SERIAL A Year In France

Dannie had had a hard time, and Maddy decided to give her the break she needed . . .

MADDY straightened the throw she’d placed over the settee and attempted to relax as seven o’clock approached.

Telling Dannie she could see the flat wasn’t saying she could move in before they’d even met, was it?

Lots of things needed to be discussed before that stage was reached – if it was reached at all.

Some house rules would have to be laid down: no smoking, respect each other’s space, no leaving dishes in the sink, and a rota set up for housework.

Of course, none of this had been necessary when Julia had lived there, as they’d known each other for so long it was instinctive to know what the other would like and how they would react to things. But Dannie was a stranger.

By seven Maddy had convinced herself having a flatmate was the wrong thing to do, but it was too late to cancel now; Dannie would be here any minute.

She’d be polite. She’d go through the motions of discussing things then suggest they took time to think it over. In reality, though, Maddy knew she’d already made her decision.

Opening the door to Dannie a few seconds later, Maddy blinked. She hadn’t expected this!

Standing in front of her with a hopeful smile was a very pretty young girl.

With her peasant skirt, velvet jacket and long blonde hair, she looked like an escapee from a Laurie Lee story.

Maddy could feel her earlier resolve weakening.

“Hi. I’m Dannie,” a quiet voice told her.

“Come in. Let me help you with that,” she said as Dannie struggled to slip a large rucksack off her back.

“This weighs a ton. How did you manage to carry it? There’s nothing of you.” Dannie shrugged.

“I had no choice. I have nowhere to leave it and all my stuff is in it.”

Maddy put the rucksack down by the door leading to the spare bedroom and turned back to Dannie. “Coffee?”

Dannie nodded. “Please.” She sank down on the settee, tiredly pushing strands of hair away from her face. “It’s lovely and warm in here.”

“Did it take you long to find me?” Maddy asked.

“No. I wasn’t far away,” Dannie replied.

Waiting for the kettle to boil, Maddy opened a packet of biscuits and put them beside the mugs, then she poured the coffee.

She took it through to the sitting-room and placed it on the coffee table before offering Dannie a biscuit.

“Tina said you were couch-surfing. Where was the couch last night?”

Dannie waved a hand vaguely in the air.

“About twenty minutes away. Oh, bourbons, my favourite. Do you mind if I take two?”

“Of course not.” Maddy put the packet down on the table. “How long have you been in London?” “Three weeks.” Maddy took a sip of her own coffee and waited for Dannie to say more, but her mouth was too full of biscuit for her to continue.

Thoughtfully Maddy watched Dannie devour the biscuits then take a gulp of coffee. Something wasn’t right here. The more she looked at Dannie, the more she realised how unkempt she appeared.

When she could finally speak again, Dannie looked at Maddy.

“I came to be with my boyfriend who had a job down here six months ago. What I didn’t know was that he also had a new live-in girlfriend.”

“I’m sorry about that, but why didn’t you get straight back on the train and go home?” Maddy asked.

“I felt such an idiot. I had been telling everyone about this marvellous new life I was going to have in London with my boyfriend.

“We’d been together for over a year,” she went on. “I couldn’t face going home and telling people that he’d dumped me. I thought if I stayed and got a job it would be easier to admit in a month or two that we had broken up, but I was fine and had a life down here.”

“But you’re not fine, are you?” Maddy said gently. “And you haven’t found a job yet.”

Dannie shook her head. “No.”

“How old are you?” “Almost twenty.”

“Do you have any money left?”

A shake of her head confirmed Maddy’s fears.

“When was the last time you ate a meal?” she asked.

“I had something last night from the soup kitchen.”

“Right. Stop eating those biscuits. I’m going to make you something to eat, then we’re going to talk,” Maddy said. “A bowl of pasta and bolognese sauce?”

“Thank you,” Dannie said. “Can I help?”

“No, it’s OK. It won’t take very long. You can talk to me while I do it. So, how do you know Tina?”

For her own peace of mind, Maddy needed to know there was a genuine link between them, that Dannie wasn’t just someone Tina had met who was down on their luck.

“She’s my sister’s friend. I bumped into her outside King’s Cross station.”

Maddy noted the hesitation.

“Were you begging?” She barely heard the whispered, “Yes”.

“Did Tina realise what you were doing?”

“No. I saw her coming so I pretended to be just leaving the station.”

Maddy sighed as she heated the bolognese sauce. The mention of the soup kitchen and begging at King’s Cross filled her with dismay. There was no way she could let Dannie go back out to that life with all the dangers it posed.

