‘I wonder if you should show him my entry for the guidebook?’ said Basil.
‘Hand it over,’ said Justin, in no doubt. He read it very quickly. ‘This is really very good!’ he said a couple of minutes later. ‘My father will be delighted when he reads it.’
‘I’m delighted already,’ said Meg.
‘Meg is a very talented chef,’ said Basil. ‘I’m not sure if you’re aware.’
‘Those are very flattering words coming from you,’ said Justin. To Meg’s ears, he somehow managed to convey polite disbelief.
‘This little hotel is a potential gold mine. Currently your prices are far too modest,’ Basil went on.
‘But the place is quite shabby in places,’ Justin pointed out.
Meg had been about to say this herself but resented Justin saying it. ‘Basil doesn’t think that matters.’
Basil held up a hand. ‘I didn’t say that precisely. Some redecoration is necessary but the knocks and scuffs of life the hotel has won’t interfere with the guests’ enjoyment. Now, if I were to ring to find out about lunch, are you the only person here? In which case the bell would be like a tree falling in a forest.’
Meg laughed. She was getting used to his manner and it didn’t worry her. ‘I’m sure Susan is in the kitchen, but if you’d like lunch we can certainly do that for you. What would you like and where would you like it?’ He didn’t answer immediately. ‘May I suggest a chicken salad in the garden with a nice glass of rosé from Provence? My friend has a chateau there.’
‘That sounds perfect! Constantly eating rich food plays havoc with the waistline. A nice salad would be just the ticket.’
‘I’ll see to it right away.’
‘Neatly done, Meg,’ said Justin when they were on their own. ‘You made him feel he wanted to eat whatyou wanted to give him. And I loved the “my friend has a chateau in Provence” – it made it seem the rosé was from her vineyards.’
‘It is from right next door,’ said Meg, blushing, ‘and I think the vineyards did belong to the chateau at one time, so not a serious untruth.’ She sighed. ‘I’d better go and make the salad. You’ll have guessed I already have cold chicken. I’ll add some fresh herbs for extra flavour.’
‘What else will you put in it?’
As he seemed genuinely interested, Meg said, ‘Oh, you know, the usual: bit of celery, bit of onion, grapes, toasted almonds, mayonnaise – I’m sure you know!’
‘I’ll chop the almonds for you if you like,’ he said. ‘Will you put them under the grill or fry them in butter?’
‘Grill,’ said Meg. ‘It’s all quite rich already.’
They set off towards the house together and had nearly reached the kitchen door when Justin put his hand on her arm. ‘Meggy—’
This made her jump. ‘Who said you could call me Meggy? Only my closest friends and my mother call me that!’ The moment the words were out of her mouth she wished she’d kept quiet. It wasn’t really important what he called her, after all. But she felt he was taking an intimacy she hadn’t granted him. They couldn’t be intimate; he was with Laura.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I just – Never mind. I’ll try not to do it any more. But, Meg, I feel I should warn you. My uncle Colin is coming over later. He wants to havea close look at the hotel. He hasn’t been near it for years as he has no interest in it, but, as you know, my grandfather has died and Colin is due to inherit half of it. Although I suppose if there’s other money there might be enough to make things equal so my father can have the hotel outright.’
Meg looked up at him. ‘Of course I don’t know anything about this, but don’t you think, if there was a lot of money sloshing around, your father wouldn’t have persuaded your grandfather to keep the place up a bit?’
Justin inclined his head. ‘I agree with you. If there was spare money, things would be in better repair.’
‘And if there isn’t money to make it fair between the brothers?’
He nodded. ‘The hotel will have to be sold.’
‘You know how I feel about Nightingale Woods. Selling it would be awfully sad.’
‘Going in the guide with that really good review is going to make a big difference though,’ said Justin. ‘Basil said your prices are too low, and they’ll have to go up a lot to cope with the increased demand. You’ve done that, Meggy – Meg!’ he corrected himself hurriedly.
‘No, I haven’t. Not really. I’ve just been part of the team.’
‘To quote the great Basil Knott-Dean, you’re “a very talented chef”.’
Meg snorted. ‘You don’t believe that any more than I do.’
