Page 43 of Secrets and Seashells at Rainbow Bay
Mrs Lewis’s face now changes to anger. She ignores Tom and simply marches over to Dorothy. ‘I’m sorry, Mrs Davidson, I don’t want to cause a fuss, but I will not be spoken to in that way.’ She puts down her cloth with purpose, then she folds her arms across her chest.
I glare at Tom, but he looks equally unwavering as he stands in front of the painting.
Dorothy, now looking equally as annoyed as Mrs Lewis at Tom’s outburst, turns to me with a look that suggests ‘you’re the boss – it’s up to you to sort this out’.
I swallow. The other staff in the room are all gawping at this unfolding drama, so I beckon those involved over to me and we step outside into the hall.
‘Mrs Lewis, I do apologise,’ I say quickly, trying to think how to resolve this without upsetting either party. ‘You’re new here; of course you weren’t to know the best way to clean the painting. Perhaps Tom here needs to give Dorothy – I mean Mrs Davidson – a list of all the more valuable items in each room?’ I look at Tom. He nods. ‘And then those items can be left for Tom to look after. Would that make things easier?’
‘Good idea,’ Tom says gruffly.
‘I think that might be best,’ Dorothy says, looking at Tom reprovingly. ‘I didn’t know that Mrs Lewis had the can of Mr Sheen anywhere near the painting. But as you pointed out, madam, she’s new to this so she wasn’t to know.’
‘That still doesn’t give him the right to speak to me like that,’ Mrs Lewis retorts huffily.
I look at Tom with my eyes wide.
He sighs.
‘I can only apologise, Mrs Lewis,’ Tom says with as much grace as he can muster. ‘I should not have spoken to you in the way I did.’
Mrs Lewis nods.
‘It’s just I’m very protective of the contents of this castle – as we all are,’ he says, looking at me and Dorothy. ‘And I would be gutted if anything should happen to ruin any of its mighty history.’
‘Yes . . . well,’ Mrs Lewis says, visibly softening, ‘I think we all feel like that. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to come and work here – to help preserve the past. My family have lived in Chesterford since the eighteenth century. This castle is part of my family history too.’
‘I think we’re agreed that the castle is at the forefront of all our minds,’ I say calmly, glad the explosive situation seems to have been defused. ‘So how about we all calm down and go back to what we do best – looking after it? Tom, perhaps you could make that list for Dorothy asap, just for this room to begin with, so she knows what she’s doing in here.’
‘Sure,’ Tom says, looking a little ashamed now. ‘And then I’ll go around doing the same in the rest of the state rooms.’
‘That would be good, thank you. Dorothy, are you happy with that?’
Dorothy nods.
‘Great! Then we’re all friends again. Tom, when you’re finished your list could you come and find me – I’d like a word.’
‘Of course,’ Tom says, glancing warily at me.
I leave everyone getting on with their jobs, and as soon as I get a safe distance away I lean my head back against the wall and sigh.
‘I think you dealt with that pretty well, Ms Chesterford,’ I whisper to myself. ‘Even if you do say so yourself.’
‘Very well,’ I suddenly hear whispered back to me. I turn quickly in the direction of the voice, but there’s no one in the corridor but me.
‘Who’s there?’ I say in the most commanding voice I can muster. ‘Who said that?’
But just like the bedroom and the stables before it – when challenged, there’s silence.
Seventeen
‘Ah, found you at last,’ Tom says, bounding across the grass towards me. ‘I’ve been looking everywhere.’
‘I’ve been inspecting the renovations on the stables,’ I tell him. ‘And now I’m on my way to look at a tree that Joey’s found, it’s got some disease that might mean it has to be chopped down. It’s really old, apparently, and Joey won’t do it without my say-so.’
‘Never a dull moment here, is there?’ Tom says, falling into step next to me.
‘No, there’s not, especially when certain members of staff that I’ve come to rely on make a scene in front of our newer employees . . . ’