When the pasta was ready she put it on the breakfast bar, but Dannie was asleep on the settee, looking so vulnerable Maddy could have cried.

“Your meal’s ready,” she said, gently touching her arm. “Do you fancy a small glass of wine with it?”

Dannie gave a start as she opened her eyes.

“Sorry. I haven’t slept much recently. I would love a glass of wine.”

“You weren’t telling Tina the truth, were you, about couch-surfing? So, where exactly have you been sleeping?” Maddy asked as Dannie ate her meal.

“Some nights I managed to get a bed in a women’s hostel.” Dannie shrugged. “Otherwise, anywhere I felt safe.” She looked at Maddy as she scraped the last of the sauce from the plate.

“That was delicious, thank you.”

“Right. We need to talk,” Maddy began. “You’ve got nowhere to live, no money to pay rent and no job.”

“That just about sums it up,” Dannie said quietly.

Maddy looked at her, knowing that she had to help this girl.

“So, if I were to give you the train fare to go home, would you take it and do that?” Maddy took a deep breath. “Or if I said you can have my spare room rent free for a month, sort yourself out and find a job, would you do that?”

She held her hand up as Dannie went to speak.

“Don’t make a rushed decision. Think about it.”

She picked up her wine glass and smiled at Dannie.

“Get a good night’s sleep. Tell me your decision in the morning and we’ll sort things out one way or the other.”

“I enjoyed last night,” Julia said as she poured coffees for her and Philippe at breakfast on the Sunday morning after supper at Christiane’s. “Your mum’s friend Thierry seems nice.”

Philippe, concentrating on pulling his croissant apart and heaping a spoonful of marmalade on it, grunted.

“I can’t see why Mama puts up with him.”

“Maybe because she likes him?” Julia said. “Why? Don’t you like him?” Philippe shrugged. “He was my father’s friend. They grew up

There was no way Maddy could let Dannie go back out to that life

together and were best men at each other’s weddings. Since he’s retired and moved back up here, he has been hanging around Mama more and more.”

“What happened to his wife?”

“She died.”

When Philippe didn’t say any more, Julia went on.

“They’re probably drawn together because of shared memories of your father. You should be pleased for her. She’s still got her life to lead and Thierry seems to be helping her.”

When Philippe didn’t answer, Julia helped herself to a croissant.

“So the London Book Fair. Are you going to tell me which hotel you have booked us into? Or are you planning on surprising me?” She smiled hopefully.

She’d wanted to talk to him last night on the drive home but had been too tired to broach the subject.

“Nowhere. We’re not going,” Philippe said flatly.

“That’s not the surprise I wanted,” Julia said, deflated. “I was so looking forward to it. Why aren’t we going?”

“I feel really guilty about disappointing you,” Philippe said. “But my edits came back from the publisher yesterday, and I can’t believe how many there are. I have to rewrite a couple of chapters.” Julia sighed. “There’s still a week before the book fair, though. Maybe you’ll get through them

quicker than you anticipate.” “Maybe. I promise you if that happens we’ll go. Even if it’s only for one day.” He stood up. “Right, back to the grindstone.”

“I was hoping we might go for a walk together at some point today,” Julia suggested. “Or even go out for lunch. It is Sunday.”

She knew she sounded petulant, but she didn’t care. She was fed up spending time alone.

She stood up and went to clear the table, but Philippe took her in his arms and hugged her.

“Fancy lunch in the village restaurant? But I warn you, I’ll have to work when we get back.

“And Julia, I really am desperately sorry. I was dreading telling you about the book fair.” He gave her a gentle kiss. “You could go on your own if you want.”

“I could,” Julia admitted. “It wouldn’t be the same without you, though. I wanted to introduce you to people. Take you to my favourite haunts.”

“I promise we’ll do that soon,” Philippe said. “Ring the restaurant and book a table. Give me a shout about one o’clock and I’ll have a quick shower before we leave.”

“OK. I’ll take Tess for a walk this morning,” Julia said, feeling happier at the thought of spending some more time with Philippe.

An hour later, as Julia stood at the top of the hill behind the village, listening to the church bells tolling out across the valley, she thought about the new life she’d thrown herself into a few short months ago.

It was a life she’d longed for. Falling in love with Philippe had unleashed emotions and desires in her that she’d repressed as she concentrated on her career.

So why was she feeling so unsettled? Had Maddy been right when she’d tried to warn her? Marry in haste, repent at leisure.

