The Cornish Hotel by the Sea

by Karen King

  “Atta girl. Now pin those ears back because I’ve got some goss to tell. You’ll never guess what’s happened while you were away.” Kate leaned forward conspiratorially and started to tell her about the young couple, Meg and Steve, across the landing who were always having dramatic arguments after a night out drinking. “They had a real stonker last night. Steve stormed out so Meg locked the door and wouldn’t let him back in. He was huddled in the corridor wearing a tiger onesie- complete with ears and a tail. He must have forgotten he was wearing it when he stormed out.” Kate finished. She laughed. “You should have seen him. He sat down by the door looking all forlorn. I felt so sorry for him I took him a cup of coffee.”

  “What was it about this time? Did he tell you?” Ellie asked between giggles at the thought of butch looking Steve dressed in a tiger onesie. She knew he wouldn’t be out there for long. As soon as he had grovelled enough Meg would calm down, open the door and let him back in again.

  “I’ve no idea but when I checked on him an hour later he was gone so I presume he’d persuade Meg to let him back inside.” She picked up the wine bottle. “Want a refill?”

  “Please.” Ellie swigged the mouthful of wine left in her glass and held it out. “But this will have to be the last one. I need a clear head for tomorrow. I’m doing a presentation at the conference remember.”

  “I know. That’s why I only bought the one bottle. Just enough to chill you out but not enough to zonk you out.” She held out her glass. “To friendship and sod fellas.”

  “To friendship and sod fellas,” Ellie repeated as they clinked glasses.

  It was good to be back home. What with her work and Kate she’d soon get Reece out of her system.

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  The presentation went well, despite the usual attack of nerves just minutes before she was due to take the stage. Ellie had forced herself to take a few deep breaths and remain calm. Focus on the presentation, not the audience, she told herself. You can do this. You’ve done it loads of times.

  Well, maybe not loads, but certainly enough times to know what she was doing. She always felt nervous addressing a crowd but luckily once she walked out onto the stage and started talking those nerves usually disappeared. She was passionate about raising funding to develop children’s education so could speak, and answer questions, with confidence.

  Her talk had been well-received and the DK Consultants stand had a constant flow of visitors. Her boss was really pleased.

  So pleased that when she arrived at work the next morning he’d summonsed her to his office to offer her a promotion as a Senior Consultant. More money and more responsibility. It was only after she’d accepted that she remembered how she’d been thinking of giving up her job and moving to Port Medden to help run Gwel Teg if her mother was still struggling.

  Your Mum wouldn’t want you to put your life on hold for her. Reece’s words flashed across her mind.

  He’d only said them because he wanted the hotel for himself and didn’t want her to move back home and help her mum. The traitor.

  Well at least she’d rumbled him before he could worm his way anymore into Mum’s good books and set his plans in action.

  Actually she hadn’t, his girlfriend had turned up and outed him.

  Ellie wondered how Mum was coping. She intended to phone her later but knowing Mum she’d say everything was fine. She couldn’t help worrying, thank goodness she’d arranged to go down again at the weekend. She could see for herself then. The new positon didn’t start for another month and then there was a three months trial period, on both sides. If it wasn’t working out, or Mum needed her help she could quit. She had nothing to lose and would gain more experience.

  Kate agreed when Ellie told her about her promotion that night. “Massive congrats!” she gave her a hug. “I’d love to stay in and help you celebrate but Greg’s in town and asked me out for a drink. We haven’t had a catch up for ages.” She paused. “Why don’t you join us? Greg won’t mind. I’m sure you two would hit it off.”

  Greg was an old school friend of Kate’s, one of her best buddies. They always met when he was in town and it was obvious when you saw them together that they were very good friends but there was no romantic attraction. Greg was the brother she never had, Kate always said. Ellie had the feeling she was trying to match-make her with him. Probably to take Ellie’s mind off Reece.

  “Thanks but I’m going to give Mum a quick ring, take a soak in the bath then get an early night. I’m whacked.”

  “OK, hun. See you later. I’ll tip toe in so I don’t wake you.”

  “There’s no need, honest. I’m so knackered I’ll zonk out as soon as my head touches the pillow.”

  She made herself a cup of tea, slipped a ready meal in the oven then phoned her Mum. Mum sounded cheerful and assured Ellie that everything was fine. Sara, Mandy’s niece, was evidently proving to be a big asset. “Mandy and Sara are doing most of the work, I’m taking it easy,” Sue said. “So don’t go rushing down here at the weekend. I know you’ve got a lot to do. Come down next weekend instead.”

  It was tempting. Ellie did have some training stuff to read through for when she started her new position and it would be great to have a night out with Kate. But she wouldn’t rest until she saw for herself that Mum was looking better. It was a relief to know that Sara was a help, though. It was a brilliant idea of Mandy’s to suggest that she did her work experience at Gwel Teg.

