by Karen Abbott
She paused, her face thoughtful.
“I wonder if you’re right about Madame Giraud? I’ll have to put feelers out. I don’t want her feel she has to do it just because I ask her … but, you never know, it could be just what she needs … and it would be a way of thanking her for all that she is doing for Grand-père .”
Dani agreed, adding, “You’ll be needing to take on extra staff before long, at this rate! Why on earth did I think I needed to get employment elsewhere? You’re going places, my girl!”
“And, in the meantime, I need you to be designing our advertisements.”
Lys was suddenly businesslike, making Dani aware of the drive that had moved her ideas onwards so quickly. “I’ve managed to get hold of a cheap computer and printer and got a local printer to put some of Xavier’s drawings onto a CD for me. Come on, I’ll show you what I’ve got.”
It didn’t take Dani long to get used to the computer set-up and by the following lunchtime, she had designed three different layouts … a simple A5 flyer, a folded A4 leaflet and a three-fold one. The final wording had to be discussed and settled upon but the first printings gave a good idea of what the finished products would be like.
Lys was pleased with them and promised to check the historical notes with her grandfather over lunch. The huge components of the inner workings of the mill were due to be delivered that afternoon and a sense of excitement was in the air.
Knowing that she would be of little use in the matter, Dani had planned to borrow Lys’s bicycle and ride the few kilometres to Le Grand Village where a restored farm had been made into a living museum by a Folk Group called Les Dejhouqués. She thought it would be beneficial for her to see what other places had to offer so that she could help Lys to plan more ideas for the windmill project.
However, a visit by Alex put that plan on hold.
Christian waved and shouted to her excitedly. When he saw the heavy wagon and its contents, he demanded to be released from his car seat but Alex bade him stay where he was. He approached Dani with an apologetic air, picking his way carefully past the stack of components that had already been unloaded.
“I’m sorry to come at such a moment, Dani. I was going to ask if you could mind Christian for a couple of hours but I can see it’s bad timing on my part.” He ran his hand distractedly through his hair, feeling that he had been too presumptuous in expecting Dani to come to his rescue without due warning. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll think of something else.”
He made as if to move away but Dani laid her hand on his arm.
“Come over here where it’s less busy,” she suggested, leading the way nearer to the cottage. Her hand seemed to tingle from the contact with his arm and she was instantly aware of the attraction she felt towards him. She strove to dismiss her feelings as nonsensical. He was a few years older than she was … older than any of the young men with whom she had had mild flirtatious relationships. He’d been married and had a child, for heaven’s sake.
Not her style—nor would she be his!
Nevertheless, she found herself asking, “What’s the problem?”
“I’ve been called to … er … visit a client … er … quite unexpectedly. Usually Madame Toussaint or Brigitte can come at short notice but, today, neither can make it and Brigitte has only just let me know.”
It was obvious that Alex was far from his usual calm. Recognising this, Dani put aside her misgivings about getting involved with him.
“I’m not part of all this,” waving her hand towards the scene of activity. “I was going to cycle to Le Grand Village … but I can do that another day. What have you got in mind?”
“Whatever you feel able to offer at such short notice. I’m just relieved you are willing to do it for me. I felt at my wits’ end.”
He had looked it, too, but now, with her offer to help, Dani could see his normal poise was returning.
“It’s no use having him here,” she reflected aloud, indicating the surroundings with a sweep of her hand. “As you can see, there’s too much going on today for his safety. Shall I take him to the beach?”
“Wonderful! He’ll love that! You’ve saved my sanity!” He grinned delightedly, adding, “If there weren’t so many people around I’d give you a hug!”
Dani felt herself blushing at his spontaneous praise and couldn’t help wishing he had hugged her regardless of the people! She had to force the thought away before Alex could read her desire for physical contact with him in her face.
“Right!” she said crisply, turning away from him as she spoke. “Hang on a moment. I’ll clear it with Lys and grab a few things to bring with me.”
In less than five minutes, she emerged from the cottage with a bag full of beach things and fully in control of her feelings; this was a neighbourly kindness, nothing more! She had changed into a short, pale blue, strappy sundress over her swimsuit and flip-flop sandals on her feet. She pushed a bottle of water and a packet of biscuits into her bag at the side of her towel.
“I’ll take you by way of our house in case you need to go home before I return,” Alex said, as he slipped into first gear and eased his car into the road. “If you’re not there when I return, I’ll come to the beach to find you. Have you got a mobile phone?”
“Yes … fully charged today!”
Dani wrote down her number and tucked the piece of paper into a space on the dashboard. “Christian isn’t allergic to anything in ice-cream and suchlike, is he?”
Alex grinned sideways at her. “Not so as you would notice! More to the lack of it, if anything! But don’t let him talk you into more than one. If I’m not back in time for tea, there’s plenty in the freezer … chicken nuggets , pizzas, fish fingers … that sort of thing. Is that all right?”
“Fine.” She looked over her shoulder to smile at Christian. “We’ll manage that together, won’t we, Christian?”
