Page 32 of Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure
“I have fear, madame,” she said. “I have never been near such water before.”
“It’s quite safe, I promise you,” Dora said. As she spoke a wave, bigger than the rest, came up behind her. She gasped as it soaked her to the thighs. Then she burst out laughing. “Well, that was a surprise. I’m glad this is only an old skirt.” She beckoned to the two on the beach. “You do not need to come in far. Just get your toes wet. A first introduction.”
“I think I’ll wait,” Mavis said. “Too many new things for my liking right now.”
“And I am not sure. The shock might be bad for the baby,” Yvette said.
“We’ll have you in and swimming in no time at all,” Dora said. She waded out, sat on a rock and dried her legs. “I used to love swimming when I was young. I remember swimming all the times when my father took us abroad. I begged to be sent to a school with a swimming bath, but that request wasn’t granted. Who knows, I could have tackled the Channel.”
Ellie came up to the rock and perched beside her. “What held you back? What turned you from that adventurous woman to Miss Smith-Humphries of Surrey?”
Dora was staring out, watching the waves. The water beyond the bay was a rich, deep blue. “You forget. I’m much older than you. When I came of age, there was only one option for a girl of my class, and that was to marry. I’m afraid I was rather too forthright in my opinions for many young men, and the ones that wanted me, I did not take to. My father died. I stayed as a companion to my mother until she, too, died,and then later I inherited enough money to buy my bungalow. The only place for me in society was doing charitable works.”
“You’ve done a lot of good,” Ellie said. “You should be proud.”
“I shrank,” Dora said. “I should have dreamed bigger. I accepted what society wanted me to be.”
“I’ve done the same,” Ellie said. “I’ve been the dutiful wife and mother, and look where that has got me. Cast aside like an old shoe.”
“You’re young. You can have great romances and remarry if you wish,” Dora said.
Ellie had to laugh at this. “Great romances, at my age?”
“Why not? Continental men can be awfully attractive in middle age.”
Ellie was still chuckling.
“And you, Mavis. Maybe you’ll meet a nicer man,” Dora said.
Mavis gave a shriek of laughter at this. “When I don’t even speak the lingo?”
“English people come out here for the winter,” Dora said.
“I think I’ll enjoy my freedom, even if it’s for a little while,” Mavis said. “It will be the only time in my life that some man hasn’t bossed me around and knocked me around.”
They dried off their feet and walked back towards the village.
Lunch was a simple meal of bread, cheese and pâté, bought from the shop and eaten on a bench in the little park. After this they had a siesta in their rooms, tired from unaccustomed sun and sea. When they came down and found a conservatory at the back of the pension, they were delighted when Mr Adams offered to bring them tea.
“Most civilized,” Dora muttered.
Ellie worried about the car, having not heard from Louis all day. What would they do if the car had to be towed into Marseille? Would any lorry even come out this far? How long might they be stuck here? She was loath to go out for a stroll in case they missed him, but Dora persuaded her to come and see the sunset that was painting the cliffsopposite a rich rosy pink. As they came out of the house, Louis was coming towards them. They waited, Ellie holding her breath.
“I have examined your vehicle,” he said, delivering the words slowly and gravely. “And from what I can tell, it is the hose that connects to the radiator that is broken. I have telephoned from the gendarmerie to a garage I deal with in Marseille, telling them the make and model of your motor car. They did not know whether an English motor car might have a different-size hose from our French vehicles. But they will find out. If the size is the same, then all is well. A new hose will be sent out with the next visit from the postal van. If there is a problem, then maybe a hose must be procured from a place where they are used to English visitors and such vehicles—Antibes, or even Nice. Then it might take a few days before it arrives.”
“Oh, that’s good news,” Ellie said. “At least it’s something simple.”
“As far as I can tell,” he said, holding up a cautioning finger. “As I say, I am not a car mechanic. I work on the engines of boats all the time, and tractors, and I do not have the facility to put the vehicle up on a ramp and see underneath. It could, of course, be that your radiator is damaged. In that case, maybe I could patch it, or you might need a new radiator, which would have to be sent in from Marseille, or Nice.” He spread his hands in that gesture she had now seen several times in France. Maybe yes, maybe no. “But let us hope for the best, yes? Then you can be on your way to the place where your countrymen spend the winter and enjoy your afternoon teas and your English puddings.”
“You are most kind,” Ellie said. “I thank you for taking the time.”
He gave a polite little bow. “I am most happy to be of service to such charming ladies,” he said. “I only wish you decided to stay longer so that I could make your acquaintance. And maybe play chess with you on dark winter evenings.”
“Oh, you’re a chess player,” Dora said, having understood the conversation. “I used to play with my father. He was good, always beat me.”
“Then we shall play sometime, madame,” he said. “I look forward to it.”
“Well, that was an eye-opener, for sure,” Dora commented as Louis walked in one direction and they made their way around the harbour to watch the sun sinking behind the Mediterranean. “A grubby mechanic, and yet he speaks most eloquently and plays chess. And the owner of the bar is a former chef at a hotel ... I wonder what other surprises await us here?”