As she’d flung herself into the excitement of loving Philippe and planning the wedding, Julia realised she hadn’t given any thought to how different her life would be as a married woman. Or how different life would be in a foreign country.

Watching the cars travelling along the main road through the village, she realised she’d also failed to take into account her independent streak.

Before she died, her mum had often told her, “You’re too independent for your own good, young lady.”

Had she been foolish when she’d assumed that she and Philippe would talk and make joint decisions about things that affected them both? This past week alone, he’d arbitrarily made two decisions without discussing things with her.

First he’d dismissed the cottage she liked, and now he’d cancelled the trip to the London Book Fair.

Maybe she should go on her own. She could stay at Maddy’s so there would be no need to worry about finding a hotel.

A few days away, chatting to Maddy and catching up with other friends, then a day at the book fair and going to a show. She could live life as she’d known it for so long.

And when she got back here she’d sort her life out. Maybe find some freelance work.

“Come on, Tess.” She called the dog, who was inspecting some rabbit holes. “Let’s go home.”

She would phone Maddy when she got back, make the arrangements and tell Philippe her decision over lunch.

It was after ten o’clock on Sunday morning before Dannie woke up.

Initially confused as to where she was when she opened her eyes, a feeling of relief flooded through her body as she remembered Maddy and her kindness the evening before.

The food, a hot shower and this comfortable bed had been sheer bliss. The nightmare memories of the past few weeks would take time to fade, but the deep sleep she’d fallen into last night was a step in the right direction.

A tiny flame of optimism that everything would work out began to burn inside her.

She could hear Maddy moving around the flat and could make out the sound of the radio turned down low. It was the omnibus edition of “The Archers”.

Her mum would be listening to that in the kitchen at home while she prepared the vegetables for lunch.

Dannie pushed thoughts of home away. She would have time to think about that later, after she’d given Maddy an answer to the generous offer she had made last night.

Dannie swung her legs out of bed and rummaged in her rucksack for some clean clothes. She’d have to ask Maddy if she could do a load of washing later.

“Morning, Maddy,” she said, opening the bedroom door to the hall.

“Hi. Would you like a coffee?” Maddy said. “And I thought maybe poached eggs on toast?”

“That sounds great. Can I help?”

Maddy shook her head. “The kitchen’s so small there’s barely room for me. Did you sleep all right?”

Dannie perched on one of the tall stools by the breakfast bar.

“I can’t thank you enough for last night. You were very kind.”

Maddy pushed a mug towards her.

“No worries. You look better than you did last night, which is a relief.”

“I’ve been thinking about your offer,” Dannie said. “The sensible thing would be for me to go home and admit I’ve made a mistake, wouldn’t it?”

She glanced at Maddy, who simply shrugged.

“On the other hand, the thought of living down here, working, making my own way for once, is something I’ve dreamed about for ages now.

“I thought that being with Jason was the beginning of realising my dream. Instead it’s been the worse three weeks of my life.”

Thoughtfully Dannie stirred sugar into her coffee.

“What sort of job did you have at home?” Maddy asked.

“I worked in our local bookshop until it closed. I loved it. Since then I’ve only managed to get part-time jobs. Coffee shops; newsagents at weekends. I’ve not got any qualifications to have an actual career or anything.” Dannie sighed as she took a sip of coffee.

“I suppose my dream job would be in a boutique that sells vintage clothes. This looks good,” she said, as Maddy placed two poached eggs on toast in front of her.

“I don’t know about vintage boutiques, but there are lots of coffee shops here which always seem to be short staffed,” Maddy said. “I’m not sure what they pay, though.”

“Minimum wage,” Dannie answered. “I’ve applied for some, but once they found out I didn’t have an address they didn’t want to know.

“It’s a catch twenty-two situation. No address equals no job. But with no job, I can’t get an address.”

“Minimum wage isn’t a lot,” Maddy said. “You would need to work a lot of hours to earn decent money.”

“If I find a job and sort myself out,” Dannie said slowly, “how much rent would I need to find?”

“Nothing for the first month.” Maddy pursed her lips. “After that you should know if you’re happy here or if you want to go home.

“If you do decide to stay we can work out a figure you could afford based on what you are earning.”

Dannie concentrated on eating for a moment.

“I would like to stay. I want to see if I can make things work out.”

“Good. There’s just one thing – your parents. Have you told them about Jason?”

“We’ve spoken a couple of times,” Dannie replied. “But I haven’t told them about Jason or how I’ve been surviving. I didn’t want to worry them.”

