Page 89 of Boomerville at Ballymegille

‘It could have happened anytime; Bill may have been living with a heart condition, try not to upset yourself.’

‘I can’t help it; he was staying under my roof and in my care and whatever happened during the night that led to his fall and ultimate heart attack must have been so distressing for him.’

‘Well, you’re going to have to come to terms with the fact that we may never know.’ Hattie shrugged. ‘But Harry can give us an update when he gets here.’

The door opened and James appeared. He shook out his umbrella and placed it in a stand. ‘The weather has certainly taken a turn,’ he said, running his fingers through his hair. ‘That’s the last guest on their way; might I suggest coffee?’

‘I think that’s an excellent idea,’ Jo said. ‘We can discuss the weekend and debrief in the lounge.’

Hattie looked at her watch. ‘Aye, there’s a couple of hours before Willie’s Wheels roll again; everyone in the cottage is all packed up and ready to set off for the seven o’clock ferry.’

‘Why don’t you ask them to join us?’

‘I’ll give Alf a shout.’ Hattie reached into a pocket and dug out her phone.

Alf answered almost immediately.

‘Coffee and cakes for you and the Babes, bring Lucinda over too.’ Hattie hung up. ‘They’re loading the bus and will be with us in ten minutes.’

‘Perfect,’ Jo replied. ‘James, could you ask Connor to make sure that he’s prepared supplies for the Cumbrian party; they’ll need a snack to take with them on their journey.’

‘I’ll attend to it now.’ James nodded and headed off to the kitchen.

‘You’ve got to make him an offer he can’t refuse,’ Hattie said as she watched James retreat. ‘He’s a massive asset to your business.’

‘There’s not a prayer that he’ll stay on.’ Jo sighed. ‘I’ve had a chat with him and I know that he’s keen to catch up with his employer.’

‘As keen as you might be?’ Hattie raised an eyebrow.

‘I don’t know what you mean.’

‘Come off it.’ Hattie smiled. ‘If Long Tom placed a Cuban heel over this threshold and gave you a nod of his Stetson, you’d melt like butter and pool into his roving arms.’

‘That ship has sailed,’ Jo said and walked ahead. ‘And I’m too old.’

‘Rubbish, you’re as old as you feel and feeling Long Tom’s lanky body and arms around you would do you good. We all need a bit of romance in our lives.’

‘There isn’t a cat in hell’s chance that it’s ever going to happen, so will you pipe down.’ Jo stomped into the lounge.

As she looked out of the window, she saw a bedraggled group walking across the lawn. With Bunty, Teddy and Ness at his feet, Alf held an umbrella for Lucinda. The artist appeared to be in no hurry as she took a drag on a cigarette and blew smoke rings into the cloudy sky, from where steady rain pummelled down. Willie followed, loaded down with Lucinda’s bags.

‘Lady Lucinda’s holding court,’ Hattie said as she joined Jo and looked out.

Audrey and the Babes had towels around their shoulders, their flowery rubber caps were pulled tight, squashing wet weathered faces, as they sloshed over the grass.

‘Audrey’s aquatic show was a winner yesterday,’ Hattie commented as she watched the Babes jog behind Audrey, in perfect formation. ‘The mayor rang earlier,’ she continued, ‘she’s asked them back for an autumn display; she said it was a tremendous success and there wasn’t a spare seat at the pool. The locals loved it.’

‘Did they raise money for a local charity?’

‘They did more than that,’ Hattie said. ‘They raised the mayor, as part of their act, wearing multi-coloured Lycra, over a trembling tower of Babes. It bought the house down.’

‘Oh Lord.’ Jo shook her head as she imagined the show. ‘Was the mayor sober?’

‘As pissed as a fart, she went face down in the shallow end. It took four lifeguards to lift her out and five to resuscitate her.’ Hattie chuckled. ‘The audience filled the collection buckets to the brim with euros. Willie said he’d never seen anything like it.’

There was a tentative knock on the door and Jo and Hattie turned to see Melissa peep round the doorway. ‘Hi, Melissa, come in and join us,’ Jo called out.

‘I wanted to say goodbye to everyone,’ Melissa said as she came into the room.

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