‘No! Really, you need to be together, after so many months apart.’ She paused. ‘And really, I want everyone out of my kitchen!’
‘It’s not your kitchen,’ said Félicité.
‘While I’m cooking in it, it’s mine!’ said Alexandra, more sharply than she meant to. She moderated her tone. ‘I mean, while I’m responsible for the meals it is my place of work. You go and get dressed and then you can spend time with your father. He must have missed you dreadfully.’
‘Neatly done, Lexi,’ said David when everyone had left. ‘You’re doing very well here.’
‘Thank you. I’ve had to learn an awful lot in a very short time and it is a bit exhausting sometimes.’
‘I can’t wait to get to the market, buy some wonderful Provençal specialties and cook for you, instead,’ he said. ‘And I like the children. They’re very bright and we can have fun together.’
‘I’m very glad to hear it. I’ve had the grandmother and the mother more or less telling me I’m not fit to care for them. If they could learn a bit about their English heritage, I’d feel less inadequate.’
David frowned. He obviously wanted to argue but Alexandra flapped her hands at him. ‘Go to the market. It’s best to get there early.’ Although it was already too late to be early, she thought.
She just had a bowl of really hot water and a saucepan on the stove boiling some more in case the hot water ran out when Antoine appeared.
‘You must let me dry the dishes—’ he began, picking up a cloth from the bar in front of the range.
‘No, M. le Comte!’ said Alexandra firmly. ‘Please! I am happy to do this. Go and be with your children. They have missed you badly.’
Alexandra realised she’d put her hands on her hips and must have been looking very confrontational as she spoke to her boss. She smiled, to soften her commanding appearance, and he laughed.
‘In which case, I will do that – I have presents for them. But really, we must get some more staff.’
‘That would be a good idea.’
He smiled ruefully. ‘I’ll see to it. And please call me Antoine. I don’t like using my title unless I have to.’
She nodded agreement and he left.
Later that day, Stéphie came up to Alexandra while she was in the courtyard picking grapes from the vine that grew under the eaves and said, ‘Isn’t it lovely that Papa is home?’
‘It certainly is,’ Alexandra replied. ‘You must be so thrilled.’
‘Yes, because while Félicité and Henri have their mother – and I don’t like her at all – I only have Papa, so it’s nice for me when he’s home. Although of course the others like him too.’
‘And I’m not sure they like their mother very much either,’ said Alexandra. ‘But when they get used to her being here, they may like her more.’
‘Do you think so? I think she’s very rude, although she is pretty and smells nice.’
Alexandra couldn’t help wondering how Antoine would feel about Lucinda after not seeing her for years. ‘Is being pretty and smelling nice enough?’ she asked, not expecting Stéphie to understand her question.
‘I shouldn’t think so. Félicité says being pretty isn’t important,’ Stéphie said and then paused. ‘I think you’re very pretty. Maybe it’s not important but it is nice.’
Alexandra laughed and put her free arm around her. ‘Come on, let’s take these grapes back to the house. David, my friend who came yesterday, is cooking supper tonight. We can have grapes for pudding.’
‘Oh,’ said Stéphie, disappointed. ‘I’d rather have pudding like you make. With fruit and the biscuity stuff on the top.’
‘Fruit crumble is all I’m fit for after cooking a proper meal,’ said Alexandra. ‘But we’ll ask David about it. I’m sure he can make it too.’
Chapter Ten
David was in the kitchen surrounded by food supplied by the market and every cooking utensil he could find. He was jointing a couple of chickens for dinner, which involved a chopper and a lot of noise.
‘Don’t tell me off,’ he said, when Stéphie and Alexandra arrived. ‘I know I was always telling you off for being untidy when you cooked, Lexi, but I’m getting my bearings. Until I know what’s here, I can’t be tidy. But I’ll put it all away in a minute.’
‘We’ve brought grapes for pudding,’ said Stéphie. ‘Only I like crumble.’
