themselves financially because of an extension to the hotel, and that they were actually in danger of losing the hotel altogether if they didn’t very quickly do something about it, Beth was convinced that Daniel Thackery, being the opportunist that he undoubtedly was, had come here to snap up their hotel.
In itself Beth’s theory wasn’t too convincing as far as Ellie was concerned—their small, seventy-bedroom hotel was surely not in the league Daniel Thackery liked to play in. But aside from Beth’s argument that it wasn’t a business he knew, only one in which he wanted to get in on the ground floor, was the fact that James and Beth had separated a month ago and James was privy to the seriousness of their financial dilemma—information he could have passed on to his friend Daniel Thackery. Beth also had a second worry, Ellie knew, and that was that Daniel Thackery perhaps had some information concerning James’s possible divorce proceedings.
Anyway, in the end Ellie had felt she had no choice but to come up to Daniel Thackery’s suite and at least make a token show to Beth of having a look around. Because if she hadn’t she knew Beth would have done it herself. And, considering Beth’s emotional state since her separation from James, that definitely was not a good idea in Ellie’s opinion. To Ellie’s mind, there was still hope for Beth and James to sort out their differences, and she certainly didn’t want her sister to add fuel to the fire by being caught spying on one of James’s friends.
Although it was strange the way Daniel Thackery was carrying the briefcase around with him every-where... Maybe Beth’s idea concerning the hotel wasn’t so far-fetched after all. Well, if Daniel Thackery thought that just because they were financially stretched at the moment he could make a move on their hotel he was going to have a fight on his hands; this hotel was Ellie’s life.
But talking of hands—that slender hand was on the wardrobe door now. He was going to open it. And he was going to find her crouched here like an—
And then he sneezed again. And again. And again.
Ellie had noticed him sneezing earlier in Reception, when she’d handled his booking. Perhaps he was coming down with a cold. Ellie didn’t particularly care what had caused the sneezing fit; all that concerned her was that it had distracted his attention from the wardrobe. She watched through the slatted door as he moved to the dressing table to take a tissue from the box there.
He continued to sneeze as he walked over to open the bedroom door, and a pair of long, silky-covered legs joined his in the doorway.
‘Are you starting a cold?’ the woman asked concernedly.
‘I don’t think so,’ he dismissed slowly.
‘It’s a bit late in the year for hay fever,’ the woman teased throatily. ‘I hope you aren’t allergic to me, darling.’ A teasing pout could be heard in the voice.
‘I’m sure I’m not,’ Daniel Thackery answered with certainty. ‘Come on, let’s go and have some dinner; we’ve wasted enough of our evening together already.’
The woman’s throaty laughter floated along the corridor as the two of them walked to the lift. Ellie stayed in her hiding place, giving them plenty of time to go downstairs before attempting to leave the safety of the wardrobe.
The wardrobe! She disgustedly admonished herself as she finally all but fell out of the confined space, impatiently pushing back the heavy swathe of fiery red hair that grew straight to her shoulders, with a full fringe stopping abruptly above sparkling emerald-green eyes. She was not short by any stretch of the imagination—five feet nine inches tall in her bare feet—and it felt good to be able to straighten up to her full height after the cramped conditions in the wardrobe. But then, one hardly expected to have to spend any length of time inside one.
Unless ‘one’ had been caught where ‘one’ wasn’t supposed to be!
It all seemed so ridiculous now. She had only come up here at all in an effort to stop Beth making a fool of herself. And had almost made a complete one of herself!
But, whatever Daniel Thackery’s reason for being in their hotel, he was hardly likely to leave incriminating evidence lying around in his suite. And to have looked inside his briefcase—even if he had left it behind, which he hadn’t—would have been a criminal offence. It was bad enough that she was in the suite at all without any real reason for being there, but there was no way, she freely acknowledged now, that she could have snooped around in his personal belongings...!
Although she might as well turn the bed down now that she was here. She could tell Doris, the maid, not to bother with the suite, that she had done it herself while up there for another reason. She didn’t have to say what that reason was!
It was a large double bed, and as Ellie turned back the quilt and top sheet she couldn’t help wondering whether she ought to turn the other side down too; she doubted Daniel Thackery would be spending the night alone. Her anger towards him returned as she thought of the way he had gone off for the evening with ‘Darling’ after talking to his fiancée on the telephone. The man was unprincipled!
Which made her wonder if perhaps Beth wasn’t right; if he was completely without morals in his private life, then surely he must be doubly so in his business life...?
She was willing to accept the possibility that maybe he was here for a reason—and she intended finding out what it was!
‘You didn’t see anything that—well, that might have given the impression James had sent him? About the divorce,’ Beth added with a grimace.
The younger of the two sisters, Beth was nothing like Ellie to look at. She took after their mother, with her short stature and fragility of looks, her hair short and blonde. Ellie had always looked more like their father, who was a tall red-haired man.
‘I told you,’ Ellie replied irritably, the two of them now seated in their private sitting room at the back of the hotel. ‘I didn’t see anything.’ It had been difficult to do so inside the wardrobe! ‘Although I very much doubt Daniel Thackery is the sort of man to be “sent” anywhere.’ She could visualise his arrogant face all too easily, and knew instinctively that Daniel Thackery did no one else’s bidding but his own. ‘By anyone!’ she added with feeling.
‘Besides, it’s only a matter of weeks since James left; he can’t be thinking of divorce already.’ She frowned as Beth didn’t look convinced. ‘Is that really what you think Daniel Thackery is here for? I thought you said he might be after our hotel—’
‘Oh, he is interested in buying into hotels,’ Beth dismissed with an uninterested wave of her hand—a hand still adorned with her engagement and wedding ring. ‘I just thought that if there was any information in his room concerning this hotel it would also mean he must have spoken to James recently, and—’
‘I think I’m beginning to get the picture,’ Ellie interrupted wearily.
The two of them were able to take this short time off because this was the quiet part of the evening for them; dinner was being served and the bar was open at the front of the hotel, and most of the guests were in either of those two places or had actually gone out for the evening. Daniel Thackery and his guest were now in the dining room, Ellie had been pleased to note when she’d got downstairs a few minutes ago.
‘Beth, James isn’t going to divorce you; he loves you,’ she said with certainty, convinced that whatever difficulties her sister and her husband were going through they were only temporary; the couple had been
