He hoped that all would go well and that he would get further business from his new and, for the moment, only client. Gilles had told him to have the boat tied up and ready in the harbour at Sainte Maxime by ten o’clock. There he would be met by Jeremy Baines who would want to inspect the boat and check all the arrangements before his guests boarded at ten-thirty. To achieve this, Jacques knew that he would have to leave Port Grimaud no later than nine forty five, and he still had to collect Yvonne and the buffet lunch which she had agreed to prepare for him. “Jacques! Are you awake?” he heard his mother calling. “Oui, Maman,” he called back, “I’ll be up in a minute.” Although Jacques fully intended to live on the Esprit, he had not yet taken the step of leaving home completely. Sometimes he slept on board and sometimes he stayed with his mother; she was always pleased to have him at home._________________________ A few miles up the coast, in her bedroom at the hotel in Sainte Maxime, Eloise answered the early morning call she had booked and turned over to face the window.
