He burst out laughing. ‘And Xanthe plays Lady of the Manor. I honestly thought she was the one who inherited it.’
‘Nope, Great Uncle Bill left it to me … which, I might add, did not go down terribly well. Although I can see why he did.’ She shook her head. ‘I love my mother but she doesn’t have a bean of common sense. If things were left to her the place would fall down around her and she’d end up living in one room with cats, trying to keep it going rather than sell it. She’s always wanted to live here. I couldn’t deny her that. The only way I could think of keeping it was to open it up as a hotel.’
‘So your great uncle left it to you but no money.’
‘That’s it, although he said things would take care of themselves. He counted on me being the practical one.’
‘Heavy burden.’
Izzy shrugged. ‘It is, but now, having lived here, I really don’t want to leave.’
They’d reached the bottom step and both of them stopped. ‘I’m sure this week is going to go perfectly, the Carter-Joneses will sing your praises to all their rich friends and you’ll be booked up for months. It’s looking fantastic.’ He held up a hand. ‘And don’t you dare say anything about food. You’ve been feeding us for the last few months and you’ve not poisoned us and no one has died of malnutrition.’
‘There’s a difference between everyday cooking and Michelin star. The Carter-Joneses sound so dif—’
‘Up themselves. In which case, don’t worry. You’ll either please them or you won’t but there’s no point second guessing anything right now. You deserve a drink and a break. Come on.’
Even if they hadn’t known where to find Xanthe and Alicia, their joint whoops and cackles would have alerted the nearest zookeeper. When Izzy and Ross walked into the room, the two of them were sitting side by side on one of the sofas, their screeches of mirth sounding like a pair of hyaenas who’d been at the laughing gas.
‘Can I get you a drink, love?’ asked Graham, with that long-suffering smile of his. ‘I think those two have just about left a glass of Prosecco in the bottom of the bottle.’
‘They look like they’re having a good time,’ said Izzy.
‘Your mother is quite a character,’ he said, filling a glass for her. ‘I’ve not known Alicia to take to someone quite so quickly.’ He gave her the sort of wholesome smile that reached his eyes. ‘They’re two peas in a pod.’
‘I hope you don’t feel left out,’ said Izzy.
‘God, no.’ He laughed. ‘I’m delighted Alicia has found a friend.’ He winked. ‘Gives me a break.’
Ross rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything.
Duncan walked in on bandy legs and sent the two women a suspicious glare and stalked over to join the rest of the group.
‘What’s going on?’
‘Duncan, this is Ross’s dad, Graham, and that’s his mum, Alicia.’
He muttered a couple of hellos and took the bottle of beer that Ross offered him. Duncan was a creature of habit.
‘So what time do these guests arrive tomorrow?’ asked Duncan, as Jeanette and Jim walked into the room and joined them, after brief introductions to the two newcomers.
‘Mrs Carter-J said they expected to be here at about four p.m.,’ said Jeanette, consulting her phone.
‘Great,’ said Jim. ‘I’ll bank the fire in the hall in readiness and be ready to serve the welcome drinks.’
‘I’ll put my kilt on,’ said Duncan.
‘Me too,’ said Jim.
‘And me,’ said Ross.
‘Well, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,’ said Graham. ‘I’ll put mine on too.’
Izzy grinned at them. ‘That’ll set the scene beautifully. And then, while they’re drinking, Jim and Duncan can take their cases up. We can show them round and then tell them that dinner will be at six-thirty.’
‘And are you all organised for dinner?’ asked Ross with a teasing smile.
‘I have my lists,’ said Izzy, patting her notebook, which was never far from her hand at the moment.
