It took Alexandra a little while to get the range going and once she had, she realised it would be another matter to keep it in. But it was cheering to hear the crackle of the wood and realise that eventually there would be a little heat. It had been a golden October day but now it was getting chilly.
‘Henri, you must show me where the wood is. I can’t rely on you to fetch it for me.’
‘Mme Carrier used to swear at the range a lot. She struggled to keep it in overnight,’ Henri confided.
‘OK, in which case, I’ll content myself with lighting it in the morning and keeping it going in the day.’ She put on another couple of logs. ‘Anyone fancy hot chocolate?’ she asked. She really felt like a glass of wine but until she had properly settled in and found where it was kept, she’d have to make do. Hot chocolate, served in bowls the French way, would help a lot.
There wasn’t much milk in the large jug in the larder but a thorough rummage through the various packets in the cupboards came up with a mix that only required hot water to make a milky cocoa. Alexandra put some milk into a pan, the contents of the packet, a lump of chocolate and some water and heated it on the stove. Eventually, she poured the foaming drink into bowls she knew were usually used for drinking coffee.
Soon they were all sitting round the table, sipping their drinks. The room was beginning to warm up as was the cheerfulness level. Neither was as high as Alexandra would have liked, but an upward curve was positive.
Alexandra had very little to go on, but thought that Stéphie must be about eight or nine. She saw the little girl yawning a few times. Perhaps Stéphie needed more sleep than the older two and hadn’t been getting it.
She gathered the empty bowls and put them in the sink, resolving to wash them tomorrow. Although it was probably not the official nanny way to behave, she always preferred washing up in the morning when there was sunshine, rather than standing in a dark kitchen when she was tired.
She reached for the teddy. ‘This little chap must be quite tired. I wonder where he sleeps?’
‘He sleeps with me!’ said Stéphie immediately and then looked at her siblings in case she’d revealed too much to their unwanted nanny.
‘OK. Does anyone know where I sleep?’ asked Alexandra. ‘I’d ask Teddy but I’m not sure he speaks English.’
‘He’s called Clive,’ said Stéphie.
‘Oh? That’s a good name. Why is he called that?’
Stéphie gave a little shrug. ‘It’s his name.’
Félicité pushed back her chair, making a horrible scraping noise on the stone floor. ‘The nanny’s room is ready. Mme Carrière did it before she went. We’ll show you.’ She paused. ‘It has a sofa and chairs. You can stay in it.’ Her meaning was clear: Stay in your quarters, Nanny, and don’t come out!
Alexandra flinched inwardly. Had she ever been so completely hostile to any of her nannies or governesses? She felt a flash of shame when she realised she probably had.
‘I’ll just make up the stove and see if we get a bit of hot water out of it. At least we know that Clive doesn’t need a bath,’ she said. When she’d put on logs, fiddled with draughts and levers she didn’t understand, she straightened up.
‘Let’s go!’ Although she sounded positive and cheerful, inside she felt incredibly tired and a little disheartened.
At least the chateau is beautiful, she thought as she followed her charges up the elegant staircase to the upper floors.
Her room, as indicated by Félicité, was one of a suite of rooms designed for children and their personal servants. It wasn’t luxurious but the nanny wasn’t expected to sleep in a garret, obviously. It had a full-height window and a small balcony giving a nice view over the grounds at the front of the chateau, and was large enough to have a sofa and a couple of armchairs arranged around a small table in the window. There was a chest of drawers and a desk against the wall, and the bed was a double with pretty hangings. If she did have to live in it, it wouldn’t be bad. It was fairly simple but it looked clean. The bed was ancient, she realised, but that certainly wouldn’t bother her tonight.
‘Will there be hot water if anyone wants a bath?’ she said to her little group.
‘No,’ said Félicité. ‘The nanny is expected to wash in her room with a bowl and a jug of water.’
Alexandra was keen to get Félicité on her side but this was a step too far. ‘Oh come on! What sort of novels have you been reading? But talking of reading, I wonder if Clive likes being read to?’
Stéphie nodded assertively. ‘Yes, he does.’
‘Let’s find something he’d like and I’ll read.’ She did remember how much she liked being tucked up in bed while someone read her a story.
Everyone went to Stéphie’s room, which was pretty and had twin beds in it. It had a little bookcase full of books. Alexandra went over to it and read out the titles. ‘Oh! Milly-Molly-Mandy!’ she said and then realised her childhood favourite might be a little young for Stéphie.
‘OK, we can read that if you like.’ Stéphie sounded resigned and condescending but Alexandra wondered if she was secretly happy to go back to a book written for smaller children.
She picked it up. ‘Get your night things on and do your teeth and then I’ll read.’ She discovered that, although she never would have thought of herself as the sort of person who told people to clean their teeth, she was settling into the role.
Stéphie took her pyjamas into the little bathroom and Félicité and Henri got on to the second bed.
‘Are you keen on Milly-Molly-Mandy?’ Alexandra asked.
