Once he was satisfied, David went off and Alexandra went back to work. Her unexpected extra day felt like a gift. There was still so much to do before everything was ready.
When Alexandra returned to the chateau at lunchtime she spent some minutes calling for Milou, but only the cats came running. She went into the kitchen and ate some leftover croissants heated in the range, adding a few logs to the fire. Although she’d believed every word she’d said to Stéphie about Milou coming home when he was hungry, she missed him. She went out and called from all parts of the garden, willing his large black and white form to come bounding up.
But it wasn’t dinnertime yet, she told herself, and returned to her grouting.
Milou’s whereabouts was at the back of her mind all afternoon, and when the workmen all went home and she felt she could too, she hurried to the chateau quickly. There was no sign of him and no response to her cries.
She called from all parts of the garden again and then went inside, still not too concerned. The days were lengthening and it wouldn’t get dark for some time.
She was whisking eggs for an omelette when the telephone rang. She hurried to answer it, hoping it was a farmer with Milou, and also hoping his accent wouldn’t be too hard for her to understand.
It wasn’t a farmer; it was Stéphie. They’d had a very nice day making sure their dresses were perfect (they were) and shopping for little handbags to put handkerchiefs and confetti in; then they’d driven to Antoine’s friends, who had a very beautiful chateau. But she really only wanted to know about Milou.
Just for a second Alexandra considered lying to her, so that she would enjoy her evening and go to bed happy. But she couldn’t. Lying to children was hardly ever a good thing and if – please God, this wouldn’t happen – Stéphie came back tomorrow to discover that Milou wasn’t there, she would never trust Alexandra again.
‘No, darling, he’s not back yet. But it’s not his dinnertime just yet, is it?’
‘His dinnertime was half an hour ago,’ Stéphie said with a wobble in her voice.
‘But we all have dinner late sometimes. What are you having for yours?’
‘Lexi, don’t try and make me talk about food when all I care about is Milou.’
‘All right. I’ll eat my omelette really quickly and then I’ll go and look for him. And I’ll ring when I find him.’
‘However late it is?’ asked Stéphie.
‘Yes. Give me the number, and ask your papa to warn the people you’re staying with there might be a late call. Can you do that?’
‘Yes.’
They disconnected. Alexandra ate her omelette and tried not to think about the bath she couldn’t have. There was hardly any point in building up the range now.
Once she’d resolved to look for Milou, she was determined to make proper preparations. She wasn’t going into the woods as it was getting dark without a plan.
First, she found a good torch. Then some rope so she could make a lead for Milou if she located him. Somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to take his actual lead: it seemed like tempting fate. She packed half a baguette filled with butter and ham into her rucksack. And, although it would be heavy, she added a bottle of water. Matches, a candle, a ball of string. She put in a spare scarf (she didn’t know why she might need this but since she had to take a rucksack she thought she might as well pack it out with light things) and a tin cup. She took a newspaper and a packet of biscuits and some cheese.
She made sure she was wearing the right clothes. Sturdy shoes (although they didn’t have very thick soles), spare socks and an old anorak that had probably been Antoine’s, which she put over her jumper. She felt ready to climb Everest, let alone take a stroll up some gentle hills through the woods to find a dog.
Then she left a detailed note for David, should anything bad happen to her. She was determined no one would have any excuse to reproach her for being stupid. She even drew a sketchy map of where she intended to go, which was up a rough footpath to where they’d found the truffle.
Eventually she felt there was nothing else she could do, and heaved the rucksack on to her shoulders. It was heavy, but she knew the glass bottle with water in it was the heaviest thing, and that she shouldn’t go without that. She decided she’d get used to the weight of it quickly and went on her way.
She had just got going when she remembered she had forgotten to shut the hens in. She didn’t want Stéphie to come back to find they’d all been eaten by the fox, so she went and did it. Then she set off again.
She was tired after her day with the builders but she enjoyed the exercise to begin with. Then she looked up to see a big black cloud hovering over the forest where she was headed. For a second she debated going back for another coat, sturdier than Antoine’s anorak, but she couldn’t bear to after a long day doing physical work. She persuaded herself she’d be fine. She was going into a wood – the trees would protect her.
Alexandra walked up the hill, calling every few minutes, and although it was nowhere near being dark when she set off, once she got in among the trees, things changed. She considered using her torch, but although she had checked it worked when she took it from the small room where such things were kept, she didn’t know how long the batteries would last. She should keep it for emergencies. She didn’t allow herself to consider what that might consist of.
By now the forest was almost entirely silent apart from her calling, the occasional sound of her feet on the ground and the odd sudden rustle in the distance. It wouldn’t be wild boar, or anything dangerous, she told herself. It would be birds. Large birds. Boar wouldn’t be in the forest so close to civilisation. But she couldn’t forget the wild-boar tracks they had seen and examined when they’d been skating. Those tracks were very much closer to civilisation than she was now – although they were in the woods on the other side of the chateau, she told herself quickly. Anyway, her calling the dog was bound to scare them away. Wild animals almost always keep away from humans, given the chance.
At the same time as she had this more encouraging thought, she realised that walking and calling had made her thirsty so she decided to have a break. She found a rock to sit on and got her rucksack down from her back. She drank quite a lot of water and nibbled a bit of baguette. She considered finishing the water so she could get rid of the bottle but wisdom prevailed.
A distant memory of a Swallows and Amazons book made her leave a sign – ‘patterans’ they had called them, with a few twigs that were lying around. Anyone looking for her – it would be David – would know she’d been here.
She set off again.
It was only after she’d finished her water and shouted herself hoarse that she saw she’d climbed much higher than she’d realised. She was concentrating on setting one foot in front of another and it was only then that she appreciated it was almost completely dark. And then she heard a sound and realised it was rain, pattering on the leaves. This was not good.
