Page 77 of Secrets and Seashells at Rainbow Bay
‘We do?’ I ask in surprise. Even though I’d been expecting this, it still comes as quite a shock that the ghosts might be right. ‘What is it?’
Bill points up at some of the original rafters that I’d insisted we keep in the renovations. ‘You see these timbers?’ he says. ‘Riddled with woodworm.’
‘Are they?’ I ask, looking up at the timbers. ‘I can’t see anything. Aren’t there usually lots of little holes with woodworm?’
‘Not if they’ve not hatched yet. These beams here have only eggs and larvae in them; there’s just a few tiny holes beginning to appear, which mean the worms are just starting to hatch. It’s possible when we originally checked this there were no holes at all. It’s easily missed.’
‘So what would have happened if we hadn’t found it?’ I ask, still staring up at the ceiling.
‘Not much to begin with, but eventually the beams would have weakened and then subsequently collapsed.’
‘Collapsed? What, with no warning?’
‘Again, it’s possible – but I’m sure someone would have noticed the holes before it got to that stage.’
‘But what if they hadn’t? What if one of those beams had collapsed when we had people in here? What if the whole ceiling had come down?’
I stare at Bill, my eyes wide.
‘I think it’s best we’re just grateful we found it before it got to that stage,’ Bill says, glancing up at the beams again.
‘Indeed,’ I say, thinking about Jasper. ‘So how long will it take to fix? I’m assuming you can remove the woodworm?’
‘We’ll definitely need to get some specialists in. This isn’t something I can deal with on my own.’
I sigh. ‘How much is it going to cost, Bill, and almost more importantly, how long is it going to take?’
Bill makes his customary deliberating noises.
‘Difficult to say, I’d need to get a quote, and then we’d need to book them in. If we’re lucky it might only put us back a week or so.’
‘And if we’re unlucky?’
‘We can still work in here until the specialists come and spray their chemicals around; the beams are still safe at the moment. But then we’ll likely be out for anything from a few days to a week until the building is deemed fit to work in again.’
I sigh again. ‘Sure, I understand.’
‘Better that we’ve caught this now, miss, than after you’ve opened the place up to the public. It doesn’t bear thinking about what might have happened had this gone unnoticed.’
‘Yes, you’re right, Bill, of course you are. I’m just keen to get the tea room and gift shop up and running as soon as we can.’
‘I know, miss. Me and the boys will do our best for you to catch up on the lost time. I feel partly to blame we didn’t see this sooner.’
‘Thank you, Bill; I appreciate that. You’ll get on to these exterminator people as quickly as you can?’
‘Of course, miss.’
*
I leave Bill still examining the timbers while he talks on the phone to his woodworm specialist, and I wander over towards the office.
‘Hey, Tiffany,’ I say as I enter the open door. ‘How are you this morning?’
‘Good, thanks, miss.’ I’ve got used to the way most of the staff address me now. It’s not perfect, and I’d still prefer Amelia, but it’s better than ‘ma’am’ or ‘m’lady’. ‘How are you? Feeling better?’
‘I’m very well, thank you.’ I glance at her. ‘You heard about my exploits down the pub then?’
‘I did, yes.’ Tiffany grins. ‘I think you impressed a lot of the locals, you know.’
