‘Oh, don’t beat yourself up,’ Sam said. ‘There’s DIY in the UK. But in France? In one of these properties? DIY is a whole different beast.’ She rubbed her hand lightly on the bare wall, loosening a tiny sprinkle of debris and dust, which crackled as it landed on the wooden floor. ‘Oops. Sorry.’
‘No problem.’
‘Yep. If you’d told me beforehand you were doing this… well, I’d have advised you to stay well clear. Every job we’ve ever done in our stone ruin has just revealed seven more jobs underneath. You learn to approach everything with caution after a while.’
‘Oh really? So it’s not just me?’
‘Nope, we’ve all been there,’ said Sam. ‘Plus, worse. We had exposed wires and all sorts coming out of the wall. Someone had literally shoved wallpaper over an electrical nightmare.’
‘Really?’
‘Really. Anyone who’s bought one of these stone houses… I mean they’re beautiful. But… well, put it this way. There’s a reason why they’re for sale.’
‘Ah.’
‘And often there’s a reason why the wallpaper’s still in situ. Or covered up with more wallpaper, rather than stripped.’
‘I can believe it.’
‘Lots of the younger French people I know live in those little new-build houses. They leave the stone wrecks to idiots like us.’
‘Oh.’ Lily had seen the peach-coloured houses dotted around. Little rectangles of brick and mortar, devoid of personality. ‘Aren’t they a bit… well, bland?’
‘Well, maybe. But bland is underrated,’ Sam said, gesturing to the wall. ‘Gabriel was desperate to buy one when we got married. He was all, We do not wish to be a slave to our home.’
‘Well… yes.’
‘But I insisted we went for something more traditional. And you know, I’m glad I did. But there were moments when I totally saw his point too.’
‘Oh.’
‘I think,’ Sam said, ‘we see the beauty in the houses like this because we haven’t grown up living in one, and we’re looking to come out here and live a completely different kind of existence. But local people want to get on with their lives, their careers. They can’t spend hours working on a house as it crumbles around them.’
That didn’t sound good. ‘Crumbles around them?’
‘Sorry. I’m prone to exaggeration. This is… well, it’s pretty standard.’
‘You don’t think it’s a complete disaster then?’ Lily said, feeling a little lighter. ‘In your professional opinion?’
‘Ah, you’ll be OK,’ Sam said, prodding the wall with her hand. ‘It’s not terminal, I don’t think. We had a couple of walls like this – and it’s just a case of ancient or non-existent plaster, strong glue and wallpaper that’s been left in place since the dark ages.’
‘Thank god for that.’
‘You’ll need someone in to give it a proper look-over and fix-up though. Unless you’re a dab hand at pointing and plastering as well as demolition?’ Sam gave her a sideways glance.
‘Yeah, think this might be a bit beyond me right now.’ Lily nodded. ‘Although, you know, I’d love to learn how to do all of those things eventually.’
‘Oh, you will.’
‘Thanks.’
‘And you know,’ Sam said, ‘these houses drive us all mad – I don’t know anyone who’s actually finished all the work that’s needed. They come with a lifetime of projects.’
‘Really?’
‘But,’ Sam said, ‘once you get a bit further down the road, you become… well, sort of attached to the house. And you learn about how to cope with the various hiccups. And you also learn what to touch and what to leave to the experts.’
‘Right.’
‘And, you know, I say a lifetime of projects, but they’re not all patching up and making good. Some of the projects are fun. Once you’re a bit more confident that you’ve uncovered all the nasty surprises, they’re the kind of projects with less effort and a bigger payoff.’
‘Sounds more like it.’
‘And it is worth it! A bit of work and this place will be gorgeous.’
‘You think?’
‘Definitely.’
‘So,’ said Lily, looking at the wall again. ‘What did you do when it happened to you? How did you… fix things?’