“Chicken nuggets are my favourite,” he replied seriously. “And lots of ice-cream. Can I have that?”
“If you’re a good boy,” she promised.
“This is our house coming up in the left,” Alex interrupted, looking in the mirror and slowing down.
He drew up outside a detached, two-storey house in cream-washed stone. The shutters at the windows were dark brown and the window-boxes were filled with red, pink and white geraniums. Over the integral garage was a roof-garden with access through wide patio doors from a room on the first floor. The garden was neat and tidy without being in any way notable. Dani supposed that Alex didn’t have much time for gardening.
“Madame Toussaint lives next door,” Alex said, nodding towards the house they had just passed. “She said she’ll be home soon after half past six. If you need to go before I return, you could leave Christian with her after that time … but you would have to get Lys to come and collect you, I’m afraid, as Madame Toussaint will be returning on the last bus.” He looked uncomfortable again. “I’m sorry about all this. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Of course not. It can’t be helped. Don’t worry about it. We’ll manage fine.”
“Right. I’ll take you to the beach, then. There aren’t many facilities there … just a mobile ice-cream vendor and a make-shift shower the local council put there every summer … but the beach is safe and there aren’t any strong currents in the sea.”
It wasn’t much further to the beach, no more than a kilometre or so. Dani was sure Christian would be able to walk back home if necessary. The car park was already full, with cars lining the side of the narrow road leading from Vertbois to the shore. However, it was designed in loop with a dropping-off zone nearest to the shore. Alex came to a halt there and helped Dani to unload a bag of beach toys, Christian’s towel and her own beach bag, then, after kissing Christian goodbye and urging him to be a good boy, he drove off, waving his hand in farewell salutation.
Christian had already tucked his hand trustingly into Dani’s and once he could no longer see his father’s car, he looked up at Dani.
>
“Can we go to the beach now? I want to build a big, big sandcastle!”
“Do you, indeed? Then we had better make a start, hadn’t we? Come on.”
They trudged expectantly over the saddle-shaped sand-dune, the sound of the Atlantic waves crashing onto the shore growing louder as they neared the top of the rise.
As they crested the top of the dune, a wide expanse of sand confronted them, stretching to the left and right as far as she could see. Although there were over two hundred people scattered over the scene, it seemed by no means crowded.
“Whee! The sea!” Christian shouted, immediately setting off at a run.
“Wait a minute, Christian! Let’s set a few rules!” Dani insisted sternly. “I don’t want to lose you!”
“Brigitte lets me run!” he protested.
“Brigitte isn’t here!”
She took hold of Christian’s hand. “Look, the sand is dry between us and the sea … that means the tide is coming in, so don’t start to dig too near it or it will wash away your castle before you’ve finished it!”
Turning round, she pointed out the small, white hut on top of the dune, near to where they had come over from the car park.
“See that white hut with a flag on top? That’s the Life-guard’s station. We’ll settle in line with it, so if you do happen to wander without me noticing—and I hope you won’t—if you find your way back to the hut, our things won’t be too far away. Come on, now! We’ll find a nice spot just beyond the soft sand … that’s where the tide came to last time, so it’s a good place to build our castle. When the tide comes in, it will fill the moat nicely.”
Keeping his shirt and shorts on for the time-being, to protect his skin from too much exposure to the sun, Christian eagerly began to dig in the sand. Dani joined him and they worked industriously until a large pile of sand had been made. They patted it, flattened the top, and carefully settled a sand-pie on top. More sand-pies were deposited around the outer edge of the moat, leaving a space between two facing the sea where, Dani instructed Christian to start digging a channel that would meet the eventual tide.
“Wow!” Christian admired the structure. “That’s the biggest sandcastle I’ve ever seen! Can we bring the sea to it now?”
“Not yet. Let’s find lots of shells and decorate it. See! Push them into the sand, like this!”
Later, she accompanied Christian down to the sea to collect seawater in his bucket and they tipped the water into the moat. Much to Christian’s disappointment, it quickly soaked away and he scurried back to the sea for more. Eventually, Dani persuaded him to wait for the tide and suggested they paddled in the shallow water for a while.
That was great fun. They had taken off their outer clothing and ran, kicking and splashing into the waves. Christian wasn’t afraid of the waves knocking him over but Dani hovered nearby to make sure he got to his feet before the next one came.
The afternoon sped by. When the tide approached their castle, Dani moved their belongings out of its way and they cheered with delight when the moat was filled with swirling water. Christian was slightly less excited when the walls of the castle began to crumble but Dani assured him that he would be able to build another castle another day.
She looked at her watch that she had placed in her bag.
“It’s nearly five o’clock, Christian. Let’s pack up our things and begin to make our way home.”
“Papa said he’d come!” Christian pouted. “He’ll want to see my castle … what’s left of it.”
“He said he might be back too late. Why don’t we get an ice-cream from the vendor and we’ll see if I can remember which is your house?”
Making a game of it, Dani encouraged him back along the road. She made him carry his own bucket which he had filled with shells and paused outside some of the houses and chalets they passed, saying, “Now is it this one, I wonder? Did it have a well in the garden?”
