‘You beat me to it.’ Penny breezed past her, heading for the fridge Louis had indicated.
‘No, I wasn’t in here for …’
Penny pulled a box from the fridge, gesturing for Fran to set down the coffee cup she was still holding. She slid it onto one of the gleaming work surfaces and took the box from Penny.
‘Merde.’ Louis was back at his chopping board, waving his knife at the other chef. ‘’Arry,la tasse s’il vous plaît.’ The irritation was clear in his voice.
‘Hi, Harry,’ Penny said, as the tall, lean sous-chef took his pan from the heat, slid it onto a cooler surface and sidestepped Louis’ rapid coriander-chopping elbow movements.
‘Hi, Penny. You OK?’ Harry gave Penny a lopsided grin as he grabbed the cup Fran had dumped and rinsed it in a sink.
‘Busy. You?’ Penny took another box from the fridge.
Harry laughed. ‘Just a bit. Maybe see you later?’
‘Maybe.’
Penny was still grinning halfway along the corridor. Fran knew that look. Remembered grinning in the same way. Remembered how everything had seemed so perfect. Remembered the smugness which enveloped her, how pleased she’d been to have found her soulmate, how Victor had been everything she’d hoped a partner would be. He’d ticked all the boxes at the start – attentive and handsome, funny. Charming. Reassuring. Eventhe sex had been great. He’d asked her to marry him. She’d said yes.
How long ago all that felt. She frowned the memories away, concentrating on Penny instead.
‘You like him?’ Fran asked.
Penny shrugged. ‘I guess he’s OK.’
Her casual words and her upbeat expression didn’t match. Fran would put money on the colour in her cheeks having nothing to do with the hot weather. But if Penny wanted to keep her true feelings to herself, that was fine with Fran. She changed tack.
‘Have you ever seen a cat hanging around the chateau?’
‘That scruffy ginger thing?’
‘A ginger tom, yes.’
‘It’s a bugger, that cat. Tries to get in at any opportunity. I’ve had to kick it out so many times. It loves the wine cellar. Suppose it’s cool down there. Strange, really – you’d think it would go for the bins, or the kitchen.’
‘So, it doesn’t belong here?’
‘No, I presume it’s a stray. Why?’
Fran bit at the edge of her lip. ‘Thing is …’
Chapter 5
Fran and Penny dumped the boxes of truffle chocolates at the top of the cellar steps, tucking them behind the door which stood wide.
‘I bet the little sod is down here,’ Penny said, flicking a light switch. ‘Need to get it out before Beaufoy realises.’
The coolness of the cellar was palpable as they descended the steps. A welcome relief. Fran ran a hand across the roughness of the stone wall, the blocks were so cool they almost felt damp. They reached the base of the steps and flagstones spread out before them. Penny hit another light switch and the energy-saving bulbs flickered into life in their own time, gradually revealing rack upon rack of bottles.
Penny wrapped her hand around Fran’s forearm, pointing with the other. ‘Over there,’ she whispered.
Fran’s focus moved in the direction of Penny’s gesticulation, catching a glimpse of a familiar tail. Redwasdown here. They moved forward, but by the time they’d rounded the end of the rack of wines, he’d disappeared further into the maze of the cellar’s wine racks. Putting a finger to her lips to signify they should stay quiet, Penny gestured for Fran to head one way, her the other. Fran nodded and tiptoed along the flagstones.
The quicker they could find Red and get him safely out, the better. Fran didn’t want him suffering more misfortune if the wrong member of staff found him. She’d only known the cat for a matter of minutes, but she already felt responsible for his welfare. Inching forwards, she moved around the end of the rack, breath held in anticipation. Then she stopped. Grinned. Her shoulders relaxed by an inch or two and she crouched infront of the cat which sat, completely unperturbed, staring at her.
‘Here you are,’ Fran whispered. ‘Naughty boy. You mustn’t come down here, you’ll get into trouble.’
‘Mrrooouw.’ The sound was accusatory. If cats could raise their eyebrows, Red would be doing exactly that.
