‘June’s a lovely month,’ he said, pushing the cat on to the floor.
‘Yes,’ said Gilly, knowing it was also a busy one for her. She flicked through to June. There was a booking for every single weekend. ‘July?’ she suggested, hoping there’d be a vacant weekend in it.
‘I can’t understand why you’re booked up so early,’ said Leo, sounding a bit cross, possibly because the cat had jumped up again and was heading for his lap. ‘It’s only April!’
‘These clients have been coming for years,’ explained Gilly, setting Ulysses gently on to thefloor. ‘They like to book well ahead to make sure of getting their favourite rooms.’
‘Well, could you ask them to rebook so they all come on the same weekend and you have a weekend free?’
‘Not really,’ said Gilly. ‘They’ve been coming on those weekends for years and there wouldn’t be room for them all at the same time.’ She realised she was repeating herself. ‘The weeks are freer. Why don’t we go midweek?’
‘I can’t go midweek. I work.’
‘September is a lovely month,’ said Gilly, dismissing the thought that she worked too at the same time as she fielded her cat who seemed determined to get on Leo’s lap. ‘Let me pencil in some dates for us to go away then.’ She quickly did so.
‘I’m sorry to be so impatient,’ Leo said. ‘I just want to take you away. If you sold this house and retired, you’d be freer.’ He got up from his chair and swiped at the cat hairs that had landed on him in spite of Gilly’s efforts to protect him.
Gilly laughed and realised it had sounded rather brittle. ‘That would be a rather drastic way of solving the problem,’ she said. ‘And it would take a lot longer than until September for it to be accomplished.’
‘I could expedite it. I’d have a buyer for this house in a flash. In fact, I’ve got someone—’ He stopped abruptly, possibly noticing Gilly’s reaction.
‘No need,’ she said crisply. ‘I don’t want to move.’
‘Don’t be too hasty to reject the idea. Think of the advantages. You’d be freeing up capital for your children, just when they need it most.’
‘I promise I’ll think about it,’ she went on. ‘Would you like more coffee?’ She got up, desperate to stop this horrible conversation. ‘I’ll make some.’
She was on her way back to the conservatory to check that Leo did actually want more coffee when the doorbell jangled. The old-fashioned bell was one of the things her clients particularly enjoyed and she opened the door with a smile. It was William.
‘I’m so sorry to trouble you, but Aunt Miriam thinks she left her hearing-aid batteries in the bedside drawer …’
‘Oh, easily done, I’m sure. I’ll pop up and look.’
‘I could go,’ said William.
‘It’s no trouble – I know which room Miriam was in. I thought I’d checked all the rooms before they left but I may have missed the bedside drawer.’
Gilly found the batteries and came back down the stairs. She paused. Leo had joined William in the hall and just for a second she had the impression that the two men were facing up to each other. Then as she arrived in the hall one of them moved but the tension still seemed to be there.
‘I was just saying what a valuable property this is,’ said Leo. ‘The market in this area is surprisingly buoyant. It’s a good time to sell.’
No one spoke for a few seconds – Gilly didn’t know what to say. Then William looked up at her and smiled very slightly.
‘Only if the owner wants to sell,’ he said firmly. ‘And I don’t think Gilly does.’
At first Gilly thought Leo was going to argue but he didn’t. But after William had gone, hearing-aid batteries safely in his pocket, Leo turned to Gilly.
‘Does your accountant always call you by your Christian name? You must visit him a lot, which rather implies things aren’t really working on a financial level. I can’t help thinking you’d be better off getting out of the B & B business and having a bit more spare time.’
‘I’ve got spare time now,’ Gilly said, although she hadn’t finished clearing the dining room or got the second load into the dishwasher, and then there were the beds to strip.
‘Sadly, I haven’t. But it’s been lovely to see you, Gilly.’ He kissed the top of her head. ‘But now I must go and have a good look at that house of Martin’s. I’ll text you a time when I can take you out for lunch.’
‘Us boarding-house landladies always have time for lunch,’ said Gilly with a laugh, hoping he’d join in.
But he didn’t.
Chapter Twelve
