Starcross Manor

by Christie Barlow

  ‘Right, come on,’ Flynn continued as he turned towards Andrew. ‘Let’s go and show you your new kitchen empire.’

  Eleni was still beaming at Flynn’s praise as the two men left. ‘He loves my sketches! And can you believe THE Andrew Glossop is staying at your B&B? You need a photograph, post it on your Instagram, that will pull in a few guests.’ Eleni sat back in her chair. ‘This will be good for you, Julia.’

  But Julia wasn’t listening, she was in her own little world. All she could think about was why would Flynn be checking up on her B&B?

  ‘And how good was that of Flynn to offer to sell my paintings in his shop? And to see them hanging on the walls at the manor house, that’s just… that’s just amazing,’ gushed Eleni, her voice bubbly. ‘I can picture them now, hanging along the massive hallways at Starcross Manor. Maybe I could even open up my own gallery one day.’

  Julia looked up and noticed the sparkle in Eleni’s eyes. She was fit to burst and why shouldn’t she enjoy any praise and success with her drawings? After all she was talented, but Julia’s feelings of confusion were still there. Was Flynn actually being genuine? Of course she wanted to be happy for Eleni, encourage her success, but Flynn hadn’t been genuine in the past. Was this a ploy by Flynn to get Eleni on side, or was Julia just reading too much into the situation?

  ‘Your drawings are amazing, you should feel really proud of yourself, I always said you had an amazing talent but…’

  ‘But what?’ interrupted Eleni, sensing something was bothering Julia.

  Julia exhaled; she didn’t quite know how to say exactly what she was thinking without sounding selfish. ‘Flynn makes me nervous. He’s gorgeous, polite, says all the right things and acts the right way, but in the past he hasn’t operated this way. He was ruthless, uncaring…’ Julia blew out a breath. ‘I just don’t know what to think. I actually think I’m going a little mad but he’s right, your sketches are amazing, there’s nothing stopping you painting on canvas, putting them for sale in Hamish’s shop or selling them on-line. You could even sell them here in the B&B.’

  ‘I think we can only take Flynn at face value,’ Eleni looked across at Julia. ‘He seems genuine enough to me.’

  Julia was beginning to admit to herself that she thought Eleni was right. He hadn’t actually stepped a foot out of place since his arrival, but there was still that slight niggle in the back of her mind. All she could do was gauge the rest of the villagers’ reaction tonight at the meeting.

  Chapter Six

  A couple of hours later Julia checked her appearance in the mirror numerous times. Discarding numerous outfits, she’d finally opted for a navy blue tunic with a tiny pink rosebud pattern, and with its sheer long sleeves and keyhole neckline, it was a flattering fit accompanied by a pair of navy blue leggings and flat ballet pumps. Pulling a brush through her hair, Julia dabbed on her lip-gloss and declared herself ready.

  Eleni was waiting downstairs in the private quarters and was messing about on her phone when Julia appeared in the doorway.

  ‘You look nice,’ Eleni looked her up and down then slipped her phone into her bag.

  ‘Thanks. Are we ready?’ asked Julia, taking one last look in the mirror and smoothing her hair down.

  ‘Ready,’ Eleni saluted. ‘Let’s go and find out what the rest of the community think.’

  Julia chucked Woody a chew, who immediately settled down on his bed, before she grabbed her bag from the kitchen table.

  Locking the door behind them, they set off. All Julia could think about was if she had gone about this the wrong way. Maybe she should have chatted with Flynn first to see how he thought the hotel was going to fit into the community? But it was too late now, the meeting had been arranged and it wouldn’t be long before she knew what everyone else thought.

  ‘What are you thinking?’ asked Eleni, noticing that Julia had gone quiet.

  ‘I’m obviously worried about all the businesses in Heartcross, but my opinion of Flynn seems to be changing. He just seems down-to-earth and very friendly for someone that is intentionally trying to put someone out of business. I’ve just no idea what he’s thinking.’

  As they turned onto Love Heart Lane, and with Bonnie’s teashop in sight, the church bells chimed seven o’clock in the background. Julia could already see that the teashop was packed to the rafters, everyone was sitting around the tables, no doubt waiting patiently to discover what this emergency meeting was about. As soon as Julia stepped inside all she could hear were the villagers talking excitedly.

