A Year in the Château by Sarah Long

Author:Sarah Long
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Fiction

CHAPTER TWELVE

‘Thank goodness the sun is shining,’ said Nicola the next morning, as she brought a tray of coffee into the bedroom. ‘I’m not sure I could have coped with no electricity, outdoor toilet facilities and the pouring rain.’

Dominic sat up in bed to take his cup.

‘Have you been out already?’

‘Yes, it took me right back to girl guide camp. I only went for one weekend, never again, the latrines were too much. I prefer our setting here – enough space for us all to find our own personal earth closet.’

‘I must admit I opened the window to save going downstairs. Reminded me of a French exchange I did when I was thirteen. My copain Pierre used to piss out of the window every morning; his mum had a big argument with him about it, said he was turning the tree outside yellow.’

‘Gross.’

‘So this morning I thought, when in France . . .’

‘When in France . . . you might as well turn into a horrible old man who pisses out of his bedroom window. Supposing someone happened to be taking a stroll?’

‘Authentic medieval behaviour, true to the origins of our historic dream home.’

‘Our dream home with no functioning toilets.’

She climbed in next to him, placing her cup of coffee on the bedside table. ‘I thought it was very romantic, going to bed by candlelight. My phone has died now, too, so it’s just like the olden days. I’m going to stay here for a bit and read my book before thinking about the septic tank and power failure.’ She picked up her book and opened it with a sense of quiet satisfaction. ‘Hopefully someone else will have dealt with it all by the time we get up.’ The upside of shared ownership was that there was always the option to leave it to the others.

Dominic, too, had enjoyed the romance of guiding Nicola up the stairs by the light of the candle he had taken from the kitchen cupboard. He hadn’t shared with her the memory of the last time that had happened. He had been on the point of doing so – ‘Do you remember?’ he had said, then stopped himself. It wasn’t with Nicola, it was in a different house with a different person, and he was glad he had managed to hold himself in check. Just in the nick of time, again.

‘Cheeky lie-in, good idea,’ said Dominic, extending a hopeful hand in her direction beneath the sheets. ‘Every morning is Sunday morning when you’re a silver fox in early retirement. And no chance of the morality squad bursting in.’

One of his irritations about living with their adult children was the lack of privacy. You never knew when one of them would come charging in, with no thought about what they might be interrupting. Whereas they wouldn’t dream of opening Maddie’s or Gus’s door for fear of what they would find.

‘Maddie’s forgiven John, by the way,’ said Nicola. ‘She texted last night to say she’s thinking of moving in with him.’

‘That was quick! Never crossed her mind to move out when we were there putting food on the table.

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