‘So sorry I overslept,’ said David. He looked across at Alexandra. ‘But Alexandra’s scrambled eggs are better than mine, so you’ve done well.’
‘I might run out for bread,’ said Alexandra, getting to her feet.
‘I’ll go,’ said Jack. ‘I expect you’re needed here.’ Too late he caught her silent message that she needed to escape. ‘Although of course if you’d like to go—’
‘We will need to think about food,’ said David, who seemed to think of little else just at the moment.
‘I’m sure Antoine will tell you what he wants, David,’ said Véronique. ‘Could I have some more coffee?’ she went on, addressing Alexandra.
‘Although I’m more than happy to help,’ said David, suddenly very dignified, ‘I am here as the children’s tutor. Alexandra is their nanny. There seems to be some misunderstanding about our roles here.’ He gave Véronique his most charming smile. For someone who was usually so affable and easy-going, he could be devastating if he wanted to cut someone down to size.
‘I realise that our early appearance has upset your plans,’ said Antoine. ‘If you could give us a list, we can shop for you?’
‘Can I go with you to get Stéphie?’ asked Félicité. ‘There’s something I want to do in town.’
‘We’ll be busy when we go to town,’ said Véronique. ‘We won’t have time for you to catch up with friends.’
‘Oh, are you going with Antoine?’ asked Alexandra, who knew perfectly well that was Véronique’s plan. ‘I was hoping to settle you into your bedroom.’
‘Enough!’ said Antoine, getting up from the table. ‘I will go into town to collect my daughter. I will bring her siblings with me. Before I go I will see what needs to be bought for the household. Children? Can you please get ready to leave the house in five minutes.’
He stalked out of the kitchen, Milou and the kittens following, which made Alexandra want to giggle. Véronique did not want to giggle. She was obviously furious but couldn’t express it.
In the end Véronique got into the car while David was finishing the shopping list and Henri was finding his shoes.
Although Alexandra was annoyed that Véronique had gone against Antoine’s express wishes and appeared to get away with it, having her out of the house was a definite relief.
‘I can say this to you now she’s not here. I find Véronique sucks the joy out of everything,’ said Alexandra, gathering breakfast dishes.
‘She does,’ David agreed, filling an enamel bowl with boiling water. ‘But we won’t let her spoil our Christmas. There’s always a difficult guest you have to invite. It’s traditional.’
Alexandra laughed. ‘You always make me feel better about things.’
‘I’m so glad.’ He carried on washing dishes in silence for a few moments while Alexandra wiped the table and put away the detritus of breakfast. ‘Lexi?’ he asked.
‘Mm?’
‘Have you had a chance to look at the mural Félicité is painting in Véronique’s proposed bedroom?’
Alexandra’s heart sank a little. ‘No. Why?’
‘Well, I haven’t been in,’ said David. ‘But when I was passing and she’d left the door open I couldn’t help seeing …’
‘What?’
‘It’s a little bit – wild.’
‘Let’s go and look when we’ve finished here. I’m not giving Véronique my bedroom, I’m just not!’ she said. ‘Or is that silly?’
‘Let’s look at the room and then you can decide,’ said David.
‘Well,’ said Alexandra a few eye-opening minutes later, ‘it’s certainly vibrant.’
‘There wasn’t a huge range of colours when we went to buy the paint. But there were lots of different shades of green,’ David said.
‘So a jungle theme makes perfect sense. And that parrot is brilliant!’
‘Félicité copied it from an old book I got from the brocante. It’s a shame the mural isn’t finished.’
