‘It’s a bit of a thank you for how you both got me through my wedding,’ Alexandra said. ‘Now, what shall we have? I think we should make sure we have different things, to test them out.’
‘It’s all very sophisticated,’ said Meg, studying the menu. ‘Lobster, crab soufflé, chicken liver parfait, crêpe Suzette. All the fancy things.’
‘My mother likes that sort of food,’ said Vanessa.
‘It’s about as different from what we serve as can be,’ said Meg, feeling somewhat desperate. ‘Basically, we do home cooking, using fresh and very local ingredients. We can’t really compete with this sort of thing.’ She paused. ‘Although we could make an effort to get more fish. We’re not far from the coast, after all.’
‘I’ll have the parfait,’ said Alexandra. ‘Followed by the chicken. I’ll stick to the one bird.’
‘Chicken à la king sounds rather American to me,’ said Meg, feeling snippy because she’d lost confidence in Nightingale Woods being able to compete with this fashionable, prosperous establishment.
‘I think it’s quite popular with Americans,’ said Vanessa. ‘It’s one of the things my mother doesn’t approve of.’ She sighed. ‘She’s such a snob.’
‘So, do you think she could be lured away from the fleshpots of Newton-cum-Hardy and go to Nightingale Woods instead?’ asked Alexandra.
Meg laughed. ‘I’m not sure this place could really be described as “fleshpots”, could it?’
‘What I’m asking is, wouldn’t Nessa’s mother really prefer somewhere more English, restrained and classy?’ Alexandra persisted.
‘She probably would, really, if it wasn’t for the bathroom thing,’ said Vanessa. ‘And there’s a swimming pool here. Not that my mother uses it. Her hair wouldn’t stand for it.’ She rolled her eyes and sighed again.
‘We can’t possibly compete with a swimming pool,’ said Meg. ‘We’ll have to concentrate on attracting parents of pupils at the local prep school, and people in the area celebrating their birthdays.’ It didn’t sound as if there would be anything like enough people to make their little hotel viable. ‘I wonder if we could get in touch with the school, and offer their parents a discount if they stay with us?’
‘Good idea,’ said Alexandra, ‘especially if you slightly increase your prices so you’re not actually losing money.’
‘That would be cheating,’ said Meg and then blushed, aware her companions were looking at her as if she was mad.
‘Well, offer them two nights for a slightly lower rate, or three, or whatever seems best,’ said Alexandra.
‘Actually,’ said Meg, ‘I think the headmaster came to this really big lunch we put on when I first arrived.’
‘You didn’t tell me about that,’ said Vanessa.
‘It was a sort of banquet,’ said Meg. ‘An event for local people who come year after year, and whose parents came before them. It’s a tradition. But we – me and Justin – had to take over the cooking at very short notice. It was hugely successful.’
‘Have you got a list of everyone who came?’ asked Vanessa, interested. ‘You could get in touch with them and offer them a special deal because they came to the banquet. People like to feel special.’
Meg nodded. ‘They do all feel connected to the hotel already. So many of their relations worked there, or on the estate over the generations. They’d probably be thrilled, as if they were part of a club or something.’
‘That sounds like a very good idea, Vanessa,’ said Alexandra.
‘I’m good at things like that,’ said Vanessa, sounding wistful. ‘Mummy always used to have people arranging parties at home and I used to hang around them, getting in the way. I learnt a lot.’
‘You live in a stately home, Ness,’ said Meg.
Vanessa didn’t argue with this description. ‘It’s such a shame I can’t stay with you and work on your advertising. If only I didn’t have a wedding coming up. I wouldn’t mind so much if I was allowed to organise it.’
She sounded very fed up, thought Meg. ‘So your mother is doing it all?’ she said. ‘Golly! Remember Lizzie’s mother? She was obsessed.’
Vanessa nodded. ‘Whenever I make a suggestion, about the catering, the flowers, the photographs, orthe cake, Mummy says, “We always use so-and-so,” and that’s that.’
‘I thought everyone liked weddings,’ said Alexandra.
Vanessa shook her head. ‘I really like other people’s weddings, like Lizzie’s, and yours, but when it’s your own, it’s all a lot more worrying. And although Mummy is organising it all, I have to make sure she isn’t doing something I really don’t like. There’s a perfectly ghastly tiara she thinks I should wear.’
‘Grim,’ said Alexandra.
‘And Simon and I thought it would be nice for the guests who are staying with us, or nearby, to have a dance, after me and Simon have gone.’
