Page 52 of Love like the (Real) Reel Thing
“Hi, Ted.”
“Here’s the girleen from Dublin.”
Jess flashed him a tight smile. She’d politely reminded him of her name a couple of times but after he’d made a big fuss of apologising, he’d reverted to girleen again.
As she came back out of the shop, the sun reappeared from behind a cloud and she slipped back on her sunglasses and popped her water into her bag. She turned to look for Robert, and noticed he’d moved a short distance away and was talking to a young, blonde woman who looked vaguely familiar. As she walked towards them, the woman glanced up, before turning abruptly and walking away.
“Friend of yours?” Jess asked. “I’ve definitely seen her around.”
“You probably have.” Robert dropped his voice. “She’s a reporter. I think she spotted us at the hotel and followed us. I just told her I didn’t know anything.”
“You probably know a few things,” Jess teased.
“Not a thing!” he said, grinning. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
They walked to the edge of the village and followed the path that led into Linford Wood.
“I’m not sure how much sun we’re going to see,” Robert said. “The trees tend to block out a lot of light.”
Jess stopped for a moment to take a drink of water. “I don’t mind, to be honest. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to explore the wood, how big is it?”
Robert shrugged. “A couple of square miles.”
They started on the trail that led towards the river and, as the air got cooler under the trees, Jess tried to get her bearings. “Do you mind if we check something out?”
“Sure.”
“I want to find the exit of the tunnel that leads from the Lady Linford Suite.”
“You’re not still obsessing about that lens cover you found, are you?”
She frowned. “Curious, that’s all.” She did a few mental calculations, then started to walk uphill. “I think it’s this direction.”
“Should I be looking out for a Hobbit entrance?” Robert said, striding up behind her.
She flashed him a grin. “Something similar. Apparently there’s a couple of big rocks near the exit, with the ground rising behind them.” She stopped and looked around and then started to walk again. “Over here, I think.” She walked slowly over to two large rocks. “I think this might be it.”
He shook his head. “How do you know all this?”
“Marketing managers are a mine of trivial information,” Jess said cheerfully. “Ian, the hotel events manager, told me about it last year.” She crouched down between the two rocks and started to push aside loose branches and undergrowth, until her hand connected with something solid. “This is it.”
He helped her clear the rest of the undergrowth away, revealing a metal door set at an incline into the hill behind, just big enough for a large adult to crawl through. “Ye olde steel door.” She grinned. “There might have been no door originally and at some later stage it was given a timber door which rotted away over time and was replaced by this one.”
“You can’t open it from the outside,” Robert said.
Jess turned. “Yeah, there’s a bolt on the other side of this. How did you know?”
He crouched down beside her to take a look. “I’ve been working up at the castle – the staff are always talking about these tunnels. And I think they were part of the last promotional videos about the place.”
“They were the videos I commissioned.” Jess sat back on her heels. “I’d be worried if thiswasopen.” She smiled wryly. “Thisprobably wasn’t what you had in mind when you offered to come on a walk with me. Let’s get back into the sun.”
Jess camouflaged the exit again, before they doubled back, staying close to the river until they emerged into a clearing.
Robert ran a hand lightly over the grass. “It’s dry. Let’s sit for while.”
As Jess sat down, Doug Strathan – wearing Lycra running gear – came jogging in their direction.
“Doug, hi!”
