Page 13 of Secrets and Seashells at Rainbow Bay
The man pulls a large bundle of keys from his pocket and begins to unlock the side gate.
‘I think we might need the big gates open, I’m afraid,’ I say apologetically. ‘We have a car outside loaded with our things.’
‘The big ones?’ the man says, looking anxiously up at the gates. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, I’m afraid so,’ I smile apologetically, ‘and there’s a rather large van not that far behind us, too, with the rest of our stuff.’
‘Hmm.’ The man eyes us up and down. ‘If we need to open the big gates I’ll need Joey to come down and help me.’ He pulls a large old-fashioned walkie-talkie from his pocket. ‘Joey, are you there?’ he asks, speaking into it.
There’s a sort of hissing crackling sound and then a voice at the other end says, ‘This is Lancelot here. What’s your beef, King Arthur?’
The man rolls his eyes. ‘Stop with all your gibberish, Joey. I need you by the front gate. The new owner is here and wants to be let in.’
‘The new owner? But I thought she wasn’t arriving until tomorrow, Arthur?’
‘So did I,’ Arthur murmurs. ‘But she’s here now, and they need the big gates opening, so I need you down here pronto, Joey.’
‘Got it!’ Joey calls. ‘Be there before you can say Camelot!’
Arthur shakes his head and puts the walkie-talkie back in his pocket.
‘He’s a good worker,’ he says almost apologetically, ‘but he’d be even better if he zipped it shut sometimes.’
I smile at Arthur through the gate. ‘Have you got many staff here?’
‘There’s four of us in all.’
‘Four of you to manage all this!’ I ask in amazement. ‘Isn’t that a lot of work?’
‘Aye, but we manage. We’re the ones that live in, anyway. We sometimes get in casual help from the village if we need it.’
‘Who are the four?’ I ask to make conversation until Joey gets here. ‘You, obviously. What do you do, Arthur? Is it all right to call you Arthur?’
‘It is, miss. That’d be my name. I was once the butler here many a year ago, but now I’m part caretaker, part manager, part everything really. The old Earl called me his right-hand man.’
‘I see.’
‘And then there’s Joey who you just heard from. He helps me out with whatever needs doing, really. Like I said, he’s a good lad. Not the sharpest tool sometimes, but a good worker, none the less.’
‘That’s two of you. Who else?’
‘There’s my wife, Dorothy; she was once the housekeeper, but now she cooks, cleans, and again does a bit of everything. We all pitch in here.’ He looks meaningfully at me.
‘Of course. So who’s the fourth?’
‘That would be the young girl; Tiffany she calls herself. Mainly works in the office – doing accounts and suchlike. I think the last Earl only hired her because he felt sorry for her. Her head’s always far too up in the clouds for my liking. I prefer to be on solid ground meself.’
‘Joey to the rescue!’ a voice calls, and I recognise the young man who sold me my entrance ticket the last time I was here zig-zagging back and forth across the path like he’s a superhero with his hands in the air.
Charlie, who’s been pacing up and down impatiently behind me while I’ve been talking to Arthur, immediately looks up with interest.
‘Enough of your shenanigans, Joey,’ Arthur says. ‘Did you bring the key?’
‘I did!’ Joey says, brandishing a large silver key.
‘Good.’ Arthur takes the key from him and begins to undo the large padlocks on the gates. ‘You’d best go and get that car of yours, miss,’ he instructs. ‘It’ll only take Joey here a moment to lift the gates across.’
‘Superman, me!’ Joey says, flexing his biceps. He winks at Charlie, and Charlie smiles shyly at him.
