She had fallen overboard from the pleasure boat carrying many tourist passengers, including Harry and Tony, along the river and through several locks. They thought it would prove a fun outing and Tony in particular received more than he'd bargained for when, with no prior warning, the little girl had climbed onto a seat near him, unfortunately losing her balance over the stern. He immediately was shocked into jumping in after her, thus saving her life in the nick of time. He was far from being an Olympic swimmer - in fact could barely swim at all, making the rescue even more daring and exhausting. Although he appeared to take it in his stride after the event, was nonchalant with his attitude, shrugging it off as if his efforts meant nothing - but had she remained in the water much longer, the little girl would most certainly have drowned.
Harry even managed writing another chapter of his book after breakfast, resulting in a sense of utter satisfaction. His love of medieval history inspired the book in the first place, something he has been meaning to do for many years.
As they strolled over the bridge leading to the many restaurants, shops and churches in the historic town, Harry could see Tony eyeing the raging water, with no doubt many things running through his mind from his ordeal the previous day. He turned to his friend wondering how he was feeling. 'Are you alright Tony - I mean, not only physically, but err...well, you know what I mean.'
Tony laughed briefly. 'Yes, of course I'm alright, thanks anyway. Just a little weary that's all. Not used to all that strenuous exercise and in the water. Takes a lot out of you at our age...'
Shadows touched his mind in an instant when he began remembering the series of events recently. The rain was beating down on his head while he kept surfacing, gasping for more air into his heaving lungs and into his eyes as he scrambled in a desperate effort to look for the little girl, terrified she might already have drowned. While his outer thoughts were raging, his inner consciousness needed to remain calm, disguised under a cloak of fear and turmoil. He had thought nothing about jumping in after her, although he was never the best of swimmers. He'd barely entered the sea, let alone a pool or river.
The buffeting he received from the boat's propeller's didn't help. He'd swum perilously close once or twice disorientated, feeling their movement churning the water, until the captain had cut the engines as soon as he was aware of the drama unfolding in his midst.
As they strolled over the bridge leading to the many restaurants, shops and churches in the historic town, Harry could see Tony eyeing the raging water, with no doubt many things running through his mind from his ordeal the previous day. He turned to his friend wondering how he was feeling. 'Are you alright Tony - I mean, not only physically, but err...well, you know what I mean.'
Tony laughed briefly. 'Yes, of course I'm alright, thanks anyway. Just a little weary that's all. Not used to all that strenuous exercise and in the water. Takes a lot out of you at our age...'
Shadows touched his mind in an instant when he began remembering the series of events recently. The rain was beating down on his head while he kept surfacing, gasping for more air into his heaving lungs and into his eyes as he scrambled in a desperate effort to look for the little girl, terrified she might already have drowned. While his outer thoughts were raging, his inner consciousness needed to remain calm, disguised under a cloak of fear and turmoil. He had thought nothing about jumping in after her, although he was never the best of swimmers. He'd barely entered the sea, let alone a pool or river.
The buffeting he received from the boat's propeller's didn't help. He'd swum perilously close once or twice disorientated, feeling their movement churning the water, until the captain had cut the engines as soon as he was aware of the drama unfolding in his midst.
Feeling distinctly queasy from the motion of the waves and nearby rocking boat, Tony's only thought was to continue kicking his legs furiously, while desperately searching for any sign of the child. His frantic committal to his task paid off when he caught a small glimpse of her pink dress swirling in the murky water.
When they returned to the hotel, it was obvious all the excited, animated staff were already aware of his heroic exploits, informing them as they approached the reception desk, that the town's Mayor, M. Jean-Louis Fousseret, wished them to attend a dinner on his behalf, in recognition for what Tony had achieved earlier that day. How they knew so promptly he never found out. He was honoured by the gesture, but felt it wasn't anything to make such a fuss over and graciously declined the generous offer, preferring rather to freshen up after a well-earned rest in order to gather his thoughts.
'Are you alright old man?' Harry enquired again the following day at breakfast, thinking Tony was looking a little jaded. It was decided they should continue on today aware his friend needed to keep his wits about him. They were hoping to reach the cathedral town of Chartres, which meant a fair amount of driving.
'Thanks for asking Harry, but I'm fine - really. Yesterday was a little out of the ordinary you might say, but I'll survive.'
His friend thought briefly, then said, '...and so has that young girl you rescued. I'll bet her mother will be more careful in future. Let's hope so. It really was something special you performed in that river.' Tony only shrugged it off once again as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. He wasn't one to dwell on such things.
