‘Aye,’ she said quietly. ‘I think we will.’
* * *
She gave Fi her card from Gordon in a private moment as Ellie wound Bonnie into her wrap to carry her home. She gave Ellie hers as soon as she was back in her own home, and then she went to give Laura hers because she wanted all her girls to have them at the same time.
She knew what they said on the back.
Laura – my first bairn. Today, I remembered you waiting at the door to give me a kiss when I came home from work. I love you so much, Lulu.
Dada
My Fiona – you look so much like your mam did when I fell in love with her, but she tells me you’re the most like me on the inside. You’re the quiet one. The thinker. The peacemaker. I know how deeply you will feel things. I love you.
Dada
Ellie – you see things in a way no one else can, but you can show them what you see through your art. It’s a gift. Treasure it. I am so proud of you. How can I thank you enough for what you saw in my art, because that has led to this. I have a family again. I owe you my heart and all the love inside that I can give you.
Dada
19
‘Where’s Heidi?’
‘She can’t come with us today. Didier’s looking after her.’
It felt different being in Christophe’s car without the back seat being filled with the huge, gentle dog. It felt oddly a little more intimate, as if a chaperone had taken the day off.
Fi stole a peek at Christophe. She rather liked this new feeling. ‘Where are we going?’
‘To a village called Puget-Théniers. It’s about an hour’s drive up into the mountains.’
‘Why couldn’t Heidi come?’
‘Because she would have had to stay in the car and it’s far too hot for that.’
‘Why would she have to stay in the car? What’s in Puget-Théniers?’
Asking one ‘why’ question after another made Fi feel like a small child. But it wasn’t the only feeling that was childlike this morning. Being with Christophe like this – completely alone, with no hint of a chaperone – heading towards an unknown adventure was creating a sparkle of excitement that reminded her of her earliest memories of waking up on Christmas morning knowing that something amazingly wonderful was about to happen.
‘A train station,’ Christophe told her. ‘We are taking a special train from Puget-Théniers to another village called Annot. It isle Train des Pignes à Vapeur. A…’ He seemed to be focussing on the traffic around them. Or maybe searching for a word. ‘A vintage train,’ he said.
Vapeur… Almost an English word. ‘Steam?’ Fi offered.
‘Oui.C’est ça. I’ve been wanting to do this train trip for a very long time. It’s a good thing that we’re collecting photos for Nonna. I was trying to think of something different for us to do and it made me remember the train and it will be perfect. It’s exactly the sort of thing lovers would do for a day together.’ Christophe threw one of his gorgeous smiles over his shoulder. ‘It will be fun, I promise.’
But Fi was still hearing the echoes of his earlier words. Or one in particular.
Lovers…
Just the sound of the word, let alone its implications, made Fi’s breath catch in her throat. She had to press her fingers against her lips and finish breathing in through her nose to stop it turning into a gasp. A door had opened, letting in flashes of daydreams – ones that had somehow been absorbed into the fantasy game of being a couple – and allowing them to wrap themselves around her. And how could she stop them? Here she was, on a glorious summer’s day, wearing a pretty long, layered sundress she’d purchased at the market last week, with a soft straw hat ready to protect her from the sun, in the company of the most beautiful man in the world, who’d invited her to go to lunch with him.
A man who was completely at ease. Maybe as excited as she was about the adventure to come.
‘The train only runs over summer. It’s a tourist attraction but many French people love it also. It’s famous. So is the railway line. I believe this is the only original part left ofles Chemins de Fer de Provence– the old railway.’
‘Chemins de fer,’ Fi repeated, adding the words to her increasing vocabulary. ‘Isn’tchemina path?’
‘Ouais. Literally, an iron path.’