“That’s the first thing, then,” Maddy told her.

“Tell them what’s happened and what you’re doing. If they want to talk to me, I’m happy to do that. To reassure them.”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this for me,” Dannie said, fighting the tears that were threatening to fall.

“You’re just down on your luck temporarily and I’m in a position to help. Maybe one day you’ll get the chance to help someone yourself.”

“You’re like my guardian angel,” Dannie said. “I promise you I’ll repay you.”

“Not necessary, but as I hate washing-up, I’ll leave you to do the breakfast things.” Maddy laughed. “Afterwards, I thought we’d go out and I’ll show you the neighbourhood and you can suss out places that might have a job for you.”

Lunch at the restaurant was lovely, but when they got back to the cottage, Philippe disappeared into his study again.

As he closed the office door behind him, Julia realised she hadn’t told him she was thinking of going to London on her own.

Maddy hadn’t answered her phone before lunch and Julia really wanted to check with her about staying in the apartment before saying anything to Philippe.

It was evening before Maddy answered her phone.

“Hi, Julia. How’s things? Do you know which hotel Philippe’s booked you into yet?”

“He’s not coming,” Julia said. “He’s too busy. I’m thinking of coming on my own, though, if that’s all right with you.”

Maddy didn’t respond straight away and in the silence Julia could hear another voice whispering something.

“Sorry, have you got someone there? Shall I call back later?” she asked.

“No, it’s fine. Dannie was just asking if she could have another shower.” “Dannie?”

“My new flatmate. Well, for a month, anyway, then we’ll see what happens.”

Julia remembered Maddy telling her about someone looking at the room on Saturday evening.

“She didn’t turn out to be a weirdo, then,” she said, “if she’s moved in already.”

“She’d been sleeping rough and she’s far too young and vulnerable to be doing that. I had to help.”

“Did she have references?” Julia asked, knowing what the answer would be. “Can she afford the rent?”

“She’s staying as a friend,” Maddy answered. “Once she’s sorted we’ll talk about that. She’s just a kid who needs a helping hand,” she added.

“Oh, Maddy, I hope you’re not being taken for a ride,” Julia said.

“I’m not,” Maddy assured her friend. “Anyway, Dannie’s got the spare room now, but the sofa bed’s still free if you want.

“I was looking forward to seeing you. I can’t take a day off that week but I’ll organise you a ticket for the fair and we can maybe hit the town one evening.”

“OK,” Julia said, coming to a decision. “I’ll look into flights and let you know which day I’ll be arriving.”

Philippe, when she told him her plans in bed that night, hugged her.

“I’ll miss you, but I’m glad you’re going. I can lock myself away, and who knows, by the time you get back, my book might be finished and we can spend more time together. We might even have the time to start house hunting.”

Julia spent the next few days organising things for the time she’d be away.

It was unbelievable how much there was to do for such a short time.

She needed to buy food and get the washing and ironing up to date. She couldn’t help remembering how in her previous life she’d just thrown things into a suitcase and taken off, not worrying about the chaos she left behind.

Organising how to get down to the airport was proving to be a stumbling block. Should she leave the house at five a.m. and catch an early flight? Or should she book a midmorning one, which meant Philippe losing hours of his writing day driving her to the airport?

Christiane offered to solve her problem.

“Thierry and I can drive you. I’d like the opportunity to do some shopping in Nice,” Christiane said. “And Thierry has wanted to treat me to lunch at the Negresco for weeks now, so he’ll be happy.”

Thierry might be happy at the prospect, but Philippe definitely wasn’t.

“There was no need to ask him. I would have driven you down,” he said when she told him the plan.

Julia gazed at him, exasperated.

“It’s a two-hour drive there and back, and you’ve got a book to edit! Besides, I didn’t ask. They offered.” “Well, I’ll pick you up.” “I’ll get an evening flight so as not to disturb your day,” Julia said, smiling.

But as she picked up the phone to book her flights, something inside made her hesitate. Maddy would never tell her she was in the way, but next week was one of the busiest of the year for her. She didn’t need extra hassle from Julia.

Besides, Julia herself had always held the opinion that people sleeping on a sofa bed were always in the way, so how could she inflict herself on Maddy?

She began to question why she was going on her own in the first place. What would she gain from going?

Spending time at the fair would be interesting, but she was so out of the loop now it wasn’t as if she needed to network.

Was she going just to make the point to Philippe that she could do things independently? She was almost beginning to feel as if she were running away from her new life before it had begun properly.

