1
DAISY
‘It’s true, chocolate can kill you.’
Daisy shook her head as she stood outside, trying not to take any notice of Fi’s chatter. She waved goodbye to two of their guests as the taxi drove them away, cheered as she always was by the pristine white building that her boss had referred to as looking like a block of ice cream. To her it looked like a softly curved ship standing proudly at the top of the driveway. It spoke to her of history and Jersey between the wars and happy days filled with sunshine like the old 1930s posters she’d seen hanging up in the back office.
She smiled, taking in the elegant white building with its marine blue thick stripe painted across the entire length of the frontage just above the second-floor windows and its narrower triple stripes at either end. She loved this place with its history and what it meant to so many people in the island and those that visited.
‘I promise you, I’m right. Daisy, are you listening to me?’
She held back a groan and walked back inside, returning to sit at her desk. Daisy glanced at the large, geometric clock behind her at the minimalist reception in the hotel. She was determined to finish reconciling the hotel bookings before the end of her shift. Her boss needed to know where the hotel stood so alternative plans could be made. The unexpected fire in the orangery had come at the worst possible time, losing the owners money at the height of the seasonwhen they’d had to pass several parties out to other establishments.
‘You don’t believe me, do you?’ Fi added.
Daisy frowned. ‘Sorry?’ She tried not to ask her young, bubbly colleague what she was going on about and focused on the screen in front of her. Her resolve lasted all of ninety seconds. ‘Oh, go on then, tell me.’
Fi giggled. ‘I knew you couldn’t resist any mention of chocolate.’
Daisy laughed. ‘You can talk. At least I only eat one bar at a time; you buy a family pack and wolf the lot down,’ she said, looking in amazement at girl who must be at least five feet ten in height but remained skinny. She’d heard from other members of staff that Fi’s brother, Sebastian Fielding, was a hugely successful local businessman, who was also very tall, so height obviously ran in their family.
‘So?’
Daisy turned her gaze on her assistant. ‘It must be in your genes, because you should be stones heavier than you are, with what you consume in a day.’
Fi opened her mouth to speak, when a whirlwind in the form of Mrs Grey, the eighty-something co-owner of the hotel, pushed back the double black lacquered front doors and raced in. Daisy had grown very fond of Lydia since she’d begun working at the Encore. Although the huge white ship-like hotel was mostly run by Lydia’s daughter, Francesca, and son-in-law, Rick, both of them spent several months a year working away and Lydia always stepped in to oversee things in their absence. Despite her age, Mrs Grey had more energy than most people Daisy knew, and the older lady never ceased to amaze her.
‘Has he arrived yet?’
Daisy and Fi exchanged confused glances.
‘Who, Mrs Grey?’ Daisy asked, hoping she hadn’t missed a booking. She was usually vigilant about thesethings. She studied her computer screen, trying not to panic.
Lydia Grey rested her fine bejewelled fingers on top of the reception desk. ‘My grandson Gabriel, dear,’ she said. ‘He was supposed to be arriving in Jersey just after lunchtime, but he hasn’t been to the house yet.’
‘Gabriel? Coming home?’ Fi smiled so widely that Daisy could see every tooth in her mouth. ‘He hasn’t been home for ages.’
Hearing the unusual name Daisy had to focus on not conjuring up the image of a man with the same name she’d met and fallen in love with in Vietnam when she’d been travelling two years before. She knew he was from Jersey, but his work kept him well away from the island. It was why she’d felt comfortable coming to work at this beautiful place two months before.
Lydia sighed. ‘Ten months, just over,’ she said, twisting her gold watch around her slim wrist to check the time. ‘We’ve spoken on the laptop he bought me a few times and he sends me postcards and the occasional letter, but now the hotel’s had this fire trouble, and his parents have to go away on tour, Francesca has asked him to come home for a few months and help out.’
Daisy tried to picture her flamboyant actress boss, Francesca Fiore, as the mother of the Gabriel she knew. No, they didn’t look alike at all. She thought of Francesca’s equally extrovert American husband, Rick Malone, but his bright blue eyes were nothing like those of the man she’d loved in Vietnam. Anyway, she consoled herself, her Gabe’s last name was Wilson.
‘Where has he been, Mrs Grey?’ Daisy asked, relieved that the two couldn’t be connected or that she hadn’t messed up any bookings. She’d heard the older lady talking several times about her grandson but knew nothing about him other than that his grandmother doted on him and when he was in Jersey he stayed with her.
‘He’s a marine explorer,’ Mrs Grey said, her eyes shining with barely concealed pride.
‘A…’ Daisy couldn’t manage to say the words. The name Gabriel was unusual enough, but surely there couldn’t be many of them who were also marine explorers? Her heart pounded and her ears rang.
Mrs Grey must have misunderstood her confusion and said, ‘Essentially he identifies and collects new species of corals, fish, or whatever their current project is in aid of, in different waters around the world and works to secure protection of them. It’s a very worthwhile job.’
‘Oh,’ Daisy said, unable to think of anything more intelligent to say.
Fi gasped and clamped her left hand on Daisy’s wrist, squeezing so tightly Daisy felt it growing numb. ‘He’s here, Mrs Grey,’ Fi squealed, pointing outside. ‘Look. He’s getting out of the pool.’
Mrs Grey’s ice-blue eyes widened, and she turned and hurried outside. ‘Darling, darling boy,’ they heard her calling, as both girls stared after her.
Fi let go of Daisy’s wrist and ran to the door to watch. ‘Look, Daisy,’ she whispered. ‘Isn’t he gorgeous? My friends and I used to call him Angel Gabriel, because he’s so lush. And to think he’ll be working here, with us.’ She waved Daisy over to join her without taking her eyes off the figure in the pool.