Harry was experiencing a tightening in his chest, his breathing shallow, knowing it wasn't from any heart condition. The car keys were duly handed to Tony for him to drive the Mercedes the long distance to Chartres, as he realized that was how things needed to be, because of his health scare. It was inevitable Tony wouldn't be happy with him driving until they were safely back in England at least and because of his hospitalization that was necessary in Lausanne.
Once again Harry's mind was far from being at rest. Tony's driving was often questionable, sometimes leaving him in a state of fearsome exhaustion. He never seemed to drive the car, but rather aim it in the vicinity of the direction they needed to proceed - most of the time. This often left Harry in a lather of sweaty palms, clinging to the sides of his seat, but there was nothing he could do about it. It wouldn't be long before they were both safely back on the other side of the English Channel and home.
They set off with Tony studying the traffic while Harry studied the map beside him, the sun resting calmly between scudding white and grey-blue clouds as they endeavoured to leave the town unscathed.
The map for the moment, was unfathomable, Harry turning it this way and that. He never was good at navigating, preferring rather to drive instead.
'Think it best if you can pull over soon Tony, while I give Miss Madam her marching orders. He was feeling inadequate and resorting to trust the sat/nav with the day's directions - or at least a good proportion of them.
'If you're sure,' replied Tony, negotiating slowly semi-clockwise around a roundabout with a very large lorry at his side.
'Yes, I'm sure. It might get a bit tricky soon. We need to choose the right roads carefully, so as we don't end up in Paris. Let's hope Miss Madam is up to it, eh?'
'I heard that!' came the reply, somewhat haughtily. 'I'm not inadequate you know!'
Immediately Harry's face creased in mirth his jaw dropping, eyes lighting up at the tone of voice coming from the dashboard area. He grinned at Tony who was concentrating on the right road to take out of the roundabout.
'There!' pointed Harry, having to think quickly. 'Take that one.' He had already begun to fiddle with the knobs and dials to set their course before his friend brought the Mercedes to a halt narrowly between two trees, missing them by inches. Harry heaved a sigh of relief they had come thus far without any mishaps.
'Now then, let's see... what do I need to do first,' he muttered half to himself, studying the small screen in front. 'Right then - ah, that's done it! Now for the...' He went on and on looking at the map while twisting various knobs to set the sat/nav with the correct instructions. 'That's it,' he concluded. 'Done! Okay Tony, we can proceed.'
'Wouldn't mind a coffee soon and hmm... something to eat,' said Tony hopefully, sounding as if pleading. 'All this concentrating is making me hungry.'
'What! Already? We only just set out barely an hour ago,' replied his friend, looking considerably impatient, with a frown creasing his ageing forehead. 'Oh alright then, stop when you can see somewhere suitable. We should fill up with more petrol soon, too. But we really must crack on. We, err... you have a longish drive ahead and we don't want to arrive too late.' He heard a sigh from the dashboard and looked with surprise in that direction, wondering if his ears were playing tricks on him.
Tony edged out onto the road again with many French cars hurtling past at frightening speeds. They soon heard Miss Madam's dedication to the job in hand, which after several mishaps, left both men wondering if indeed she was up to it. 'Proceed for 12 miles, then prepare to bear left.' Her dictatorial staccato-like voice was not always appreciated, but if she found them a hotel or guided them through difficult stages of their journey, then well and good. It's not unheard of that she has left them in a side street somewhere, announcing they had reached their destination, when it was perfectly obvious she had done nothing of the sort.
'We shall see,' Harry said.
'Yes you will,' came the reply, while Harry looked incredulous.
Tony almost forgot he was driving for a moment and glancing down at the dashboard, frowned deeply. 'Pardon? Did you say something?'
All went quiet. 'She might be up to something,' he whispered to Harry, who was wondering what was going on up ahead. Two police cars with lights flashing and several other cars and lorries were half blocking the road. 'Oh dear - hope it's not a bad accident or anything.' But that was exactly what had happened and it looked serious. For the past half hour it had been raining heavily, threatening slate-grey clouds sweeping directly towards them. A storm was brewing, the wind driving the rain into their oncoming path, making their vision difficult. A canopy of clouds scattered rain through contrasting dappled light, shaking nearby trees causing leaves to fly in every direction.
Tony slowed down considerably as an official-looking police officer waved him to one side, then to stop altogether. He promptly did as instructed, groaning at the thought of having to be waylaid for very long.
His friend sat up straight in his seat. 'I don't like the look of things.'
Miss Madam choosing the wrong moment, announced, 'proceed for 12 miles, then prepare to bear left.'
Rolling his eyes, Tony thought this hardly possible. 'Not just yet dear - be patient.'
'I'm trying to,' she retorted sounding annoyed.