  The ding of the timer announced that her meal was ready so Ellie went into the kitchen to serve it up. Two hours later, she’d had a long soak in a hot bath – a bath she’d almost fallen asleep in – and was in bed. Exhausted, she fell asleep almost immediately but it was a restless sleep, interrupted by memories of Reece.

  The week passed quickly. Friday evening, straight after work, Ellie set off for the long drive down to Cornwall. She’d almost decided to put it off until next weekend, as her mum had suggested, but she could hear the strain in Sue’s voice when she’d phoned her last night, and twice she’d broken off talking to cough.

  “Don’t wait up for me, Mum,” Ellie told her. “It’ll be almost midnight by the time I get there. Go to bed and I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Nonsense. I won’t rest until I know you’ve arrived safely, “Sue replied. “I wish you’d come down early Saturday morning instead. You’ll be so tired after working all day.”

  Ellie preferred to drive down in the evening. The roads would be clearer – Saturday morning traffic could be terrible – and she wanted to wake up in Gwel Teg. To hear the squawk of the seagulls and look out of her window at the sea. To her, that meant she was home.

  Would the memories of Reece be even stronger there?

  She wasn’t going to think about Reece. He’d only been in her life for a couple of weeks and she wasn’t about to let him ruin the rest of it.

  Thankfully there wasn’t much traffic and Ellie arrived just before midnight. All was quiet at the hotel so she went straight up to the private quarters. Her mother was sitting on the sofa, ready for bed in her nightie and dressing gown, sipping a cup of hot chocolate, when Ellie walked in.

  “Ellie darling.” Her face broke into a smile. “I was just thinking you should be here soon.”

  “Hello mum,” Ellie gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek. “How are you?” she scanned the pale face. “Have you been overdoing it?”

  “I’ve been taking it easy. Bossy Mandy won’t let me do anything. She and Sara have got everything wrapped up between them.” She went to get up. “Do you want a cuppa?”

  “I’ll do it,” Ellie told her. “Why don’t you go to bed, Mum? You look tired. We can catch up in the morning. I’ll be going to bed myself as soon as I’ve had a drink.”

  “I think I will, dear. I wanted to wait up to make sure you arrived safely.” Sue got unsteadily to her feet. “Sleep well. Sara’s covering the morning reception so have a lie in. Night.”

  “Night, Mum.”

&nb
sp; Ellie made herself a cup of hot chocolate and sank down on the sofa. She sat there silently for a while, deep in thought. As she’d feared, coming back to Gwel Teg brought back memories of Reece. Memories she wanted to forget. What was Reece doing now she wondered? Had he found another struggling hotel to snatch up at a knock down price, another family’s dreams to trample on? Was he out with his girlfriend Cindy, the one he’d conveniently forgot to tell her about, celebrating a new deal?

  Well she’d show him. She’d help Mum get Gwel Teg on its feet again. She was determined about that. They didn’t need his money.

  * * *

  To her surprise, Ellie slept quite fitfully and she hadn’t heard Mum coughing at all in the night, which was a good sign.

  She grabbed her dressing gown, deciding to make herself a cup of tea before showering.

  She was surprised to see Sue already up and dressed, sitting in the lounge, a pile of papers scattered on the coffee table in front of her. “Morning, love,” she said looking up from the letter she was reading.

  “Are you okay? Couldn’t you sleep?” Ellie asked worriedly.

  “I’m fine.” Sue gazed at her, a serious expression on her face. “I need to talk to you, love. Let me make you a cuppa and we can have a chat.”

  She’s probably still worried about money, Ellie guessed. I bet those letters are bills and Mum’s wondering how she’ll manage them. Well at least with this promotion Ellie could help more financially. They’d work it out. “I’ll make the tea.” Ellie went into the kitchen. “Do you want one?” she called.

  “No thanks, I’ve just finished one.”

  The kettle was still hot so didn’t take long to re-boil. Ellie made herself a mug of tea and walked back into the lounge and sat down beside Sue. “Look Mum, I don’t want you to worry about bills,” she said. “I’ve been offered a promotion and a pay rise. I’ll be able to help you out.”

  “I don’t need you to.” Sue looked as if she was struggling to find the right words. “You’re not going to like this …”

  Ellie felt a flutter of alarm. “What is it?”

  “This,” her mum held out the letter in her hand, “is a letter from Reece. It came in the week.”

  “Reece?” she felt her throat tighten. “What does he want?”

  “He sent,” she pointed to the papers. “. . . A proposed contract for the purchase of Gwel Teg.”

  “WHAT!” Ellie was furious. “How dare he?”

  “The thing is, love,” she saw her mother take a deep breath. “It’s a good deal. At least it seems to be. Mandy and I have both been over it and we can’t see any catch.”

  She couldn’t take it in. Reece was still after the hotel. After everything. “I can’t believe he’s sent you that!” she got to her feet. “We don’t need his money, Mum. We can manage. I told you I’ve got a pay rise. I’ll give up my job and move back here if necessary. You can’t sell up. You wouldn’t be happy living anywhere else.”

