Page 62 of A Fresh Start at Bramble Cottage
“Molly Marston — she was my great-aunt. She left me her cottage.”
“Oh, yes, indeed.” He beamed in delight. “Old Molly — well I never. She was quite a character. She fought a long battle with the council over the regulation banning dogs on the beach. I remember her standing up in the council meeting and telling them they’d do better to ban families as they were the ones who left all the litter. She was right, of course, and she won in the end.”
Vicky laughed. “That sounds just like Molly!”
The door opened and Kerry came in carrying a tray with two cups of tea and a plate of chocolate biscuits. “Here y’are then, Mike.” She put it down on the desk. “Anything else while I’m up?”
“No, thank you, Kerry. But could you just ask Lisa to step in here, please?”
“Right you are.”
Vicky glanced from one to the other, suppressing a smile. The total lack of formality between them gave the whole place an air of warmth, friendliness. In spite of the slightly run-down air,this seemed to be a nice place to work. Much nicer than working for Charlotte Thorington.
And then Lisa walked in.
Oh. Tom’s wife. Vicky’s heart thumped. Maybe she should have connected the heavily pregnant woman at the cricket with the assistant manager due to go on maternity leave, but she had never even thought of it. Though she had done nothing wrong, except in her dreams, a sharp stab of guilt twisted in her gut.
“Hi, Mike — you wanted something?”
“Ah, Lisa. This is Molly’s niece. Miss Marston.”
“Please, call me Vicky.”
“Oh, yes.” The young woman smiled warmly. “I saw you at the cricket, looking after Arthur Crocombe. That was very kind of you.”
“I... um... I enjoyed chatting to him.” Vicky was struggling to keep her breathing steady. “He has lots of fascinating stories.”
“Miss Marston — Vicky — was enquiring about the cover for your maternity leave,” the manager explained.
“Really?” Her eyes, a pretty grey, lit up. “Oh, that’s great! We were getting worried that we wouldn’t be able to find anyone, weren’t we, Mike? Most people seem to want full-time — you know it’s only part-time, right?”
“Yes. But . . .”
“And if that doesn’t put them off, they don’t want temporary. Or they don’t want to be tucked away down here.” Those grey eyes danced. “We’re not exactly the Las Vegas of the South West Peninsula. More like somewhere between the middle of nowhere and the back of beyond!”
Mike chuckled. “I’m afraid so.”
Vicky was squirming inside. Lisa seemed so open and friendly — she really liked her, while at the same time she wanted to hate her for being married to Tom.
“This little bundle is due at the end of June.” Lisa stroked her hand over her bump, smiling that secret smile of all pregnant mothers. “So I’d really like to start my maternity leave in two weeks. Would that be okay with you?”
“Yes. But...” Vicky drew a breath. “The thing is... I don’t have any relevant experience. I’ve never worked in a hotel. I’m... Iwasan estate agent.”
Lisa laughed, shaking her head. “Well, that’s probably good experience — it’s mostly about dealing with the public and being organised with paperwork. It’s not that complicated — you’ll soon get the hang of it.”
“And I doubt if I’ll be able to supply you with a reference. I left my last job for...” She hesitated. “Personal reasons.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Mike assured her. “You’re old Molly’s niece — that makes you almost family. Look, if you have time, why don’t you let Lisa show you around, give you a general outline of the job? Then you can sit down and sort out the details — wages, National Insurance number, that sort of thing.”
“Um... yes, that would be fine. Thank you.”
Vicky felt as if her head was spinning. So much was happening so quickly. She owned a cottage. She had more money in the bank than she had ever had in her life. She had thrown over one job, and now she had another.
Lisa had eased herself carefully to her feet. “Mike, don’t forget you need to speak to the council about when they’re going to be starting the repairs on Pear Tree Road.”
“Don’t worry — I’ll get onto it.”
“And next weekend it’s the Three Counties Amateur Ladies’ Tournament.”
