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

CHAPTER 2 A new start … again

The girl, the dog and the writer chugged into the hilltop village of Claviers at one o’clock. The streets were deserted. They drove past a church, a village square with a shabby little circus tent, rows of shuttered houses, shady plane trees and a small shop — all without seeing a soul. Doors were closed. Curtains hung limp in their windows. Cats and dogs had vanished. Tobias pulled up beside a pétanque court and consulted his map. ‘Tobby?’ began Freja. ‘Are you sure this is it?’ Tobias smiled and nodded. ‘But there’s nobody here,’ she said. ‘Do you think Claviers has been deserted?’ What a wonderful thought! A town without people! A whole village to themselves!

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