By the time the hens were shut in, Milou had had a last prowl around and everyone except Alexandra was in bed, she surveyed the kitchen. It was where they’d enjoyed a very jolly meal but now it looked a mess. David and Jack had bought wine on the ferry so there were empty bottles as well as numerous glasses and far too many dirty plates. Alexandra had been distracted by the company and the chat and the range had gone out. There would be no hot water until it was lit again. She sighed and decided to leave it. The mess would all still be there in the morning. She didn’t need to worry about it now. All she could think about was her own bed and sleep. But she was content as she went up the stairs; David and Jack were going to work out brilliantly.