When they returned to the hotel, it was obvious all the excited, animated staff were already aware of his heroic exploits, informing them as they approached the reception desk, that the town's Mayor, M. Jean-Louis Fousseret, wished them to attend a dinner on his behalf, in recognition for what Tony had achieved earlier that day. How they knew so promptly he never found out. He was honoured by the gesture, but felt it wasn't anything to make such a fuss over and graciously declined the generous offer, preferring rather to freshen up after a well-earned rest in order to gather his thoughts.
'Are you alright old man?' Harry enquired again the following day at breakfast, thinking Tony was looking a little jaded. It was decided they should continue on today aware his friend needed to keep his wits about him. They were hoping to reach the cathedral town of Chartres, which meant a fair amount of driving.
'Thanks for asking Harry, but I'm fine - really. Yesterday was a little out of the ordinary you might say, but I'll survive.'
His friend thought briefly, then said, '...and so has that young girl you rescued. I'll bet her mother will be more careful in future. Let's hope so. It really was something special you performed in that river.' Tony only shrugged it off once again as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. He wasn't one to dwell on such things.
Harry was experiencing a tightening in his chest, his breathing shallow, knowing it wasn't from any heart condition. The car keys were duly handed to Tony for him to drive the Mercedes the long distance to Chartres, as he realized that was how things needed to be, because of his health scare. It was inevitable Tony wouldn't be happy with him driving until they were safely back in England at least and because of his hospitalization that was necessary in Lausanne.
Once again Harry's mind was far from being at rest. Tony's driving was often questionable, sometimes leaving him in a state of fearsome exhaustion. He never seemed to drive the car, but rather aim it in the vicinity of the direction they needed to proceed - most of the time. This often left Harry in a lather of sweaty palms, clinging to the sides of his seat, but there was nothing he could do about it. It wouldn't be long before they were both safely back on the other side of the English Channel and home.
They set off with Tony studying the traffic while Harry studied the map beside him, the sun resting calmly between scudding white and grey-blue clouds as they endeavoured to leave the town unscathed.
The map for the moment, was unfathomable, Harry turning it this way and that. He never was good at navigating, preferring rather to drive instead.
'Think it best if you can pull over soon Tony, while I give Miss Madam her marching orders. He was feeling inadequate and resorting to trust the sat/nav with the day's directions - or at least a good proportion of them.
'If you're sure,' replied Tony, negotiating slowly semi-clockwise around a roundabout with a very large lorry at his side.
'Yes, I'm sure. It might get a bit tricky soon. We need to choose the right roads carefully, so as we don't end up in Paris. Let's hope Miss Madam is up to it, eh?'
'I heard that!' came the reply, somewhat haughtily. 'I'm not inadequate you know!'
Immediately Harry's face creased in mirth his jaw dropping, eyes lighting up at the tone of voice coming from the dashboard area. He grinned at Tony who was concentrating on the right road to take out of the roundabout.
'There!' pointed Harry, having to think quickly. 'Take that one.' He had already begun to fiddle with the knobs and dials to set their course before his friend brought the Mercedes to a halt narrowly between two trees, missing them by inches. Harry heaved a sigh of relief they had come thus far without any mishaps.
'Now then, let's see... what do I need to do first,' he muttered half to himself, studying the small screen in front. 'Right then - ah, that's done it! Now for the...' He went on and on looking at the map while twisting various knobs to set the sat/nav with the correct instructions. 'That's it,' he concluded. 'Done! Okay Tony, we can proceed.'
'Wouldn't mind a coffee soon and hmm... something to eat,' said Tony hopefully, sounding as if pleading. 'All this concentrating is making me hungry.'
'What! Already? We only just set out barely an hour ago,' replied his friend, looking considerably impatient, with a frown creasing his ageing forehead. 'Oh alright then, stop when you can see somewhere suitable. We should fill up with more petrol soon, too. But we really must crack on. We, err... you have a longish drive ahead and we don't want to arrive too late.' He heard a sigh from the dashboard and looked with surprise in that direction, wondering if his ears were playing tricks on him.
Tony edged out onto the road again with many French cars hurtling past at frightening speeds. They soon heard Miss Madam's dedication to the job in hand, which after several mishaps, left both men wondering if indeed she was up to it. 'Proceed for 12 miles, then prepare to bear left.' Her dictatorial staccato-like voice was not always appreciated, but if she found them a hotel or guided them through difficult stages of their journey, then well and good. It's not unheard of that she has left them in a side street somewhere, announcing they had reached their destination, when it was perfectly obvious she had done nothing of the sort.
'We shall see,' Harry said.
