CHAPTER FIVESupper was over.
It was a scanty meal of vegetables and potatoes augmented with a somewhat watery soup from the stockpot.
The children wiped their plates with pieces of coarse bread, stuffing it into their mouths and then looking wistfully towards the empty dishes as if they half-hoped by some miracle that they would be filled again.
“C’est fini, mes enfants,” Madame Bouvais said with a firmness which would brook no argument and there was an audible sigh from small throats. Their father said grace and then a babble of voices broke out, as laughing and teasing each other they ran into the yard.
Fleur rose up to help Madame Bouvais clear the dishes. She carried them into a small scullery and piled them in the sink.
When she returned to the kitchen, she was surprised to see h
