A Chateau Under Siege by Walker Martin

Author:Walker, Martin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quercus
Published: 2023-06-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Nadia parked outside the building being used as dressing rooms for the cast, and soon learned that all tickets for that evening had been sold out. She swiftly arranged with Romain, the deputy Mayor, for Bruno and Claire to be invited to watch the show from the big upstairs windows of the Hôtel de Ville. Then she rushed off. Bruno and Claire had time to stroll around the crowded marketplace where the stallholders were in medieval dress, selling their food and drink until the show began. They looked, but didn’t buy; Romain had assured them that wine, snacks and sandwiches would be served to the guests upstairs.

‘This is an impressive show to be arranged by a small town like this,’ said Claire as they wandered through the old town. ‘I guess it lives on tourism.’

‘In large part, Sarlat is the capital of the Périgord Noir.’ He would have said more but suddenly his legs were embraced by two small people. He looked down to see the twins Dora and Daniel, and behind them their smiling mother, Florence.

He hugged her in greeting, picked up the children, one in each arm, and introduced them all to Claire, explaining that she was Nadia’s sister and telling Claire that Florence was a teacher at the St Denis collège, the reigning computer expert, star soloist of the church choir and a dear friend.

‘Are you staying for the show?’ he asked her.

‘No, I have to get the children home to bed. They’ve been making friends with all the cows and goats but now they’re drooping so it’s time to go.’ She turned to Claire saying, ‘You must be the sister who lives in California. Nadia has told us so much about you. I do hope your father gets better soon.’

The two women chatted while Bruno asked Dora and Daniel if they had enjoyed their day and what they had liked most, but the twins wanted to ask him when he would take them swimming again. He’d taught them to swim and they never tired of it. Soon, he promised them, and the thought came into his head that maybe Patsy would like to meet them and they could all swim together when his work at the chateau was over. They all walked to Florence’s car, and she set off for St Denis.

Having observed Bruno with the twins, Claire asked Bruno if he had children of his own as they walked back to the main square. He shook his head, still smiling at seeing the twins.

‘Florence said her kids don’t have a father but they do have Bruno,’ Claire said. ‘She kept her eyes on you the whole time we were chatting. She told me you’d changed her life by getting her a teacher’s job in St Denis that came with an apartment. She added that she’s never been so happy.’

‘Florence is really somebody. She may even be our first female mayor one day,’ he said.

‘From the way she looked at you with the children, she obviously trusts you with them,’ Claire said, with a cheeky smile.

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