He laughed. ‘I’m sure you’re right there. But not paying for her ticket made her so furious she went and found a job and that’s why she’s now working for Francesca and Rick at the Encore. And she loves it there.’
‘That’s good to hear,’ Gabriel said.
Sebastian nodded. ‘She talks about you a lot,’ he said to Daisy. ‘You’ve been very kind to her since you’ve been here, showing her how everything’s done and never getting cross with her when she makes mistakes.’
Daisy shook her head. ‘She’s very clever and the guests love her. She’s the most cheerful person I’ve ever worked with.’
‘That’s good to know. She’s a great kid, even though I say so as her brother.’
Daisy went to step forward and winced.
‘We’d better get going,’ Gabriel said. ‘I’ll give you a call later and maybe you could join us for a drink sometime with Paige.’ He turned to Daisy. ‘You’ve not met Sebastian’s fiancée Paige yet, have you?’
She shook her head.
‘Daisy’s only been in Jersey a couple of months, so hasn’t had a chance to make new friends yet.’ He turned his attention back to her. ‘You’ll get along with Paige, she’s very friendly. She’s a shoe designer.’
‘Wow,’ Daisy said, impressed. ‘I’ve never met adesigner before.’
‘We’ll arrange something,’ Gabe said, putting an arm around her waist. ‘Speak soon, Sebastian.’
Daisy waved goodbye to the man and hobbled off towards Lydia’s car with Gabriel. ‘A shoe designer,’ she repeated. ‘How exciting.’
‘She’s lovely,’ Gabriel said. ‘In fact, I’ve got a group of friends I’d love to introduce you to if you wouldn’t mind.’ They reached the car and he pressed the fob to unlock the doors, helping Daisy settle into her seat.
‘I’d love to meet your friends,’ she said honestly. ‘One day.’
He looked disappointed but nodded. ‘I understand,’ he said.
She knew he couldn’t possibly have an inkling about how she felt. He knew so little of her past. And after all, didn’t he have both his parents still married to each other and despite their occasionally noisy exchanges, seemingly very happily, too? No, he couldn’t know how she felt and she was far too embarrassed by her past to ever share it with him. She liked this new life where everyone just knew her as Daisy the receptionist.
They arrived back at the hotel and Daisy insisted that Gabriel go and make the phone calls and emails that he needed to make to try and save his project.
‘I’ll be fine,’ she said, making her way to the housekeeper’s back office and knocking on the door.
The door was opened by Mrs Vines, the housekeeper, and she showed her in. ‘Sit over there, Daisy.’ She squinted and bent down to inspect Daisy’s foot. ‘What have I said about those dreadful slipper things you insist on wearing? They give your feet no protection. It’s a good thing you’re not one of the chambermaids or waitresses,’ she said. ‘At least you can sit behind your desk and carry out your work with a damaged foot.’
She left the room and returned with a tub ofwarm soapy water and some cloths. ‘Here, put your foot up on my knee and let me see to this.’ Daisy did as she was instructed and Mrs Vines cleaned her foot, tutting noisily several times. Drying the foot carefully, she applied some ointment and bandaged it carefully.
‘Right, my girl, you take care of that foot. It should heal very quickly. You’re lucky it wasn’t worse.’
There was a knock at the door. ‘Come,’ the woman barked.
Gabriel opened the door and put his head around, giving a sheepish smile at the older woman who beamed back at him. ‘How’s the patient?’ he asked.
She tutted once again. ‘I presume she was with you when it happened?’
He nodded. ‘Yes. Nan sent her on an errand to find me at Noirmont.’
That must have been an acceptable answer, because she patted Daisy’s ankle and stood up. ‘She’s fine, but I think she should wear more sensible sandals if she’s going to be running around over bunkers.’
Daisy bit her lip to stop from giggling at the image the woman’s words conjured up. She cleared her throat. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I’ll try and buy something a little less dangerous next time I have an afternoon off.’
8
GABRIEL
Gabriel went to accompany Daisy out of the housekeeper’s office, but she called him back.
