‘Of course,’ said Louise, but she sounded surprised.
‘He can’t cook because he’s sprained his ankle so his pastry chef has taken over in the main kitchen,’ she explained. ‘I think we should charge quite a lot for the desserts. We’re quite busy, after all. By the way, what did Andrew say about turning the singles into private bathrooms?’
Louise looked caught out. ‘I completely forgot to ask him,’ she admitted. ‘It was so lovely to see him—’
‘I understand,’ Meg said hastily. ‘Perhaps we could get on with the work and you could ask him next time he rings? He’s unlikely to say no to you.’ She smiled, pleased that the attention wasn’t on her just at that moment.
‘Yes, all right.’
‘It shouldn’t be very expensive. Bob would do it. Susan was saying that now he’s started doing plumbing, he’s really enjoying it.’
‘Hasn’t he got enough to do with the kitchen garden?’
‘He’s got a nephew doing that, apparently. One of Susan’s sister’s lads who needed a job.’
Louise laughed. ‘People might say this hotel is run entirely on people who are related to other members of staff. Mostly Susan.’
‘Well, it is! And that includes me!’ said Meg, giving her mother a sideways hug.
Justin appeared in the early afternoon. He limped into the kitchen with a huge box.
‘What’s that?’ asked Susan, who was decanting home-made jam into glass bowls.
‘It’s everything you could ever need for making desserts, little cakes, tarts, anything you can think of,’ said Justin, depositing the box on a side table.
‘Oh!’ said Meg, longing to stop icing tiny eclairs and investigate the box.
‘What are you doing, Susan?’ said Justin. ‘Is that clotted cream? Where did you get that?’
Susan nodded proudly. ‘I made it myself, overnight on the range, just as my mother did.’
Justin seemed disappointed it didn’t come from a shop, but then went on: ‘I need to have a look in the safe. My father rang to say he doesn’t think the deeds of the house are in the bundle he took back.’
‘My mother is in the office,’ said Meg, starting to unpack the box. Why did Andrew ask Justin about the deeds? Why not ask her mother, who was on the spot? She and Andrew seemed to speak on the phone often enough.
Justin back came into the kitchen a few minutes later. As he wasn’t holding anything, Meg assumed he hadn’t found the deeds either. ‘Would it be possible for you to drive me back to the hotel? Louise says it’s all right for you to take the car.’
‘You go on, Meg,’ said Susan before Meg could save herself. ‘I can manage the teas. If not, I’ll ask Cherry to come up. She’s got nothing better to do. And Louise is always happy to lend a hand.’
Deprived of her excuse to say no, Meg took off her apron and washed her hands. ‘Come on then.’
As they walked slowly to the car, Justin limping quite badly, Meg realised she was about to be trapped in a car with someone she didn’t like and didn’t know what to say to. Fifteen minutes of awkwardness stretched ahead of her.
Soon after they’d set off, Justin said, ‘I’m not used to being driven by a woman.’
Meg was tempted to say that she wasn’t used to driving grumpy chefs with sprained ankles around the lanes of Dorset but decided it was more dignified to stay silent. The silence lasted a few moments but then she had to speak.
‘It’s all right. You probably don’t need to hold on to the handbrake like that. I have passed my driving test.’
Justin didn’t let go.
‘And I learnt to drive in London, which is a lot more challenging than these charming country lanes.’
Justin put his hand back in his lap. ‘Sorry.’
This apology surprised her.
‘I expect you’re wondering why my father sent me to find the deeds when he could have asked your mother,’ he said at last.
