‘Need to visit that sometime during the fortnight,’ Mandy said.
Further on near Port Vauban, they all stood and admired the eight-metre-high delicate sculpture of the seated human, ‘Nomade’, looking out across the Mediterranean.
‘Wow,’ Lorraine said. ‘How amazing is that.’
‘It’s wonderful, isn’t it?’ Isobel said. ‘So high and made entirely of letters and see-through. You can actually go inside it.’
As they walked away from the harbour under the archway leading up to the Cours Masséna where the covered Le Marché Provençal stood, Liz gave a happy sigh as she glanced at Isobel. ‘Thank you for twisting my arm to come here. I already adore Antibes. Ralph would never consider France, said he didn’t like the country and always wanted to go to Spain for the golf – somewhere I find too hot. I could never come up with any suggestions that he would even consider. Wish I’d discovered Antibes years ago.’
‘It’s the kind of place that draws you back time and time again,’ Isobel said. ‘Wait until we explore the town properly. There’s just something special about it. I think it’s my favourite place on the Riviera.’
* * *
For the first dinner, Guy had decided on hot smoked salmon vol-au-vents, a chicken and herb casserole, and for dessert, crème brûlée. With Zoe serving, he hovered out in the kitchen yard, unashamedly eavesdropping as every course was placed on the table out on the terrace, anxious to hear how the food was being received. By the time the dessert was being served, he knew the meal had gone down well and he stayed back in the kitchen.
‘That was a truly delicious meal,’ Isobel said. ‘Congratulations and thanks to the chef. If we’re going to be eating like that every day, I shall have to seriously think about doing some exercising.’
After the meal had been cleared away, everyone was happy to stay sipping the last of the wine and chatting as the solar lights dotted around the garden switched themselves on. Inevitably, the talk turned to writing and books. When Sandy deliberately threw in the title of a recent controversial bestseller and asked them what they thought, it kicked off a heated discussion. But it proved to be a positive and pleasant evening as the five women got to know each other.
Once everyone had gone off to bed, Sandy settled in one of the comfy chairs on the terrace, reached for the last of the wine and thought about the women. The first day of a retreat was always a worry – who would be arriving, would they like the accommodation, would the women get on together and gel into a good group? Sandy sipped her wine. Her gut feeling told her this was going to be a good retreat. With Becky Taylor in their midst there might well be a few awkward moments, but on the whole she felt the other women would discover things in common and new writer friendships would be formed. Retreats were also about networking, as well as getting words on paper.
11
Once dinner was over, the tables had been cleared and the dishwasher loaded, Guy had sent Zoe home and finished wiping down the work surfaces and doing the final tidying up of the kitchen himself, before turning off the kitchen lights and making his way upstairs. Taking off his chef’s whites, he had a quick refreshing shower, pulled on a clean polo shirt, boxers, a pair of shorts and he was ready for a traditional ‘winding down’ glass or two of wine on the roof terrace after a busy evening.
Down below, lamp posts along the bord de mer shone their lights on the traffic moving in both directions and in return were illuminated by car headlights driving west towards Juan-les-Pins and Cannes and eastwards along the curve of the coast, where the lights of Nice airport could be seen. Inland, lights shone from Antibes town into the back country, where they glowed from the villas and apartment blocks in the villages and small towns that populated the countryside. Out at sea too, there were lights flickering on distant unseen cargo boats and yachts navigating a safe passage into port. It was a night-time view that Guy never tired of.
Slowly he sipped his rosé and thought about the evening. He was pleased with the way he’d slipped back into the well-oiled routine of producing good food effortlessly. Although tonight’s simple meal had in no way been haute cuisine or a challenge, he had enjoyed producing it and hearing that everyone had enjoyed their dinner. He hoped Sandy was happy. Perhaps this fortnight wasn’t going to be too difficult after all.
He realised with a start that Jacqueline hadn’t been in his mind at all for the past few hours. The kitchen had always been his domain, so he couldn’t miss her not being there to help when she’d never been a part of his ‘brigade de cuisine’. Jacqueline had enjoyed being the face of the hotel and the restaurant, had loved accepting all the ‘compliments to the chef’ on his behalf, whereas he had always shied away from too much personal involvement with the customers.
Looking out over the part of the hotel garden he could see down below him, Guy frowned. As well as the solar lights, he could see the terrace lights were on. He’d better go down and turn them off before making for his bed.
* * *
Sandy looked up from her Kindle as Guy appeared. ‘Hi.’
‘Sorry, I didn’t realise you were still out here. I thought the lights had been left on,’ Guy said, looking at her anxiously. ‘Are you sitting out here at nearly midnight because your room is uncomfortable? I did warn you it’s tiny.’
Sandy shook her head and put her Kindle down on the table. ‘The room is fine. I’m waiting up for a certain guest, who may or may not decide to return this evening.’
‘Zoe mentioned that Becky Taylor was the absent dinner guest.’
‘That’s the one,’ Sandy nodded. ‘I doubt she has any intention of being back by midnight when I told her the door would be locked. She wanted a key or the passcode, which I refused to give her. Didn’t think you would want to give out either.’
‘No, I wouldn’t. What is she doing here anyway? Does she not have thousands of followers on social media that keep her busy posting content?’
‘She wants to write a novel. Feels that is her next logical step.’ Sandy gave a rueful smile. ‘I should warn you, she seems very keen to offer you her condolences for Jacqueline.’
‘Oh hell.’ Guy felt his body tense at her words. ‘Bit late,’ he muttered.
‘Lovely meal tonight, Guy,’ Sandy said, changing the subject.
‘Glad you enjoyed it. You happy with everything? Guests happy?’
‘Five of them definitely are,’ Sandy answered with a grin. ‘You should have taken the opportunity to come out and meet them.’
‘You know I prefer to stay in the background. And with Becky Taylor lurking around…’ Guy shook his head and didn’t finish the sentence. ‘You could have mentioned she was coming.’
