“From Marseilles we went straight through to San Remo. We spent three or four days there, then worked back to Grasse; that’s a small town where they make perfume, between Nice and Cannes, but a bit inland. I’m considering going into the flower trade and I wanted to see the gardens. A wonderful sight all that country must be with flowers in the season!”
“I’ve read about it,” French assured him. “It’s one of the places I’ve got on my list. Flowers and pretty girls, eh?”
“That’s right. We had a dandy specimen to show us round the perfume factory.”
“I guess I’ll see that factory,” French declared. “Are there good hotels in a small place like that?”
“We stayed at the Metropole and it was quite all right. Then we worked slowly up through Provence, staying a night in different towns—Marseilles, Nîmes, Arles, Avignon, and so on to Paris. I’ve got all mixed about the places, we saw so many. An interesting country that, Inspector! There are buildings standing there for sixteen hundred years and more. Wonderful! First chance you get you should go down and see for yourself. But don’t do it as we did.”
“How do you mean?”
“Don’t go from place to place, staying in each for a night. Stay at a centre. Avignon is a first rate one. There are day char-à-banc trips that let you see all these places and you don’t have the nuisance of packing and going to a fresh hotel every day.”
“That’s a point, certainly. Thanks for the tip. Where do you recommend staying in Paris?”
If Pyke recognised that French was merely pumping him he gave no sign, but replied, readily:
“We stayed at the Regina and found it quite good. But we just broke the journey for a night. Next day we came on here.”