What Happens in the Alps.... T Williams A

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СКАЧАТЬ stared out of the window. The school occupied the first floor of a fairly modern building and she had chosen the location because of the large, free car park right outside. It was still snowing, but not very hard, but with the overcast sky it looked, and was, cold out there. Trees, pavements and flower beds were dusted with white, while the roads were a mucky brown mess of salt, grit and ice. As she watched, the unmistakable noise of the snowplough scraping along the tarmac reminded her she needed to get the antifreeze level checked in her car. Although they were only at just over a thousand metres here in Santorso, she knew it could get very, very cold.

      She had only had that one cup of coffee for breakfast, and she realised she was hungry and thirsty. A glance at the clock on the wall told her she just about had time for something before the arrival of this Signor Lagrange.

      The bar was directly opposite the school, right alongside its sister establishment, the pizzeria. Crossing the slushy road without soaking her feet wasn’t easy, but Annie managed. At the bar she ordered a cappuccino and picked up a croissant filled with apricot jam. As she consumed her belated breakfast, she chatted to Signora Toniolo who owned and ran the place together with her husband, Beppe. Although Annie had only been in Santorso for a few months, she knew them both very well by now and liked them a lot.

      She glanced around the room. Although it was the ground floor of a modern block, the walls had been lined with rough logs to give an Alpine chalet effect, and huge cow bells hung above the bar. Only a few of the tables were occupied this morning, but Annie knew this was only a temporary seasonal lull. As soon as the ski lifts opened and the winter sports season started in earnest, this bar and all the other town-centre bars would be packed with tourists from all over Europe and even as far afield as Russia and China. Brits made up a high proportion of the numbers and were responsible for an even higher proportion of the alcohol consumed. But, in spite of the recent snow, only the highest ski lifts were open at the moment and the season proper wouldn’t start until they had a real good dump of fresh snow.

      Her phone started ringing. It was Matt.

      ‘Hi, Matt, how was the Grand Hotel and the show?’

      ‘Hi, Annie, the show was awful, but I was expecting that. I’ve never been a fan of Italian music, at least not since Puccini. As for the hotel, it was… you know me. I’ve never been one for these flashy places. All just a bit too glitzy, really.’

      ‘And the company?’

      ‘Nice.’

      Annie thought she knew him well enough to recognise his choice of vocabulary for what it was. ‘Just nice? Nothing a bit special? Beautiful girl, luxurious surroundings, snowflakes fluttering down from a starry sky?’ Just for a moment she found herself wondering how it would feel to be with Matt underneath a starry sky. There had been a time, if she were totally honest with herself, way back when she first met Steve, that she had rather liked the look of Matt. He was tall, he was undeniably handsome and he had always been so very friendly to her. But she had chosen Steve and had no regrets. That was unless you counted Steve’s fatal obsession with danger.

      ‘You don’t get snowflakes and starry skies together. And, yes, it was a good night.’

      ‘So when are you seeing her again?’

      There was the slightest pause. ‘Probably sometime soon, I expect.’ Matt didn’t let her press him any further. ‘So, how about I buy you lunch today?’

      They arranged to meet at one o’clock. Annie put her phone away, very pleased that he might take one of the rooms for his translation business. However questionable his private life, she knew she could trust him and rely on his advice, and with all the responsibilities she was now carrying, that felt good. She glanced at her watch, swallowed the last of her coffee and headed back across the road.

      Back at the school, she had only just started writing a reply to her mum’s email when Paolina appeared to tell her Signor Lagrange had arrived. Annie went out to meet him. He was a slim, balding man, maybe in his mid or late fifties, with a friendly, suntanned face.

      ‘Signor Lagrange? My name’s Annie Brewer. What can I do for you?’

      He shook her hand. ‘Good morning. I’ve been advised to come and see you by a good friend of mine. You know Matthew Brown, I believe?’

      Annie smiled back at him. ‘Yes, indeed. Would you like to come through to my office?’ Together they walked back along the corridor and into her little office. Annie apologised for the rather Spartan surroundings. ‘I’m afraid I’m waiting for the new furniture to arrive.’ He took a seat opposite her. ‘So how come you know Matt?’

      ‘We share a love of the mountains. He and I often go climbing together.

      ‘So you’re a member of the Santorso Climbing Club?’ Annie kept her voice expressionless.

      Signor Lagrange nodded. ‘Yes, for many years.’ His face became more serious. ‘I was fortunate to know your late husband very well. We were all devastated by his death.’

      Annie nodded, but made no response apart from murmuring, ‘Thank you.’

      He leant forward. ‘Anyway, I’ve come to see you in your professional capacity as the director of this new school of English. I have a problem and Matt tells me you’re the person to solve it for me.’

      ‘Anything I can do to help.’

      ‘Are you, by any chance, familiar with the new Montalto Hotel?’ Annie certainly was. The ski resort of Montalto was situated directly above the town; a fifteen-minute drive up a series of tight hairpin bends that climbed hundreds of metres in a short distance. In fact, one of the places she was planning to visit in her search for an apartment was Montalto. The new hotel was being heralded as the valley’s latest five-star hotel, offering luxurious accommodation to visitors, as well as employment to a good number of local people.

      ‘I certainly am. It must be nearly finished by now.’

      Signor Lagrange nodded. ‘Yes, indeed. Anyway, I’m the general manager of the hotel. As part of my duties, I have to ensure that our staff all have a satisfactory command of English.’ Annie leant forward in her turn. This was sounding promising. ‘This is where you come in.’

      Annie resisted the temptation to get up and hug Signor Lagrange, but it took willpower. Here she was, the school not yet open, being presented with the sort of contract she could only dream of. ‘I’d be delighted to help.’

      Together, they discussed the details and Annie soon realised that there was going to be enough work in this one contract alone to keep a teacher fully occupied for months and months. She spared a thought for the two new teachers she had engaged to start in January. It looked as if she was going to need them both. She and Signor Lagrange discussed everything and she arranged to come up to the hotel the following week to meet the staff and do a preliminary assessment of their levels. Finally, they shook hands on it and she promised to email him everything that afternoon. He looked relieved.

      ‘That’s excellent. The hotel opens to the public in March, so if lessons can begin early in the New Year, so much the better.’

      Annie thanked him and stood up. But, before leaving, Signor Lagrange had one more surprise for her. He dropped an envelope on her desk. ‘It’s very important you get to know the hotel and the ski resort as well as possible. That’ll help a lot when you’re teaching my staff. I thought you might like one of these.’

      Intrigued, Annie СКАЧАТЬ