‘Of course!’ said David.
‘How do you know?’ demanded Stéphie.
‘I know a thing or two about being a queen,’ he said, giving Alexandra an almost imperceptible wink.
‘I think two birthdays would be very special,’ said Alexandra. ‘And you can choose your cake. What kind of cake would you like?’
‘I’d like one in the shape of Snowball the Pony,’ said Stéphie, clinging to her indignation and still sniffing.
‘Oh, darling,’ said Alexandra. ‘That will be quite difficult. I really meant what flavour cake.’
‘I think it will be perfectly possible to have a cake shaped like a pony,’ said David. ‘Queens must have their wishes granted on their birthdays, real or official.’
‘Chérie, I’m so sorry,’ said Antoine, still at his most gentle. ‘I didn’t mean to forget your birthday. We can have it tomorrow instead. We’ll have a lovely day.’
‘It’s horrible when a sad thing happens on your birthday,’ said Jack, ‘but maybe Antoine isn’t going away for long?’
‘I will be back before Christmas, I promise you,’ said Antoine.
‘And it’s December tomorrow,’ said Henri. ‘We can have an Advent calendar.’
‘I know it’s December tomorrow,’ said Stéphie. ‘It’s my birthday on the second!’
‘I am so, so sorry, chérie,’ Antoine said again, obviously stricken with guilt. ‘How could I have forgotten?’
‘What’s going on?’ said Félicité. ‘Why did no one wake me?’ Her hair was ruffled up at the back and she looked very young.
‘Papa has forgotten my birthday!’ said Stéphie.
‘He can’t have done,’ said Félicité. ‘It’s the day after tomorrow.’
The grief and hurt went on until even Stéphie’s siblings were starting to lose sympathy. Alexandra indicated that she wanted to speak to Antoine alone. They went into the courtyard to fill the log basket.
‘Could you possibly put off leaving for a day?’ she asked.
He shook his head. ‘I need to be at the office first thing on Tuesday. I’ve put it off for longer than I should have done as it is.’
‘Did you really forget her birthday?’ Alexandra was still hurt on Stéphie’s behalf.
‘No! Yes! I got the day wrong in my head. I could kick myself. I have a present for her.’
‘What she really wants is a pony,’ said Alexandra.
‘She can have a pony when I no longer have to go away to work.’
‘When will that be?’
‘Soon, I promise. I’ll speak to David about his ideas and get a builder to come. Maybe David will tell him what is required—’
‘In which case, promise her the pony,’ said Alexandra firmly. ‘But maybe you’ll have to get three ponies.’
‘If there’s someone who can look after them, they can have as many ponies as they like,’ said Antoine.
‘Don’t look at me! I’m a city girl.’ She turned to go back into the house wondering if she was angry with him because she didn’t want him to go to Paris either.
‘What can I do to make it better?’ he asked.
Alexandra shook her head. ‘I don’t really know. Maybe tell the people you’re visiting today that you forgot her birthday. If Stéphie has a really lovely time she’ll forgive you.’
