‘Is there a difference?’
‘A connoisseur knows their stuff, an afficionado has great affection for something,’ she replied gravely, as if she had the first clue what she was talking about.
He regarded her for a second, suspicion darkening his eyes, before she burst into laughter. ‘I don’t actually know, but I love chocolate, and I know a little about it from working in a food kitchen.’
‘It’s a bit late for introductions but, girl-with-a passion-for-chocolate, do you have another name?’
‘Yes, Mina.’
‘Nice to meet you, I’m Luke.’
‘So where are you headed?’
‘I’m… I’m going skiing. In Valais.’ Mina frowned at the quick hesitation. She was good at spotting a lie, or at least she always thought she’d been. Clearly she’d missed a trick with Simon.
There was something about his words that didn’t quite ring true, and then she realised. ‘So where are your skis?’
‘That is the most brilliant thing about train travel in Switzerland. You can send them on ahead.’
‘Really?’
‘Yup. The Swiss are big on trains. They travel more by train than any other nation in the world, and you can get one to just about anywhere in the country, which is pretty impressive when you consider most of the country is taken up by mountains. Which makes them experts at building bridges and tunnels. This journey is quicker by train than by car and takes in—’ He halted suddenly and waved an apologetic hand. ‘Sorry. Time to get off my soapbox, your eyes were starting to glaze over.’
Mina didn’t think they were; his enthusiasm was infectious. He could probably make drying paint sound appealing.
‘You sound like a bit of a train enthusiast.’
For a second his eyes slid away from hers and then he asked, ‘So are you here on holiday, or do you work here?’
She recognised a change of subject when she saw one. Uncle Derek had one serious hobby. He was a proper, full-on trainspotter and his ever-expanding Hornby railway set, which had once belonged to their real dad, still took up the entire floor area of the loft. For a moment she wondered what Derek would do with it when they moved, and whether it actually belonged to her and Hannah.
‘Me? Work here? Why on earth would he think that?’
‘Twenty per cent of the population in Switzerland are foreigners. Usually based in the five main cities. Financial folk in Zurich, political in Bern, pharmaceuticals in Basel, legal in Lausanne – and Geneva, where I work, is the HQ for the UN.’
‘So you live in Geneva?’
‘Sort of. I’m between posts at the moment, trying to decide on my next role, so I’m taking an extended holiday.’
‘The UN sounds interesting.’ Although he also a sounded a little flaky; wasn’t ‘between posts’ a euphemism for being unemployed?
‘It sounds a lot more interesting than it is sometimes.’ He shrugged. ‘But it has its pluses. I get to do a lot of travelling.’
‘Lucky you. I create food dishes from all over the world – Milano parmigiana, Bombay spiced chicken, Moroccan lamb tagine. The nearest I’ve got to Bombay is Manchester Airport. My family were never big on travel. My parents’ idea of exotic is a static caravan in Normandy – and that’s a significant upgrade from our six-man tent in Eastbourne.’ She wasn’t going to talk about Simon and his allergy to flying; his name had been expunged from her brain. She refused to give him one micromillimetere of head-room.
‘I’ve never been camping. It always sounded a lot of fun.’ Luke sounded wistful.
‘Hmm, me and my sister would rather have been having fun in Ibiza or Mykonos, but if we hadn’t gone with my aunt and uncle – we grew up with them – they’d never have got the tent up. They’re a bit useless sometimes.’ She shook her head, ‘Love ’em to bits, but they’re the most dithery, indecisive people on the planet. Thank goodness Aunty M’s bladder isn’t what it used to be and she likes to have a handy bathroom. Hence the upgrade to caravan in France. Oops, sorry too much information.’ She slapped her forehead. ‘I’m sure you don’t want to know about my aunt’s incontinence problems.’
He laughed. ‘Not really. So is this a holiday or not, then?
‘More of a tactical retreat.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘I’m taking some time off from work. Let’s say HR suggested I book some holiday. My godmother lives over here and she sent me an invite at exactly the right moment. It seemed like a good idea. I’m dying to try skiing properly, I’ve only ever done the indoor type. Are you a skier?’
‘Yes. Downhill, snowboarding, cross-country. You name it, I love it – although where I’m headed there’s a lot more cross-country skiing, which is more leisurely than downhill, but gives you a chance to take in the beautiful scenery.’ His eyes glowed with enthusiasm. ‘And it is a beautiful country.’ He nodded out of the window and Mina gave a gasp. The train had slowed, and as she looked back she could see it was easing its way around the dramatic curve of a viaduct that seemed to have been built straight into the mountainside. ‘Oh my, we’re so high up.’
‘Over fifty metres. This is an incredible feat of engineering.’
‘It’s amazing, and to think suddenly we’re in the mountains, just like that.’ She stared out of the window at the jagged peak edges that dominated the skyline and the snow-laden firs that crowded onto the lower slopes. Far below, a valley stretched away to the distance, a dark river meandering through the snowy banks and a tiny village straggled along the valley, the houses spread out across the river meadows.
