Read Provence - To Die For for Free Online Page B

hand caught the end of the table, and in my efforts to gain purchase my fingers closed around the white towel and I fell, twisting around, landing on my bottom, and pulling along the kitchen knives that had rested on the linen. They jangled loudly as they hit the floor around me just as the dim light of the sconces came back on.
    I heard someone sprinting down the hall. Guy rounded the comer and ran to assist me as I climbed to my feet and surveyed the damage. He took my elbow and bent down to examine my face. The thick lenses of his glasses magnified his eyes.
    “Madame, how terrible. Are you hurt? It is very difficult, this floor, so rough. I have tripped myself sometimes.” He pulled out a chair and pressed me to sit down.
    “I seem to be fine,” I said, more embarrassed than injured. I brushed the dust off the legs of my pantsuit, and looked around for the shoe I’d lost in my tumble. The knives were scattered across the floor, but fortunately not one had landed on me, and except for some bruises I would be sure to feel later, I was unscathed.
    Guy knelt to retrieve my shoe, rotating it to free the heel from the grip of the boulders, and brought it to where I sat.
    “Guy. Oh, Guy,” a soft voice called from the hallway.
    I looked up to see Claire hurrying into the room.
    “Madame, I am so sorry about the lights,” she said, slightly out of breath. “The new dishwasher cut off the electricity. The whole hotel went out. You are all right, I hope. We are calling the electrician to have it repaired right away.”
    “Madame Fletcher tripped in the dark and fell down,” Guy said, as I pushed my foot into the shoe he held for me. He straightened up and stepped back, his foot knocking against one of the knives.
    Claire gasped. “Oh, madame. Are you hurt?” She rushed to my side and leaned over me. “Would you like me to call the doctor? These old floors are just awful. May I bring you some coffee or tea?”
    “I’m really okay,” I said. “I was just clumsy, and, as you see, I’ve made a mess.”
    “Not at all, madame,” Guy said. “Don’t upset yourself. Let Claire take care of you. I will only be a moment. Stay where you are.” He bent his long body in half and moved around the room, bobbing up and down, picking up the knives and the linen towel. He reminded me of the birds I see at home on the shore, pecking at the sand.
    Claire hovered over me. “You’re certain I cannot get you anything? A glass of brandy? Perhaps you would like to lie down.”
    “No, no,” I said, chuckling. “Really, I’m fine.” I stood up, mentally inventoried my body—no real harm done—and slid the chair back into place at the table.
    “But, madame, you must rest and—”
    “Now then,” I said, interrupting her, “you were looking for Guy when you came downstairs, weren’t you?”
    “Actually, I was looking for you,” she said. Her hands flew to her cheeks. “Oh, my goodness. I almost forgot. You car, it is here.”
    I looked at my watch. It was ten o’clock, exactly when the car was originally scheduled to come. An unexpected wave of relief came over me.
    Guy dumped the knives on the table and took my arm as we walked back to the hall and rang for the elevator.
    “Marcel, he arrives on time after all,” Claire said apologetically, “but I have your bill prepared, and the man has brought your luggage to the front. Marcel puts it in the car, even now.”
    “I am so sorry for your fall, madame,” Guy said.
    “Not your fault,” I said, patting his arm. “It was an accident. I’ll wear my sneakers next time.”
    He shook his head. “I have been a poor host,” he said. “You haven’t even seen our wonderful kitchen.”
    “You’ll show it to me when I come for the class.”
    “Yes, Guy,” Claire added. “Madame Fletcher will be back.”
    He smiled at Claire, reached out, and touched her cheek with one finger. To me he said, “Our Claire will take good care of you. I look forward to seeing you