The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Provence chapter sampler

Arctic breezes, and their world had changed overnight. Freja was sent to live with Tobias Appleby, the absent- minded crime writer, at his cottage in Hampshire. Within weeks, a strange turn of events had taken them to Rome. New places. New people. A whole new life. And it had worked out just fine in the end. With Tobias and Finnegan by her side, Freja had made wonderful friends. Mostly adults, but there was also a monkey, an Italian greyhound and a flock of gossiping pigeons. Now, here they were, starting out all over again. Still without Clementine. Another place. Another country. Another gaggle of new people. ‘And, really,’ Freja muttered, ‘I have no-one to blame but myself.’ But now, as Freja gazed back along the deserted street once more, she felt a glimmer of hope. ‘Is Claviers a ghost town?’ she asked. ‘Have all the people run away to live somewhere else?’ Tobias chuckled. ‘Absolutely not, old chap! This is a vibrant little village. We have simply arrived in the middle of sieste . Behind each and every one of those doors lies a person with a tummy full of rabbit stew and almond tart, snoozing, dreaming, digesting, snoring, until it is time to return to school or work at two o’clock.’ Freja looked back down the street and frowned. ‘Snoring?’ she asked. ‘ And digesting. They will all have eaten a great deal at midday,’ added Tobias. ‘The French do like a large lunch.’

15