Secrets at Meadowbrook Manor. Faith Bleasdale

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СКАЧАТЬ she would strive to get there. She needed to take pride in herself, not just for shallow reasons, but also it was time she began to believe what her nan had been trying to tell her all her life – that she was good enough.

      Feeling like a visitor – which of course she was – she tentatively made her way downstairs, taking her time, drinking in her surroundings. She studied each piece of art, wondering what the origins were. She took her phone out and took photos – they would inspire her when she was working in her room, hopefully. She made her way to the kitchen, to find Pippa already there looking both groomed and beautiful. She was making a pot of coffee and munching a piece of toast at the same time.

      ‘Good morning, Gemma. I was going to bring you a drink, but then I realised I don’t know if you prefer tea or coffee, or how you take it,’ Pippa said, smiling warmly in greeting.

      ‘Coffee please, just white please, no sugar.’

      Gemma went to stand by the Aga, enjoying the warmth. She watched how Pippa glided about the kitchen, making everything look effortless. Gemma sighed inwardly – would she ever be able do that? She took a seat at the kitchen table and when Pippa handed her her coffee, she decided to try to claw back some control.

      ‘Tell me about how the house runs at the moment,’ she asked, pulling out her notebook. She was going to ensure she had it on her at all times. No detail was too small to miss.

      ‘Of course, Gwen took care of everything really; we’ve only just convinced her into semi-retirement. She used to live here. I’ll show you her apartment; it’s at the back of the house. But because only Freddie and I are here, she moved back into her cottage. Between you and me, she’s got a sort of boyfriend, Gerry, and I think she wants her own space for their relationship.’

      ‘So who takes care of the house now?’ Gemma couldn’t see Freddie with a pair of Marigolds, that was for sure.

      ‘We have a cleaning company that comes in twice a week. Gwen manages them – we daren’t mess with her when it comes to this house! We also have a local girl, Vicky, who comes up three times a week. She does a few bits, laundry and ironing. She also works for Harry and she cooks from time to time. The idea is that she will take on a bigger housekeeping role when the hotel opens. She’s quite keen to do more cooking as well, and so we are sort of training her up, or Gwen is anyway. None of us can really cook – we were terribly spoilt by Gwen. We still are.’

      ‘So the place is well looked after?’ Gemma asked, making a note and adding Vicky’s name to the back of the book with all the people she needed to remember.

      ‘To be honest, at the moment Meadowbrook runs itself. I try to help tidy and clean sometimes, but it does take a lot to run the estate – Daddy taught us that. For example, Freddie and I organise the Meadowbrook events, which isn’t profit-making but we hold them to raise money for the sanctuary, and we involve the whole community. Parker’s Hollow is incredibly important to us, and with regards to the hotel we will have to keep that in mind.’

      ‘Fair enough.’ Gemma wondered just what the community was like – she hoped they wouldn’t be against the hotel, but that was a worry for later. ‘I can’t wait to see the famous sanctuary.’ Although she had heard a lot about the sanctuary, she hadn’t quite got her head round it.

      The Singers’ father had set it up with Connor, because he was passionate about animals and wanted to make sure they were cared for. It started small but had grown and was quite well known nowadays, which Pippa explained was a double-edged sword. People came if they wanted to adopt a dog or a cat, but they also knew if they left animals here they’d be looked after. So it seemed when one was re-homed more would appear. They also had farm animals that were permanent residents and two alpacas. How this fitted in with a luxury hotel, Gemma had no idea.

      ‘Well, of course it’s at the heart of Meadowbrook now, and we have to raise money to keep it going, so that takes a lot of organisation. Our next big event will be the Easter party, so you can see how that works. But we also open our gardens every month, and we get coach trips booking to visit, even in winter. Anyone from the village can come in for free, but for outsiders we charge.’

      Gemma was scribbling furiously. ‘I did some research and saw the gardens were an attraction,’ Gemma said. Although again, a luxury hotel break being interrupted by coachloads of people coming to admire the gardens; well that was another conundrum for her.

      ‘Our roses won a big award at a national show last year and it’s all gone berserk. It’s Gus’s baby, along with his partner, Amanda, now, so I’ll let him tell you about them but yes, they are a growing attraction, and they generate a nice amount of income for the sanctuary.’

      ‘So when the hotel is open you still intend on having all these events?’ Gemma’s brain was beginning to tick over.

      ‘Well of course, the hotel will be a separate company and hopefully make money – or Harry will have my head – but we’ll still need to raise money for the sanctuary. And well, that’s as far as I’ve got really. I did think about us using here as a wedding venue too.’

      ‘Pippa, if people want to stay somewhere quiet they might not want a coach full of people to appear suddenly, or to be part of the events.’ She saw Pippa’s beautiful face drop and immediately felt guilty. Why when she was only pointing something sensible out, she didn’t know, but Pippa did look crestfallen. ‘But that’s OK, I will keep that in mind when I’m coming up with ideas.’

      Gemma was even more unsure how it all would work, but she kept telling herself that it was early days and she didn’t need all the answers right now. As long as she got them at some point …

      ‘Oh! Thank goodness. I knew you were the right person. It’s just, well, Meadowbrook is Meadowbrook and you’ll soon see that, so the hotel has to reflect that. We have to keep our father’s vision alive with whatever we do, you see. But of course you already understand that.’

      ‘I do?’ She did?

      ‘The covering letter you sent in with your CV, about the soul of Meadowbrook.’ Pippa tilted her head.

      ‘Of course, Pippa, of course,’ she reassured her. After all, that she did understand. The animal sanctuary, annual events and coachload of gardening enthusiasts she wasn’t quite as sure about.

      ‘Freddie, are you sure I’m not going to die?’ Gemma’s voice was carried into the wind, and if he heard her, Freddie didn’t answer.

      Gemma was holding on to the side of the buggy for dear life and trying to decide whether or not it was less scary with her eyes shut. On reflection, it was slightly less nauseating with them open. She snuck a glance at him – he was driving very intently and too fast across a bumpy field, up towards the lake. However, she couldn’t help but think, again, that he was the best-looking man she had ever been this close to, or met. Even if he was also the worst driver.

      Her ex-boyfriend, Chris, was nothing to rave about, although to be fair, neither was she. He was a couple of inches taller than Gemma who was five foot five, he had mousy brown hair, eyes that her nan always said were a bit too small and unremarkable features. She knew her nan didn’t think much of him – in her pre-dementia days – but it was only now she could see that it was because he was constantly putting her down. At the time, she felt they were perfectly matched – two people who would pretty much go unnoticed through life. But Chris still thought he was too good for her, and he never tired of reminding her, until he left her, as most people in her life seemed to do.

      Gemma’s nan always told her that feeling СКАЧАТЬ