Page 28 of A French Affair
‘Nigel, it’s me Belinda,’ she called.
‘Come through – we’re in the conservatory,’ he answered.
An efficient looking nurse was writing something on her tablet as she stood alongside Molly lying on a daybed.
‘Sorry to interrupt. Shall I go and have a look around the hotel and come back in fifteen minutes?’ Belinda asked, hoping she didn’t sound as shocked as she felt at seeing Molly, a woman who was always on the go, lying down, a pale imitation of her normal self.
‘No, you’re fine,’ Nigel answered. ‘Nurse here has finished her morning routine, making Molly comfortable.’
‘Come here right now,’ Molly ordered, at least sounding something like her old self. ‘I want to hear all about France and how things are going over there. Nigel just tells me it’s all in hand, which is, of course, good, but I want the nitty-gritty.’ She saw the pretty pot of tulips. ‘For me, thank you.’ She looked at Belinda. ‘You’re looking well, positively glowing with health. Less stressed than usual.’
‘How are you feeling?’ Belinda asked. ‘I hope it was nothing too serious? Nigel didn’t say what was wrong.’
Molly smiled. ‘Let’s call it women’s problems and leave it at that, shall we?’
‘I wasn’t expecting you to have had your operation already. When did you get out of hospital? Should you even be home?’ Belinda said.
‘I was allowed to leave on one condition, that Nigel hired a private nurse. Now I’ve got six weeks of taking it easy to look forward to.’ Molly pulled a face. ‘Hence Nigel wanting you back. At least I’ll be able to tackle the pile of books on my TBR. Mixed blessings, eh?’
The nurse declined Nigel’s offer of coffee and left. A few minutes later, Nigel had brought the coffee through into the conservatory, along with a plate of chocolate brownies. The three of them sat companionably chatting about the hotels.
‘I’ll need to sit down with you after Easter and make a plan for the season,’ Nigel said. ‘Molly insists she’ll be fine before the real summer rush begins, but I’m not having her do too much, too soon. There are a few things we need to discuss.’
‘Okay,’ Belinda agreed. ‘In the meantime, I’ll carry on as usual. How’s everything out at Moorside? I was planning on driving across the moor tomorrow.’ She registered the guilty look that passed between Nigel and Molly and waited.
‘Ah, there’s something we have to tell you about Moorside,’ Nigel said. ‘We’ve sold it.’
‘Really?’ Belinda said, trying to hide her surprise. Being on Dartmoor, Moorside had always been different from the other two hotels in attracting a divergent, usually older, guest, but its annual turnover had always been more than acceptable to the groups’ accountants.
‘It’s always been that bit too far away to manage easily, so when the brewery unexpectedly made us an offer, we haggled a bit and then accepted,’ Nigel explained.
‘Fair enough,’ was all Belinda could think of saying as she wondered where the sale of one of the hotels would leave her job. It would certainly give her more time to devote to the remaining two.
‘Tell us about the campsite,’ Molly said. ‘Is it starting to look good?’
Belinda reached for her tote and took out her notebook. ‘I took some photos before I left.’ She handed the tablet to Molly. ‘Have a scroll through. Alain and the workers have done a grand job getting the place up to scratch. Shame we’ve had to delay the opening really, but at least it will give Alain and the others time to really get the place sorted for a grand reopening for the late May Bank Holiday.’ She turned to Nigel. ‘We need to decide about the shop and café. Are you happy to lease them both out? The village shop seems keen to expand, but the café is maybe different. I think there is huge potential there that we’d miss out on if we allow someone else to develop it.’
‘Do you know how Alain feels about that?’
‘Honestly? I think Alain would be happy for the site to become set in a time warp, say the l970s where there was no internet, definitely no social media and everyone was happy with their lot. As for pods and glamping,’ Belinda laughed, ‘he’d never heard of them. I think he would say that a café serving, pizzas, frites, sandwiches, wine, beer, coffee and ice creams is all that is needed for a campsite.’
Molly nodded. ‘That pretty well sums up the cafés I remember from my childhood.’
‘And we all know people’s expectations are so much higher these days,’ Belinda added. ‘Anyway, it’s your campsite now and you two get to decide how you want it.’
‘Let’s get Easter out of the way and then have a meeting to discuss things,’ Nigel said. ‘Alain is a good bloke and I know he has his own reasons for wanting the campsite to succeed. He told me more about them when he was here recently.’
‘He was here?’ Belinda couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice. ‘What was he doing here?’
There was a slight pause before Nigel answered. ‘There were some things he wanted to discuss face to face about his parents, since they are old friends of ours. Have you met them yet?’
Belinda shook her head. ‘No.’
‘Lovely couple.’
Belinda waited for him to expand on that, but he changed the conversation by asking Belinda how Chloe was and talk became veered away from hotel and campsite business. Belinda made a mental note to ask Nigel at their next meeting what he’d meant about Alain having his own reasons regarding the campsite succeeding and – importantly – how the sale of Moorside affected her job.
Belinda turned down an invitation to stay for lunch and left soon afterwards. Driving home, she found herself thinking about Alain, wondering in what way his reasons differed from Nigel’s in wanting the campsite to succeed. And why hadn’t Alain mentioned his visit to Nigel to her? What was the big secret?