“I wish I could stay and give you another day to settle in, but this week is manic at work,” Maddy said as she prepared to go to work on Monday morning.

“I’ll be fine,” Dannie assured her. “Hopefully this evening I’ll have some news about a job.”

“If there are any problems give me a ring. Right, I’ll see you later. Good luck!” With that Maddy was gone.

The weeks before the London Book Fair were always busy and this year was no exception. Meetings with publishers, foreign representatives and clients all had to be organised before the fair even began.

When Kirsty stopped by her desk to tell her they’d been invited to join the panel at a seminar on the importance of foreign rights on the second day of the fair, she protested.

“It’s a bit last minute, isn’t it?” she pointed out.

“Doesn’t matter,” Kirsty snapped. “I can’t rearrange my meeting, so you’ll have to do it. Move whatever you’ve got planned for Wednesday to another time.”

“But . . .”

“When you’ve done it, give Leah copies of the timetable so she can co-ordinate things on the stand,” Kirsty finished.

“I thought Margaret was organising the stand for us like she normally does?” Maddy said. “With Leah staying in the office.”

“There’s been a change of plan.” Kirsty lowered her voice. “Margaret’s getting a bit too old to cope with all the frenzy of the fair, so I’ve told Leah she’ll be coming with us instead. She’s thrilled.”

“I bet she is,” Maddy muttered.

She sighed as she watched Kirsty walk away. Once upon a time they’d discussed things and Kirsty had valued her opinion. She had treated her almost like a partner.

These days, though, Kirsty was taking more and more decisions without involving her. As for Leah being in charge of the stand at the fair, Maddy shook her head.

At least she’d be too busy at the fair to have much to do with Leah. There would definitely not be any snatched coffee breaks like she’d enjoyed in

past years with Margaret, that was for sure.

Maddy made a mental note to check with Margaret that she really was happy with this year’s arrangement. Not that there was anything she could do to change it.

The complete manuscript of the time-slip story was in her post that morning and she quickly put it in her satchel bag to take home. She sent a brief e-mail to the author acknowledging receipt and saying she’d be in touch as soon as she had read it.

Eating a sandwich at her desk at lunchtime, Maddy wondered how Dannie was getting on. She picked up her phone to give her a ring, but put it down again. She was probably out job hunting anyway.

By the time Maddy got back to the flat that evening she was exhausted and had decided that a bowl of pasta would be a quick and easy supper before she collapsed into bed.

A happy, smiling Dannie greeted her.

“Supper’s ready. It’s nothing special – just some soup followed by an omelette.”

“That sounds wonderful. Did you have a good day?” Maddy asked.

“I’ve got a job! Well, two, actually!” was Dannie’s excited reply.

“Wow, that was quick. Where? When do you start?”

“The coffee bar down by the station. The guy’s Italian. I start tomorrow at ten and finish at two. He says he can’t afford me more than three days a week at the moment, but that’s fine because next week I start a job in a dress shop for three afternoons.”

Dannie glanced at Maddy.

“Pay isn’t brilliant for either of them, but it’s a start,” she added quietly.

“Have you phoned your mum to tell her yet?” Maddy said.

Dannie nodded. “She’s got everything crossed for me.” She smiled at Maddy. “She really appreciated talking to you the other day. She says she owes you big time for sorting me out, and any time you fancy a visit up north you’re more than welcome.”

“I might just take her up on that one day,” Maddy said.

Dannie was out working on Saturday morning and Maddy was blitzing the flat before dragging herself out to do a supermarket shop, when Julia called.

“Hi. How are you doing? Burning the midnight oil as usual with book fair prep?” Julia asked.

“More than usual this year. Kirsty has become very keen at delegating. As for Leah, well, let’s just say the woman irritates me! I’m seriously thinking of moving on,” Maddy admitted.

“You could start your own business,” Julia suggested. “I know we’ve had that discussion lots of times, but seriously, why not?”

“Why not? In a word: money. Anyway,” Maddy said, changing the subject, “I’m about to go and stock up with food, including your favourite chocolate and wine. Is there anything else you fancy?

“What time is your flight arriving on Tuesday? I’m really looking forward to having you here.”

“It would have been wonderful.” Julia sighed heavily.

“What? What are you saying?”

“I felt so guilty over leaving Philippe and jetting off to enjoy myself that I left it too late to book flights,” Julia said. “So I’m not coming. I’m staying here.”

There was no need to add that she’d deliberately left it too late. Or to tell Maddy she needed to sort out her French life before she could even think of taking a flight back to the UK.

To be continued.