“No! You’re wrong!” Christian chortled, forgetting how far they had come … until, suddenly, they were in front of the right house.
There was still no sign of Alex and Dani had made some tea … chicken nuggets and chips … eaten it, and played a game or two of Ludo before she heard Alex’s car on the drive.
Idiotically, her pulse started to race and she was thankful that she had time to take a few breaths to calm it down whilst he was putting the car into the garage. He came in apologetically, but she assured him it didn’t matter. They had had a good time and Christian had been perfectly well-behaved.
While he had a quick shower, she made him an omelette with a tossed salad and buttered pieces of the French stick he had brought with him, allowing Christian to switch the television on whilst she was busy.
“I don’t deserve this,” Alex smiled, tucking into the omelette, the warmth of his eyes showing the genuineness of his words. “You’re spoiling me! I’m not used to it.”
“You look tired,” she sympathised. “Was it a busy afternoon?”
“So-so,” he said, noncommittally. “Won’t you join me in a glass of wine, then I won’t feel so guilty about taking your time?”
“All right,” she laughed. “And then I really must go and I’m sure you’ll want to spend time with Christian before his bedtime.”
“Look! The clowns, Papa!” Christian called out, his eyes riveted to the television screen. “Are these the naughty clowns or the real ones?”
Alex and Dani both swung their glance to the television. It was evident that the cartoon that Christian had been watching had finished and the early evening news programme was now on. Sure enough, similar clowns to those who had been at the Carnival in Le Château a few days ago were cavorting across the screen. Just as the newscaster was beginning to speak of the breaking news of another daring bank raid that had taken place that afternoon at Jonzac, south of Cognac, Alex picked up the remote control set and switched off the television.
“Papa! I like to see the clowns!” Christian objected. “Can’t I watch them?”
“Not at the moment,” Alex said sharply. “You know I don’t allow you to watch the evening news programme. Besides, we have to take Dani home soon and you haven’t told me about your afternoon together yet.”
Dani was taken aback by his sharpness and, although Christian came and sat with them and told his father about the big sandcastle they had made and the way the sea had come and washed it away, she couldn’t help but notice an air of distraction in Alex’s manner.
Why had he suddenly switched off the television like that? He hadn’t minded it being on until the clowns appeared. Whether it was her own misgivings about the incident or Christian’s disappointment in not being allowed to see the clowns, Dani couldn’t be sure, but the harmony that had been there all afternoon was suddenly gone and Alex didn’t object when she repeated her need to return home to see how things had gone on there.
Her misgivings lasted throughout the evening and she couldn’t get it out of her mind that there was something in that news item that Alex didn’t want his son, or her, to see.
Chapter 5
The following day, Dani decided to put into operation her plan of involving some of the other artisans at the port in offering some of their creations to be sold in the craft shop at the windmill. Lys, who was busy supervising the work on installing the heavy mechanism that would transfer the power from the sails to the millstone, gave her full sanction.
Dani borrowed Lys’s bicycle and rode through the country lanes and cycle routes that eventually led to an idyllic path along the shoreline from the viaduct to the port of the ancient walled town. There was a slight breeze and she found herself thinking of how its power would send the sails of the windmill turning round when the renovation work was completed. She breathed in a deep sigh of satisfaction, happy to be part of the project. She felt as though her involvement made her part of the island, instead of being merely a visitor.
Not that visitors were unimportant, she hastened to correct her thought! They would b
e the mainstay of Lys and her grandfather’s business! And were also one of the mainstays of the whole island. The islanders needed to expand their businesses and even look at other alternatives ways of making a living, Etienne had said only last night. The fishing industry was in decline, affected by worldwide pollution of the seas, and the farmers only scratched a living from the shallow soil. Tourism was what would take the island forward. Its natural beauty and diversity of coastline ... and its ‘almost-Mediterranean’ weather pattern ... was becoming a strong magnetic force in drawing visitors to the lovely island … and, now, she was part of that force!
She turned her back on the sea and headed away from the port along the road that led to the town. There, she could see that the numerous studio cabins were already open to the public and were enjoying the attention of some of the many tourists who were wandering from cabin to cabin, browsing mostly but sometimes buying. They looked happy enough with their purchases, Dani decided and hoped her plans to offer a further outlet would be greeted favourably by the artisans.
She made for Xavier’s studio first. He had already made numerous charcoal sketches of the windmill in varying sizes and had prepared some canvases prior to painting some in acrylics. She wanted to check that he wouldn’t mind if she approached the artist who did watercolours, not wanting to put any discord between him and Lys.
He was busy sketching a young mother with a squirming toddler on her lap but he gave her a brief nod of acknowledgement as she approached him. A glance over his shoulder showed her the depth of his talent and she slowly walked around the cabin, looking at the pictures of local scenes and a variety of wildlife displayed on its walls. Some were in charcoal, others in pastels, all sprayed with a fixative to prevent them being smudged by careless handling.