  ‘It is him, he’s sitting in my pub eating my food. I couldn’t quite believe it when he chose my pub to walk into.’ Meredith was fit to burst.

  Julia knew that they’d spotted Andrew Glossop in the village.

  ‘So where is he staying?’ asked Isla over the chatter, ‘because he’s not staying in one of my vans.’

  ‘Heartcross is becoming the celebrity capital of Scotland. Andrew Glossop is one of my favourites, we watch all his programmes, don’t we Mum?’ Felicity turned towards Rona who was hanging on to every word.

  ‘I hope he pays us a visit, can you imagine, him giving us a magic handshake after sampling one of my cakes?’ She swooned.

  ‘I think you are thinking of Paul Hollywood, Mum,’ Felicity gave a little chuckle.

  Julia stood in front of them all and cleared her throat. Everyone’s head turned in her direction. The teashop fell silent as everyone waited for Julia to speak.

  Eleni slipped into a chair next to Aggie and Julia looked out over a sea of faces.

  ‘Come on, what’s all this about?’ asked Fergus. ‘The last emergency meeting we had was when the bridge collapsed. What’s so urgent, Jules?’

  Julia took a breath. ‘Thanks for coming everyone. I’m just sharing some information with you all that I discovered this week. Starcross Manor is not going to be retirement homes,’ Julia watched their reactions closely as her words sunk in. ‘It’s actually going to be a five-star hotel.’

  There was an undercurrent of muttering around the room.

  ‘Are you sure?’ Isla looked towards Alfie for confirmation, who was sitting next to Polly at the back of the room.

  Alfie nodded. ‘Julia’s right. It’s going to be exactly that, an all-singing, all-dancing five-star hotel.’

  ‘But I don’t get it, why the meeting?’ Isla looked as puzzled as everyone else in the room.

  ‘I’m concerned about the impact it’s going to have on the village and our businesses, but not only that. I know the developer, Flynn Carter, from the past. I found him to be… untrustworthy and he didn’t exactly always play fair.’ Julia wasn’t out to give a character assassination, but she also knew what this man was capable of.

  ‘I knew there was a look about him,’ remarked Aggie looking at Rona. ‘I said his eyes were too close together. That’s a sign of a distrustful man. Mark my words.’

  ‘Andrew Glossop,’ Julia raised her voice. ‘Andrew Glossop is also the new Michelin Star chef up at the manor house. To my knowledge there will be numerous restaurants including fine dining, comfort food, afternoon teas…’ Julia took a breath. ‘I’m worried that these restaurants will take away your trade.’ She looked towards Meredith and Rona. ‘With a celebrity chef on board tourists will flock to the manor house.’

  ‘Interesting,’ replied Rona mulling over the information she’d just heard. ‘Afternoon teas will certainly have a big impact on our afternoon trade. I’m not liking this Flynn Carter much.’

  ‘Not only will there be a spa, swimming pool, gym…’ Julia reeled off the list. ‘There’s also going to be a shop… imagine a motorway service station type of shop, one that sells everything from batteries to refreshments, from newspapers to cuddly toys – this will have a huge impact on you Hamish. The guests staying at that hotel will have everything at their fingertips.’

  Julia noticed the colour drain from Hamish’s face. ‘Have you got this on good authority?’ he asked her.

  ‘Yes,’ confir
med Julia, thinking back to her earlier conversation with Flynn. ‘Straight from the horse’s mouth and then there’s my business too. I can’t compete with the amenities of a five-star hotel and I’m worried I’m going to lose business.’

  ‘That’s possibly the same for me too,’ exclaimed Isla, speaking up.

  Almost immediately there was a barrage of questions put forward from the residents of Heartcross. ‘Can this actually happen?’ Drew directed his question at Alfie, trying to get a handle on it all.

  All heads swung towards Alfie. ‘I’m afraid so. All his licences are in place and Flynn has everything covered.’

  Hamish looked forlorn. ‘So what we are saying here is this man can waltz into Heartcross, build a hotel, increase traffic through our village and the only person that is going to benefit from this is Flynn Carter? Leaving all our businesses struggling?’

