Page 17 of Whispers At Dawn
They poked around the outskirts of the field and found a wooded area. ‘Here looks good,’ said Jack.
Lizzie extracted her torch, and a little spade from her jumpsuit pockets and started digging. Jack did the same, and soon they’d hidden the incriminating outfits. Jack produced his torch, and they huddled beneath the dense foliage and found a spot to sit. The light illuminated their map, and they pored over it to check their bearings with a mini compass.
Jack said, ‘If we landed in the right spot, there should be a church a couple of fields further south, and we can follow the path into the village from there.’
They clambered across the lumpy earth and reached the field, each retrieving their case they had thrown clear before hitting the ground.
‘Is it my imagination or does the moon look blue?’ Lizzie asked.
‘Yes, it is a blue moon tonight.’
It gave the landscape lit only by the blue-tinged moon, an eerie feel and Lizzie shivered in the chill breeze and clutched her thin raincoat around her.
Jack said, ‘Come on, let’s speed up so we can be off the path and out of sight before the labourers start work.’
They hurried across the bumpy terrain and after a while, they glimpsed a church spire in the distance. It was topped by agirouette—a weathercock in the shape of a rooster—gleaming against the pink sky that proclaimed the imminent arrival of a new dawn.
Sometime later, Lizzie pointed ahead. ‘That looks like the churchyard. I think we’ve made it.’
As they crept beside an ancient wall, they saw a charming little medieval church and Jack stopped when he reached a wooden gate. Gently pushing it open, its old hinges emitted a creaky whine and Jack beckoned to Lizzie to enter before he closed it behind him.
Rows of uneven, craggy headstones lined the sloping churchyard, and the light glinted on the pale stone.
‘It’s beautiful. Even the headstones are pink,’ Lizzie said with a touch of awe. ‘I’ve never seen a coloured graveyard before. It seems like a good omen that even the graves are pretty in the South of France.’
‘They don’t call Toulouse La Ville Rose for nothing,’ Jack said. ‘Come on, I know the way to the château from here and we can hide in the grounds.’
They climbed a steep, winding hill, and Lizzie’s foot kicked some small stones that skirted across the mossy ground. The residue of smudgy darkness still lingered in the sky, and Jack strode up the hill at such a pace, Lizzie panted as she fought to keep up with him.
‘Nearly there,’ he mouthed, turning to face her.
She chased after him, and he left the hilly path that wound into another grassy field. He pointed, ‘Can you see the vineyards?’
Lizzie narrowed her eyes and made out the faint silhouette of the vines in the pale dawn shadows.
The chill of the night air had vanished, and Jack could tell it was going to be a scorching day. He loved watching Lizzie, as her gaze swept about her, and she gasped with delight. In the distance, rows of neat lavender swayed in the gentle breeze.
‘It’s breathtaking,’ she said. ‘I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this place.’
The sky now formed a pink and blue cape as though they had entered a magical fantasy world.
Jack said, ‘Come on.’ He took Lizzie’s hand, and she weaved along the hillside beside him, careful not to lose her footing in the partial light, still clutching her small case in one hand.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked
Jack stopped and pointed ahead. ‘I wanted to show you this view.’
Far below was a sweeping valley with a maze of buildings clustered around a river. ‘Is that Toulouse?’ asked Lizzie.
‘Yes, we’re in the Garonne Valley. I remember this view well. Henry and I used to watch the city from up here when we were boys. He used to say, one day he’d own a big mansion in the centre of the city instead of being stuck up here on the hill.’
‘I’m happy we’re up here,’ Lizzie said. ‘That way, we’ll get the best of both worlds.’
Jack looked at Lizzie and thought she had never been more beautiful. ‘I love you, Madame Dubois.’ He tilted his head to kiss her lips softly.
‘I love you, Monsieur Dubois,’ she said, and then her stomach growled so loudly they both laughed.
‘I think that’s a sign to introduce you to my uncle and get some well-earned breakfast.’
