Antoine put down his parcels and inspected Alexandra’s handiwork. ‘Close your eyes.’
She did and he blew on her, then he brushed away the remaining loose hairs on her face. ‘There. That’s perfect.’
She opened her eyes and wanted to shut them again. He was too near. He obviously felt the same because he stepped back quickly.
‘It’s funny, because I always cut my hair in the kitchen when I’m at home I do it here too. But you’re right, the light is far better in my room.’ Aware she was gabbling, she took a breath. ‘But it’s done now. The kettle’s on the gas stove.’
Antoine seemed amused. ‘I’ll get the range going.’
Alexandra ground coffee in the hand grinder and found cups and plates for breakfast while he broke twigs and adjusted logs. He was humming and seemed happy.
‘You seem full of the joys of spring,’ said Alexandra. His English was so good she assumed he would understand her.
‘I’m putting on a brave front. I can’t put off leaving any longer. I’ll have to go back to Paris again very soon.’
Alexandra’s heart gave a lurch. ‘Oh. The children will miss you.’
‘Won’t you miss me too?’ he asked.
She turned away from him, unwilling to let him see how. ‘Possibly a little bit. You’re very good at dealing with the stove.’ She was pleased with how matter-of-fact she sounded.
‘Is that the only reason?’
Alexandra shrugged in a way that David would say was Gallic. ‘What would you have me say? Milou will be very sad without you.’
He didn’t reply immediately. He just looked at her in a way that made her wonder if she hadn’t cut her fringe quite straight. ‘You’re very unusual for a nanny.’
‘Nannies are supposed to be unusual. Haven’t you read Mary Poppins? No, I don’t suppose you have.’
‘I’ll miss you, Alexandra,’ he said.
‘Why?’ She knew he wasn’t going to tell her it was because he’d fallen in love with her, so she felt it was safe to ask.
‘You’re very good at putting me in my place. In my work I am accustomed to being treated like the boss.’
‘Even Véronique treats you like that?’
‘She does. As my second in command, she likes me to be top of the heap – does that make sense to you? – so that her position, as number two, has status also.’
‘Antoine, would you mind if I asked you something?’
‘Ask me anything!’
‘What do you do that means you have to constantly keep coming and going away from home, away from your children?’
Antoine lost his flippancy. ‘I am a management consultant.’
‘Which is?’
‘Companies get into trouble. Maybe they are threatened by their competitors and don’t know how to respond, or they need new staff, or they have made financial mistakes. They need help. My company provides that help. When I go away, I spend time with these businesses that are in trouble.’ He paused. ‘We are not always welcomed by the staff and sometimes we cause people to be dismissed, but we help; we earn our money.’
Alexandra took time to think about what he’d said. ‘Can I ask … No. I won’t ask. It might be rude.’
‘Why become tactful now, Alexandra? You are very good at speaking your mind even if you are only twenty.’
She was aware he was teasing her but felt she had nothing to lose. ‘If you can tell people how to run their businesses so they’re profitable and run well, why don’t you look at the chateau as a business and see how it could be run to make enough money so you don’t have to go away?’
He was silent for so long Alexandra refilled the kettle and put it on the range which was now going well.