  ‘I’m afraid that could possibly be the case Hamish,’ answered Julia.

  The room fell silent, everyone looked suitably horrified.

  ‘The Boathouse is due to open soon and I know this for a fact because Flynn was in the pub when we were talking about Allie’s fundraiser and her farewell drinks… just a quick reminder whilst you are all here, that’s tomorrow night in the pub alongside the airing of Rory’s TV show.’

  Tomorrow, Allie was swapping the idyllic countryside for the bright lights of the city of Glasgow. She’d landed a job as a photographer on a national newspaper for six months whilst her fiancé was working for a lion sanctuary over in Africa alongside Zach Hudson, already a TV superstar. Allie and Rory had inherited Clover Cottage, and its acres of land, which was currently being renovated. Within the grounds a new state-of-the-art vet’s surgery was being built for Rory whilst Allie was opening up a centre for disadvantaged kids focusing on photography.

  ‘We will all be there.’ Julia smiled warmly towards Allie.

  ‘Flynn has actually donated a prize for the fundraiser,’ added Meredith.

  Fergus waved his hand to speak. ‘What are we going to do about it?’

  ‘I’m suggesting that if you have got the same concerns as I have then maybe someone should talk to Flynn. Voice our worries, ask him how his hotel fits into the community, because the last thing we need is a him-and-us situation. If I’m being honest with you all, with his money and clout I think it will be our little businesses that come off worse.’

  ‘What do we know about this man? Is he a decent bloke? You said he’s been untrustworthy in the past,’ shouted out Drew.

  Julia was in a dilemma. The old Flynn she knew seemed worlds away from the Flynn that she’d met recently. But what if he was just playing a very good game to lull everyone into a false sense of security before whipping their business from under them? Since he’d arrived, Flynn hadn’t put a foot wrong, and actually seemed like a nice guy. Julia could feel Eleni’s eyes on her, and she knew Jack thought he was a decent, genuine guy. If Julia had been asked to answer Drew’s question on the day Flynn had stepped back into Heartcross it would be a different answer to what she was about to say now. Flynn was charismatic, she’d felt comfortable in his company, but there was still that niggle about him in the back of her mind.

  ‘All we can do is elect a spokesperson and address our concerns,’ replied Julia.

  Drew threw his hands up in the air. ‘Well with the B&B in the firing line, would you be prepared to talk to him on behalf of us all?’ Drew looked over the sea of faces and everyone was nodding in agreement.

  All eyes were on Julia who nodded. ‘Okay, I’ll talk to him,’ she agreed, taking out her notepad and pen from her bag. ‘Let me write down everything you want me to ask.’

  For the next five minutes the residents fired numerous questions at Julia which she jotted down. ‘Okay, I think I have everything now,’ she confirmed.

  As Felicity began to pass round plates of biscuits Rona touched Julia’s arm. ‘Try not worry about your B&B, whatever happens we all stick together.’ Rona put on her best encouraging smile and gave Julia’s hand a little squeeze.

  ‘Thank you. I am really worried, but I’ll talk to Flynn tomorrow after breakfast.’

  ‘Good plan and once we have more information we can take it from there.’

  Julia felt a sense of relief, this was what living in Heartcross was all about, friends being there for each other no matter what. This was a special community and hopefully Flynn could see how anxious everyone was about the impact the hotel would have on their business.

  Chapter Seven

  It was just after 11am when Julia climbed into her car armed with the list of questions from last night’s meeting. She’d been clock-watching all morning, willing the chores to be done so she could go and chat to Flynn, who’d been on her mind all morning. The community had elected her as spokeswoman, and she was on her way to find out his view on how the hotel would affect the residents of Heartcross, and more importantly the effect on her own B&B.

  As she arrived the carpark was full of vehicles, and Julia pulled up next to a white transit van before jumping out and making her way up the stone steps towards the entrance. She felt nervous, but Flynn hadn’t shown any signs of being difficult since he’d arrived, so she had everything crossed it was going to stay that way. After rehearsing the conversation over in her mind, she was surprised to find a group of builders hanging around in the lavish foyer. This was the first time she’d set foot inside Starcross Manor, and she had to do everything in her power not to gasp out loud. This place was out of this world, it looked regal with its crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling and the slate marble floor that stretched to a grand arching stairway. A balcony circled the entrance hall, which seemed bigger than the whole of Julia’s B&B – this place was huge!

