Hattie beamed and Fliss’s patrician face broke into a broad smile. ‘Good to see you,’ she said.
‘It’s so good to see you,’ said Hattie, kissing her on each cheek and refraining from giving her the exuberant hug she wanted to, as she knew Fliss, being the only girl in a family of four brothers, was not given to demonstrative exchanges.
‘You remember my brother and personal helicopter chauffeur, Eddie.’
‘Oh yes, you gave me a lift to Scotland at Christmas.’ That was when she’d first met Fliss. Hattie recalled that Eddie was the explorer in the family and had been to both Poles and climbed Everest, which explained his rugged looks and weather-beaten face. He had the same aquiline nose and wide mouth as Fliss.
‘Ah yes, the damsel in distress,’ replied Eddie cheerfully.
‘Mm,’ said Hattie, a touch embarrassed by his recollection. She had been quite desperate at the time, having made the rather fraught last-minute decision to join her family, which had not gone down well with Chris.
‘And this is Colin. A friend of Eddie’s. He takes photographs.’ Fliss gave him a sour look. ‘He’s just along for the ride.’
Colin held up his hand in a cheery wave.
‘Don’t buy anything from him,’ warned Fliss. He simply grinned, making the freckles on his sunny face dance.
‘Okay,’ said Hattie, none the wiser
‘Nice to see you again,’ said Eddie, stepping forward and holding out a hand. ‘Bit warmer this time.’
‘Just a bit. This is Luc, he’s the owner of the Château St Martin.’
‘Hi, Luc.’ Eddie held out his hand and shook Luc’s. ‘Do you mind if we take a quick pitstop and have a drink before we head off?’
‘No, not all.’
Fliss tutted. ‘You’re so obvious, Eddie.’ She turned to Hattie. ‘He’s checking the place out to make sure it’s all above board because I’m a poor helpless woman who has no judgement of her own.’
‘Hey, Luc,’ said Colin, diving between the siblings and holding out his hand. ‘Nice place you’ve got here. Don’t suppose you fancy some aerial shots?’
Fliss nudged him hard in the ribs. ‘Colin!’
‘What? It’s what I do! And cheap at the price.’ He turned to Luc. ‘I took a few on the way down. I’ll just load ’em up on my laptop and you can take a look. What have you got to lose?’
Luc laughed. ‘Sure I’ll take a look. They might actually be useful for marketing material.’
‘See,’ said Colin to Fliss.
She rolled her eyes and hefted her rucksack onto her back.
‘Do you want a hand?’ asked Hattie.
‘No, I’m good –’ she patted her rucksack protectively ‘– and my brother can make himself useful for once and take my other bag.’
‘Sure thing, sis.’ Eddie picked up the other large bag with a good-natured grin. ‘Notice you’re not trusting me with your precious knives.’
Fliss shuddered. ‘I don’t trust anyone with my knives, least of all you. You’d probably use them to skin a bear, hack down tree branches to make a bivouac or something equally hideous.’
‘Probably,’ replied Eddie, cheerfully.
‘It’s at times like this I’m glad I have no siblings,’ remarked Luc quietly to Hattie.
‘Me too,’ she whispered back as they led the way down the hill towar.ds the château that nestled into the top of the hill on the opposite side of the valley.
‘Why don’t I take Eddie and Colin onto the patio for a coffee while you show Fliss up to her room?’ suggested Luc as they walked up through the garden at the front of the château. He led Eddie off to the right around the outside of the building, while she took Fliss through the front door.
‘Lovely,’ sighed Fliss, easing the rucksack from her back onto the floor and looking around at the grand entrance hall. ‘This is beautiful. And thanks for inviting Eddie to stay for a bit. He can reassure himself and the rest of the family that I’ve not signed up to some weird cult or been sold off to human traffickers.’ She shook her head. ‘I almost regret asking him for a bloody lift but Chantilly is so close it would have been cutting my nose off to spite my face, not that I wouldn’t be happy to chop the damn thing off.’ She stabbed at her long nose with her fingers.
