Jean-Luc was eating sausages when Brendan and Maura came down. Evie threw an arm around his shoulder, almost knocking his fork from his hand. ‘I’m giving him a proper Irish breakfast. He has a lot of hard work on today up in the field.’ She poured coffee into cups and added, ‘I can fry you some sausages too if you want them?’
Maura pulled a face and her pallor explained why she was nibbling at dry toast. Brendan reached for the coffee.
Jean-Luc finished chewing. ‘Perhaps this afternoon we can all go somewhere? Or maybe tonight? Evie, you remember the restaurant I took you to the first time?’
‘Where the wine was overpriced vinegar?’
He laughed. ‘The food there is good. We can all go together?’
Brendan looked grateful. ‘I’d really like that.’
‘Yes, so would I.’ Maura poked at the toast for a moment and left it on her plate.
Brendan gave a little cough. ‘Mammy, Jean-Luc. I want to say – I am sorry I have been so difficult these last few days.’ Evie held her hands up, but he continued. ‘It’s been a bit of a shock but Maura and I will work it out in time. We don’t want to rush into anything but we’ll be going home tomorrow and then we can decide what is best to do for all of us – all three of us.’
Maura pushed her plate away. ‘Thanks for your help, Evie, Jean-Luc. I am sorry we have been so much trouble. You’ve both been very kind.’
Evie beamed at them. ‘Not at all. It’s been lovely to have you both here. And it’s settled. We’ll all go out tonight and have a lovely family evening together. I’m sure you’ll work it out when you get back to Dublin. You know we’re both here for you.’
Jean-Luc scraped his chair back and began to put on his jacket. Evie went over to him, brushed a thread from the material, stood on her toes and kissed him. ‘Don’t forget you promised me a lesson in French later.’ She hugged him, ruffling his hair, and she smiled into his face.
He kissed her again. ‘I must go now, chérie; Benji will have started work already.’
‘Tell him I hope his mammy is better soon. Oh, and I’m making her a cake this morning. See you later for lunch.’
Jean-Luc went out, leaving the door slightly ajar. Sunlight lay across the flagstones, a bright oblong against shadows. Evie began to clear away the plates. ‘What’ll you two be doing this morning?’
‘We’ll just read; maybe help you out a bit?’ Maura picked up her cup and Brendan’s.
‘Perhaps we should go out this morning?’ Brendan suggested. ‘Carcassonne is an hour and a half away. We can be there by half ten. A couple of hours and back here by two. Will you come with us, Mammy?’
‘I have plenty to do here; you two should go.’ Evie ignored Maura’s troubled expression. ‘It’s your last day and you can’t miss the historic city. Off with the pair of you; I will have lunch sorted for two o’clock, then we can spend the afternoon together, all four of us, and go out this evening. I think it’s a grand idea.’
Maura hesitated but Brendan took the coffee cups from her. ‘We’ll go, Maura. It’ll give us some time together; help us to start thinking about what to do. I promise not to sulk or be bad-tempered. The break and the fresh air will do you good.’
Evie put the plates and cups in the sink and started to search for flour and sugar and a bowl. Brendan reached for his jumper and Maura’s, and she thanked him stiffly as he pushed the door wide open. Evie smiled. They were making progress.
Baking smells filled the kitchen; the air was sweet and heavy. Two fruitcakes were cooling on a rack and fresh pastry had left soft white smudges on Evie’s T-shirt and on her cheeks. A quiche, tomatoes, olives and two salads were on the table and she laid out four plates, four tumblers and a carafe of water. She looked at the clock: it was twenty past two. Sun streamed in from the window, a blessing of brightness falling on the table, and little grains of flour were still suspended in the light, motionless. Evie cut slices of bread from a baguette and went to the drawer for knives and forks.
She heard Brendan and Maura before their shadows appeared, surrounded by the light from the open door. Maura was talking softly. Evie raised her eyebrows. At least they were being civil. Brendan came in, full of enthusiasm about the castle and the citadel and the walled town. Maura smiled and handed Evie some flowers, and the scent of lilies filled her nostrils as she found a vase. Maura’s voice chimed, ‘Carcassonne is a lovely town. It would be great to see it at night, all lit up.’
‘Maybe another time?’ Evie glanced at the clock without meaning to.
Brendan saw the quiche on the table. ‘Sorry we’re late, Mammy. It was just such a nice place, Carcassonne. I could have spent all day there. The history is fascinating. We’d have been even later if Maura hadn’t reminded me—’
‘Can you start to serve up, Brendan, Maura?’ Evie wiped her hands. ‘I’ll just pop up to the fields and give Jean-Luc a shout. He must have lost track of the time.’
She turned under the archway and strained her eyes towards where the path ended and the grapes began. She was not yet accustomed to the bright light and she could not make out any shapes beyond the dark shadows in the distance. She could see the vines, tall and green, stretching out in ranks. She looked again, squeezing her eyes closed against the sunlight. Her chest lurched. Someone was lying down, next to the tractor, on the grass between the vines. She broke into a run; her breath came in hard wheezes and she slowed to a little trot and then began to run again.
Jean-Luc was on his side, slumped on the ground, an arm across his face. Evie fell to her knees, rolled him over and Jean-Luc looked straight at her. His eyes were wide open but they did not move: he did not see her. She pushed an open hand against his chest; she rolled up his T-shirt and put a palm against his skin, against his heart and waited. Nothing. She called his name, called it again, and looked at his face. His tanned skin held a strange pallor. He was completely still, and she thought that it would be possible to touch his open eyes: they were dark, sightless marbles now – he would feel nothing. Her fists clung to his T-shirt; she was flinging herself against him, pulling him towards her, hoping the enormous arms would wrap themselves around her at any moment. He did not move. His body was empty, a shell, there was no life there. He was gone and her voice rose loudly until she was howling into the air.