‘This is the best bedroom?’ asked Justin, questioningly.
‘Yes,’ said Louise firmly. ‘It has the best view, a very comfortable bed and is near the bathroom.’
‘But it’s not a private bathroom?’ Justin went on.
‘No,’ said Louise, sounding a bit sharp.
Justin left the room without saying any more.
‘I’m so sorry about the bathroom not being private,’ said Louise. ‘I know they’re starting to come in but there just isn’t the money for putting bathrooms in all the bedrooms.’
‘It’s fine!’ said Alexandra. ‘Will I just be sharing a bathroom with David? We’re used to that. It’s a lovely room.’
Louise couldn’t stop being apologetic. ‘It needs doing up really. The wallpaper is very shabby in places.’
‘I think it’s perfect as it is!’ said Alexandra, who had gone back to the window.
‘David’s room hasn’t got such a good view,’ said Meg, ‘but it’s still nice.’
‘It is,’ said David, coming up behind them. ‘Justin showed me mine. What have you got against the poor man?’
Meg turned to him. ‘Don’t let’s spoil your arrival by talking about him. And how did you know I don’t like him?’
David shrugged expressively and then said, ‘This is such a lovely house. Beautiful proportions and perfectly sited for the very best views.’
‘Why don’t you and Alexandra get settled in and then come down and have a grand tour?’ suggested Meg.
‘We’d love that,’ said David. ‘I can’t wait to see it all. And please, show us all the below-stairs parts. I love seeing the butler’s pantry, the housekeeper’s room and, of course, all the larders and things.’
‘We do still have a lot of those rooms,’ said Louise, ‘although I’m glad to say the game larder has been turned into a room to arrange flowers in.’
Alexandra and David would be very satisfactory people to show Nightingale Woods to, Meg decided. Louise probably felt the same. Meg went back to work, promising to organise tea on the lawn shortly.
‘I do love our chateau,’ said Alexandra a little later, when Meg had shown them every inch of Nightingale Woods. ‘It’s in beautiful Provence and it’s home. But it’s not pretty in the way this place is. The rose garden here is going to be glorious! I’d love a proper vegetable garden at the chateau too.’
‘What I like best is the area behind the old tennis court. It’s the perfect setting for a play. It’s like a little amphitheatre,’ said David.
‘Sadly, it’s a hotel, David, not a theatre,’ said Meg.
‘No reason why it couldn’t be both, surely?’ David said. ‘I’ve a friend, an actor turned director, who puts on theDreamin a few special gardens every year. People love it! What can be more lovely than a fine summer night, a beautiful setting and a really romantic bit of Shakespeare?’
‘Maybe I could put it on my list of ideas to make the hotel more profitable that I’ve got to make for Justin,’ said Meg. ‘I’ve been struggling to think of things.’
‘Why is it down to you?’ asked Alexandra. ‘You don’t even work here officially, do you?’
Meg sighed. ‘I am on the payroll now and I think I’ve got emotionally involved. It’s to do with Mum, I suppose. She loves Nightingale Woods, and I’m fairly sure she loves Justin’s father, too. He’s the current owner.’
‘If Justin’s father owns the hotel, why does he seem so …’ Alexandra hesitated. ‘Hostile?’
‘He seems a perfectly nice chap to me,’ said David.
‘That’s because he’s sexist, and thinks women don’t belong in kitchens,’ said Meg. ‘You’re a man, and not working for him. It makes you safe.’
David sighed and smiled. ‘He’ll soon learn not to keep you out of a kitchen, Meggy.’
‘To be fair, he did put me in charge of this one,’ said Meg. ‘I think he thinks it’s just about allowable to have a female chef if there aren’t any men who could possibly be given the job instead.’
Chapter Eight
