do it,’ Pippa offered. ‘If you get Harriet to do it she might turn into a bit of a ball-breaker. You know, teach Fleur how to make boys cry.’
Not that Harriet was like that anymore, but then she still thought she was. She was quite soppy about Connor, but she’d never admit it.
‘Maybe I should get Harry to do it, then.’ Gus cheered up. ‘OK, thanks, Hector, you do make sense. And yes, my darling wife, let’s eat.’
‘Nightcap?’ Hector asked when they were back at Meadowbrook.
It was nearly eleven and as the hotel was empty bar Hector, there were no staff around. When it was like this, Pippa had struggled being alone, even for the odd night. The house was so big and although it was home, had always been home, she still felt jumpy at every little noise. She was glad that Hector was here. They had a few bookings at the weekend but until then, it was just the two of them.
‘Sure, we’ll drink the good brandy. It’s not in the bar, I keep it in the office, just like Dad used to.’ She led the way.
They settled into the sofa, nursing their drinks. Pippa had tucked her legs underneath her while Hector stretched his long legs out before him.
‘This reminds me of Dad,’ Pippa said after a while.
‘I wish I’d met him,’ Hector said. ‘I kind of feel that all you Singers are part of my family now, so it would have been nice to have known him.’
‘He’s still here,’ Pippa said, gesturing to the huge portrait of him they kept in the office. Their father was a little on the vain side. He’d had the portrait painted years ago and he kept it in his bedroom when he was alive. Now, it was far more suitable for the office. None of the guests needed a full-size Andrew Singer staring down at them.
‘Yes, he looks as if he’d be as overprotective as Gus. I feel that he’s warning me off with his eyes,’ Hector laughed.
‘Don’t be silly. You’re my friend and he’d have liked you. Actually, at first he wouldn’t but now, with this serious writing side of yours and stuff, he’d probably have liked you.’
‘I’ll take probably. Right, let’s have a toast. To my new book and to Meadowbrook, where it all began to make sense to me.’
As they clinked glasses, Pippa was lost for words. She never imagined that Hector felt that way, the way she did, about Meadowbrook. It was quite moving and she knew then that her father would have liked Hector. He would have admired the way he’d sorted himself out, grown up and was what her dad would have referred to as a ‘decent man’. High praise, indeed, Pippa smiled to herself.
‘I don’t see why I have to be the bloody driver,’ Freddie moaned. ‘I’m not a chauffeur, I’m a serious bar manager and co-owner of the hotel.’
‘You picked Hector up happily enough,’ Pippa pointed out.
‘That’s different, he’s a mate,’ Freddie whined.
Pippa laughed. Her brother acted like a toddler at times; she was almost expecting him to stamp his foot.
‘Fred, I can’t go because I’m needed here. We’ve got guests leaving and I’ve got to get Brooke’s room ready. I’ve got a skeleton staff as there’s some kind of cold bug going round, so someone needs to pick her up from the airport.’
‘But why me?’ Freddie persisted.
He didn’t like being ‘staff’, even though technically he was, but then he’d always been slightly work-shy. Since he’d started managing the hotel bar and running all the hotel’s social media, Freddie had began to work harder than ever, largely owing to Gemma, Pippa thought, but he still didn’t like to do anything that he didn’t want to. Which was a lot of things.
When they first lost their father, the terms of their father’s will stated that the four siblings had to live together in the house for a year and work in the sanctuary. Freddie had been appalled when he was first put on chicken duty, although he was very fond of them now and he spoilt them. But, that hadn’t happened overnight. It had taken a boot up Freddie’s backside to get him to actually do some work – and that boot had come from their father, from his grave.
‘Harry would kill me if we paid a cab to pick her up and included in her price is airport transfer. Fred, she’s an important guest. She’s staying with us for at least two months and she’s paid the full amount up front, so we need to make sure her stay, from the moment she steps out of the airport until she leaves here, is perfect. I trust you to give her the right kind of welcome.’
‘Hummph. What’s this woman’s story, anyway?’ He folded his arms but she could see he’d thawed a little.
‘It’s quite strange, actually. She’s only twenty-five, which seems very young. She’s from California. Apparently, she has some kind of English ancestry who she wants to find out more about and is even thinking of setting up a business here.’
‘Doing what? And when you say here, I’m guessing you don’t mean Parker’s Hollow?’ Freddie frowned.
He had a point. This was a lovely village but young people didn’t exactly pour in to set up businesses here. It was definitely an older person’s type of village; although there had been an influx of younger families lately what with the new housing developments on the outskirts – much to the horror of many of the long-standing residents. It had crossed Pippa’s mind to question why she’d chosen Meadowbrook, but Harriet told her not to pry. After all, they’d find out soon enough when she was staying with them.
‘Not sure, but we do know that she’s vegetarian and she eats a lot of eggs – free-range, of course,’ Pippa grinned.
Their chickens laid eggs and as the coop had almost doubled with ex-battery hens in the past year, they had plenty at the moment.
She continued, ‘And she drinks a lot of green juice. She sent the recipe over and poor Vicky’s getting to grips with the blender and wheatgrass as we speak.’
‘OK, so I’ll go and get her from Heathrow. Please tell me I don’t have to wear a chauffeur’s uniform.’
‘No, that would look silly, especially as you need to introduce yourself as one of the owners of the hotel. No, just look smart. Your best jeans and blazer would work well, I think.’
‘How will I know who she is?’
‘Oh, we made a sign for you. Don’t worry, Fred, we’ve thought of everything. Oh, and take the Range Rover, remember. No Porsche.’ Pippa didn’t want the poor woman arriving terrified.
‘You ruin all my fun,’ Freddie mumbled before heading out.
Pippa was intrigued about their new guest. She knew so little about her but she was looking forward to meeting her. She was also looking forward to having another woman about the place, although Harriet had warned her not to try to push friendship on this guest. While Pippa had taken umbrage at the time, she knew her sister had a point. Pippa did know how to be professional but she could try a bit too hard to be friends with people at times. Gemma