  For a second, she hovered, then heard Flynn’s raised voice filtering from a room just off the reception. Realising there was something going on and that maybe this wasn’t the best time to discuss things with Flynn, Julia was just about to slip back out the door when Jack caught her eye.

  Julia whispered, ‘Hey, what’s happening? Everyone seems…’ she was trying to put her finger on it, ‘stressed.’

  ‘That’s an understatement,’ Jack lowered his voice and moved backwards from the rest of the builders. He was just about to share with Julia what was going on when once again Flynn’s tense voice could be heard. Then the door flung open and Flynn strolled into the foyer and hung up his phone. He looked frazzled, shaking his head in disbelief and threw his arms up in the air. ‘Down tools. You may as well all leave. There will be no materials arriving today.’

  All the builders began muttering amongst themselves. Jack spoke up. ‘Why have the contractors cancelled?’

  ‘Your guess is as good as mine, but if we don’t get the building materials here soon, this place won’t be finished in time for the very first wedding booking and it will have to be cancelled,’ replied Flynn, looking increasingly flustered. ‘The only thing I can do is make sure you all get paid today and I’ll keep you updated,’ he nodded towards Jack. ‘I’ll ring you as soon as I know something.’

  Julia, who was standing behind Jack and shielded from the group of builders, wasn’t visible to Flynn. She remained quiet, but her head was whirling. Flynn sounded frantic. Why would the contractors cancel if they’d been working up at Starcross Manor for months? Julia gulped down a feeling of dread – surely this wasn’t anything to do with the meeting last night? She knew Hamish was far from happy, but he wasn’t the type of man to sabotage the building work… was he?

  Jack touched Julia’s arm. ‘We are going to get off, there’s nothing we can do here today without the materials.’

  She nodded and stepped to the side whilst the disgruntled builders began to vacate the manor house. Flynn began scrolling through his phone and hadn’t noticed Julia until she stepped forward and he glanced up in surprise. ‘Hey, what are you doing here?’

  ‘It doesn’t look like a good time,’ she pointed to the last of the workmen disappearing
through the door.

  Flynn exhaled. ‘You wouldn’t believe my morning.’

  ‘Honestly, I’ll just go. I don’t want to add to your stress.’ Julia was just about to turn around when Flynn spoke again.

  ‘I’m sure you couldn’t add to my stress. I need a strong coffee… care to join me?’

  Julia hesitated for a second then agreed. ‘As long as you’re sure.’

  She followed Flynn into an office just off the foyer. His desk was littered with papers, the walls covered with charts and figures. He switched on the coffee machine and pulled out a chair for Julia who sat down.

  ‘So, it’s not the best morning then?’ prompted Julia, placing her bag on the floor next to her feet wondering what was going on.

  Flynn shook his head. ‘I’m at a loss, I’ve no idea what’s happening. I’ve woken up this morning and all hell has broken loose.’

  Julia noticed his rapid blinking, his wandering gaze, his voice was shaky. As the coffee machine began to beep he stood up and Julia cast an eye over the papers on his desk. There was a photo of a couple, a room plan, and photos of ice sculptures.

  ‘Sugar?’ Flynn asked, looking towards Julia.

  ‘Just one please. What are these for?’ she asked pointing to photos.

  Flynn placed the cup of coffee down in front of her. ‘Those are ice sculptures for the wedding of the century, which has just become my worst nightmare.’

  ‘Huh?’ asked Julia, cupping her hands around the cup.

  Flynn let out a hard sigh. ‘The renovation of this place was going like clockwork, the building work almost complete with the grand ballroom still left to do, this…’ he tapped the photograph, ‘this is the first couple to get married here at Starcross Manor in the grand ballroom. They’ve paid thousands for this wedding, every detail planned like a military operation. They even leave the reception to go on their honeymoon via a hot air balloon, we’ve even had dummy runs and now the whole thing may need to be cancelled or postponed, leaving me refunding thousands. It will be such bad press.’