'Yes you will,' came the reply, while Harry looked incredulous.
Tony almost forgot he was driving for a moment and glancing down at the dashboard, frowned deeply. 'Pardon? Did you say something?'
All went quiet. 'She might be up to something,' he whispered to Harry, who was wondering what was going on up ahead. Two police cars with lights flashing and several other cars and lorries were half blocking the road. 'Oh dear - hope it's not a bad accident or anything.' But that was exactly what had happened and it looked serious. For the past half hour it had been raining heavily, threatening slate-grey clouds sweeping directly towards them. A storm was brewing, the wind driving the rain into their oncoming path, making their vision difficult. A canopy of clouds scattered rain through contrasting dappled light, shaking nearby trees causing leaves to fly in every direction.
Tony slowed down considerably as an official-looking police officer waved him to one side, then to stop altogether. He promptly did as instructed, groaning at the thought of having to be waylaid for very long.
His friend sat up straight in his seat. 'I don't like the look of things.'
Miss Madam choosing the wrong moment, announced, 'proceed for 12 miles, then prepare to bear left.'
Rolling his eyes, Tony thought this hardly possible. 'Not just yet dear - be patient.'
'I'm trying to,' she retorted sounding annoyed.
'Doesn't sound like it,' added Tony muttering as he squinted through the front window, awash with rain for a better look. Several other cars were in front, waiting for the police to clear the road as soon as possible.
'We didn't need this,' Harry groaned. 'Oh dear, hope we won't be stuck for too long. The weather isn't helping either.'
'Proceed for the next 12 miles, then prepare to bear left,' Miss Madam repeated.'
Tony wiped the windscreen with a cloth to clear some condensation. 'Here she goes again. Hmm... pity she only has half a brain, otherwise she'd realize we have stopped.'
'Half a brain?' By now her tone was changing. 'Half a brain?' she repeated louder, almost screeching her voice rising to a crescendo. Tony's face creased into a deep scowl, then he couldn't help biting his bottom lip, trying not to laugh. 'Yes, only half a brain,' he dared.
Silence for several moments before Miss Madam mistook Harry's silence for indifference. In fact the formidable Miss Madam had struck a chord in Harry's mind, alerting him this was no ordinary sat/nav. He sighed quietly, but Tony remained unabashed in support of what he believed in and bravely reiterated his recent remark. '...half a brain and the attitude of an army sergeant.' All Miss Madam did was repeat the same thing. 'Proceed for 12 miles then prepare to bear left...'
'Oh shut up!' Tony snapped, finally losing his patience.
'If you say so,' she retorted, suddenly giving in. Then, as if to have the final word, uttered, 'at the next intersection...'
'Enough!' Harry grumbled, turning the knob beside him. 'That's the last we'll hear of her for a while.'
After waiting for what seemed like hours, the road was eventually cleared and they continued towards Chartres. Miss Madam almost restored to what might be considered normal for several miles. Another three hours further and they caught glimpses of the tallest part of Chartres cathedral in the distance.
A ragged sky had raged with the wind slowly easing, before it died as quickly as it appeared, making things easier to find and a hotel. The road leading into the center of town was now stippled with torn leaves in summer's wake from the receding storm.
They approached the medieval town of Chartres, south west of Paris - having a long history, possessing half timbered houses, old bridges and a magnificent cathedral. A long underground car park was found and after parking the car, they made their way up in a lift, across the main street, trundling their bags laboriously along the pavement to the hotel. This seemed an odd approach, but nevertheless there it was, a welcome site, particularly for Harry who was quietly relieved they had arrived.
He felt the breeze blowing through what little hair he had left, enjoying the anticipation of seeing the cathedral tomorrow and exploring other parts of this medieval town. He opened the main door of the hotel, ushering his friend through first. 'How about a nice cold beer soon?' he asked Tony.
Without hesitation his friend grinned, giving a slight nod of the head. 'Tres certainement!'
They approached the medieval town of Chartres, south west of Paris - having a long history, possessing half timbered houses, old bridges and a magnificent cathedral. A long underground car park was found and after parking the car, they made their way up in a lift, across the main street, trundling their bags laboriously along the pavement to the hotel. This seemed an odd approach, but nevertheless there it was, a welcome site, particularly for Harry who was quietly relieved they had arrived.
He felt the breeze blowing through what little hair he had left, enjoying the anticipation of seeing the cathedral tomorrow and exploring other parts of this medieval town. He opened the main door of the hotel, ushering his friend through first. 'How about a nice cold beer soon?' he asked Tony.
Without hesitation his friend grinned, giving a slight nod of the head. 'Tres certainement!'
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