What Happens at the Beach.... T Williams A
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to practise it these days. Natalie’s father’s French had been good, but Colette had been a teacher of English in her youth and had done her best to keep it going by speaking it to him every time she saw him. Natalie grinned as Colette held out her hand to Mark and, with an almost completely straight face, introduced herself. ‘I’m very pleased to meet you, Mark. I’m Natalie’s big sister.’ Then she disintegrated into fits of giggles.
Natalie joined in, while Mark looked slightly puzzled. Natalie held out her hand to him and he took it in his and shook it. He had a good, firm handshake, but the funny thing was that it somehow made her whole body tingle. She hoped he would put her red face down to the sun. His smile was open and friendly and she was still smiling when she released his hand and pointed down at the dog.
‘Barney, Charlie; I suppose they both sound pretty much the same to him. He certainly seems to answer to Charlie.’
‘He’s a Labrador. If you’re offering him food, he’ll answer to anything.’ Mark looked sternly at the dog. ‘Barney, have you been bothering these good folk by begging for food?’ The dog’s big brown eyes looked back at him innocently.
Colette answered immediately. ‘Not at all. He’s been a model of good behaviour. Haven’t you, Charlie?’ The dog abandoned his master and trotted over at the sound of his name, or at least an approximation of it. Colette looked down and smiled at him before addressing Mark. ‘Would you like to join us for a cup of tea or a coffee?’
‘Thank you, that’s very kind, but I’m just off out. I’ve been looking for Barney, as he’s supposed to be coming with me.’ He smiled at her politely. ‘Some other time I’d be delighted to.’
‘Well do come back, please. We’ll both be very pleased to see you again, won’t we, Natalie?’
Natalie suddenly began to feel inexplicably embarrassed all over again. She nodded and gave Mark a little wave as he excused himself once more and went off with the dog. She waited until all sounds of their footsteps had retreated before giving her grandmother an accusing look. ‘We’ll both be very pleased, won’t we? Gran, you sounded like Mrs Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, trying to get me married off to Mr Darcy. The last thing I need right now is to get involved with some random man, even if he is rather nice.’ As she said the last words, she found herself weighing him up. He was probably a few years older than her, maybe in his mid-thirties. He was tall, a bit taller than David, with close-cropped fair hair and a friendly, handsome face. She hadn’t seen his eyes this time because of his sunglasses, but he was tanned and he looked fit, presumably as a result of all the long-distance swimming he was doing. He had a very nice smile as well, but, she told herself as firmly as she could, she didn’t feel ready to risk getting involved with another man. The final months with David, and then the break-up, had disillusioned her badly. Practical matters took precedence now. What she wanted and badly needed wasn’t a man, but a job.
‘He’s a very handsome man, you know. I do like tall men, don’t you?’ Colette was grinning at her and Natalie found she couldn’t keep a straight face for long. She gave a sigh of mock exasperation, delighted to see her grandmother so perky.
‘Just because you’re my big sister now, that doesn’t mean you need to start matchmaking. I’ve just got unengaged, you know. I’ve had it with men for the present; why on earth should I want another one? Besides, you’re only saying that because you’re in love with the Labrador.’
Colette rolled her eyes. ‘I don’t know which of the two is more handsome, Mark or Charlie.’
‘Or Barney.’
‘Whatever. Now, if Mark’s the owner of the chateau, he must be wealthy as well as handsome. That sounds like a rather fine combination. Sure you aren’t interested?’
Natalie looked back at her. ‘I’m not on the lookout for another man. I know what I want and it’s a job, a career. Men can wait.’
‘Bravo, Natalie. That’s my girl. Of course men can wait for now.’ She caught Natalie’s eye. ‘But, just in case, you keep an eye on this one. You could do worse.’
‘Gran, I’m sure I’ll run into him now and then, especially with the dog, but I’m sure he’s not interested in me and I’m not interested in him.’
‘You never were very good at telling fibs, Natalie.’ Her grandmother was grinning broadly. A ready answer didn’t come to Natalie so she hastily finished her tea and glanced at her watch. It was almost noon.
‘Almost lunchtime and I’m duty cook today, remember.’
Her grandmother was French enough to religiously observe the ritual of sitting down to lunch every day at exactly twelve-thirty. But, before heading for the kitchen, Natalie had a final stab at telling her how she was feeling. ‘Gran, I don’t need another man for now, really. I’ve loved being here. All I need is a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. My hair’s gradually getting bleached by the sun, my legs are nice and brown and there’s nobody here telling me to wear make-up or to shoehorn myself into some tight-fitting frock for a bunch of middle-aged men in suits to ogle. I love it here, Colette, I really do.’ She smiled down at her grandmother. ‘I really don’t want the hassle, however nice the man might be and however totally drop-dead gorgeous his dog might be. I’m happy as I am, Gran, really happy.’ She almost sounded convincing.
That evening there was a text from Dominique at the restaurant, asking if Natalie could come down and help. After checking with Colette, she went off to wait at table. The restaurant was packed out, with every table inside and outside on the terrace full of customers, and both Natalie and Laure were at it flat out for the best part of three hours, while Alain and his young sous-chef laboured away in the kitchen and Dominique worked from behind the bar dispensing drinks and keeping track of all the different bills. In the course of the evening, Natalie began to notice that one man, on a table with a group of half a dozen other people, was evidently very interested in her. Every time she passed, he smiled at her, and every time she leant across the table to clear plates or bring more, she could feel his eyes on her. In spite of her protestations to her grandmother a few hours earlier, she surreptitiously checked him out.
He was a very handsome Frenchman. He might have been forty, his thick black hair stylishly long and his tan perfect. His sky-blue polo shirt, boasting a little crocodile logo, was immaculate and the gold watch on his wrist looked expensive. His dark glasses were resting up on top of his head and a thin gold chain glittered at his throat. On an East End gangster, it might have looked tacky. On him, she had to admit, it looked rather good, although just a tad over the top. It occurred to her at first that he might well be gay, although his evident interest in her rather contradicted that. Once he had learnt that she was English, he became most effusively complimentary about her fluent French. He got her name from Dominique and lost no opportunity to address her as Natalie, or ma chère Natalie, whenever possible. At the end of the evening, as he and his party got up to leave, he paid the bill with a credit card and added a ten euro tip in cash, giving her a wink as he did so.
‘Looks like you’ve made a conquest there, Natalie.’ Dominique was giggling from behind the bar as the little group left. ‘It’s not very often people leave any kind of tip these days, let alone that much.’
‘I haven’t seen a ten euro tip since that boatload of drunken Dutchmen came by.’ Laure was grinning. ‘It must be love.’
‘Well, he’d better not think he can buy me for ten euros.’ Natalie tried to sound offended, but she was actually rather flattered at so much attention from a very good-looking man.
‘You’re worth more than ten euros.’ Alain’s head peered out of the kitchen door. ‘I imagine he’s got a fair bit of cash as well, from the size of his yacht. Have you seen it? It’s the dark blue and white one moored out in the bay.’ He gave her a lurid wink. ‘Play your cards right and he’ll take you for a trip.’
‘Somehow, Alain, I get the feeling he might be more interested in you than in me.’
Laure and Dominique scoffed in unison. Dominique shook her head decisively.