Chapter 22
The Lavender and the Butterfly
On the final day of their French trip, Dale and Skye steal away to a lavender field, seeking a private moment to reconnect before returning home. Their tender encounter is shadowed by a growing sense of unease, and when they return, they find Marcus agitated by a troubling phone call that hints at danger ahead.
The morning of their last day in France arrived with a sky the colour of pearl, soft and diffused, as if the sun itself was reluctant to say goodbye. Dale stood at the window of their room at Claudine's bed-and-breakfast, watching the mist lift from the river in slow, lazy curls. Behind him, Skye was packing, her movements efficient but unhurried, and in the corner, Margaret babbled to a stuffed rabbit she had claimed as her own.
"We have the whole day until our flight," Skye said, folding a sweater into the suitcase. "Marcus and Eleanor want to visit a château this morning. They asked if we wanted to join."
Dale turned. "Do you want to?"
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