  He’s offering to buy the hotel and let me stay on as manager, living here in our flat.” She pointed to the papers on the table. “It’s all in this contract here.”

  Ellie stared at her. “And you’d like that?”

  “To be honest, it is tempting. It would take some of the financial worry off me, and he’ll provide extra staff so my workload will be easier.” She pointed to the contract and handed it to Ellie. “Take a look. It’s a fair and good offer. We might have misjudged him.”

  “Then why didn’t he mention it? Why not tell us who he was and what he was planning?”

  Especially her. They had been so close.

  “According to his letter he was worried we’d think he was trying to take advantage of us. So he wanted to wait until he’d got the contract typed up and checked over by his solicitor and then we could see that it was fair.”

  He’d asked her to go for a walk with him, said he needed to talk to her, when that Barbie woman walked in, she remembered. Was it about his plan to make an offer for the hotel?

  She bet that he wasn’t planning on telling her that he had a girlfriend.

  “I can’t believe that you’re seriously thinking of doing a deal with him, Mum. I know things are hard for you right now but that’s because you’ve been ill and still feel weak. We can build the Gwel Teg up again. I know we can.”

  “The thing is, love. It’s too much for me. It’s been too much for me for a long time. We were struggling even before your dad died.”

  Well that was news to her. Ellie stared at her mother in disbelief. Why hadn’t they told her?

  Because they were proud and you were busy with your own life.

  “I can’t keep kidding myself, love. I’ve got to face it, I haven’t got the energy and drive I used to have. I want to take things easy. I don’t want the responsibility.” Tears glistened in her mother’s eyes and she paused for a minute, composing herself. “I’ve thought about it long and hard. I know your dad would want me to do it. He’d say ‘take the time to smell the roses, Sue.”

  That was one of Dad’s favourite sayings. He always said people rushed about too much, trying to get this and that done, never taking time to smell the roses. She looked at her mother’s tired face. She looked so fragile. So weak.

  “Surely there must be someone else you could sell to, Mum? Gwel Teg is in such a prime location. It’d be an asset to anyone.”

  “Not anyone would give me such a good deal.” Sue held out the contract. “Read it and see for yourself.”

  Ellie took it off her and sat down. She read slowly and thoroughly. When she’d finished she had to admit that her mother was right. It was a fair contract. More than fair. Reece was offering an excellent price for the hotel, and her mum a good wage as a manager. Mum still got to live in Gwel Teg as long as she wanted, and have a nice sum in the bank to buy herself a little place when she was ready to retire. The contract was to be reviewed in five years, providing the hotel was solvent. Okay. So maybe Reece wasn’t a total ratbag. But he still lied about not having a girlfriend. He was still a cheat and a liar.

  “What do you think…?”

  “It all looks above board,” Ellie admitted reluctantly.” But I should get your solicitor to look over it before you sign anything.” She frowned. “Are you sure this is what you want, Mum? Being the manager means you’ll be working for him. You won’t get to make any of the decisions. It won’t be your hotel anymore.”

  “No but it will still be my home. And I won’t have all the responsibility.”

  “Reece will be your boss. You don’t know what he’s like to work for. He could make it really uncomfortable for you. So uncomfortable that you want to leave.”

  “He seemed nice enough when he was here. He couldn’t do enough to help. And you can’t say that was just to get us onside. He didn’t have to do that, anyone can see that the deal he’s offering is a good one,” Sue replied. She sighed. “To be honest I’m not sure if it is what I want but I’m definitely thinking about it.”

  How could she blame her? If Mum felt that she wanted to sell, this was a good offer. Probably the best she would get. And it would be selfish of Ellie to try and talk her out of it just because Reece had been cheating on her. Or rather had been using Ellie to cheat on his girlfriend.

  “Look Mum, if that’s what you want to do then go for it. But please promise me you won’t make a rash decision. Really think about it and talk it over with your solicitor. Promise?”

  “Of course.” Sue reached out and placed her hand on Ellie’s. “I hope you won’t be upset if I do decide to sign. I know you feel that Reece tricked and betrayed you, but maybe he genuinely wanted to wait until he had the contract drawn up before he told us, in case we refused to even consider the idea. Which is exactly how I probably would have reacted,” she admitted.

  “Even if his reasons were genuine for not telling us who he was and what he was planning, he still conned me. I asked him if he was seeing someone and he assured me he wasn’t. I would never have dated him
if I’d known he had.” Sleeping with someone else’s man was not her style. She would never betray anyone like Zoe and Lee had done to her. She knew only too well how much that hurt.

  “Mandy said that he told her he’d finished with that Cindy woman weeks ago but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

  “Well he must have been in touch with her recently because she knew where he was staying and all about the deal,” Ellie retorted.

  “You really care for him, don’t you?” her mother asked gently.

  “I don’t care for him at all,” she denied hotly. “I just hate being lied to. And I can’t stand people who cheat on their partners.” She stood up. “Let’s not talk about him anymore.” She bent over and kissed Sue on the forehead. “You do what’s best for you, Mum. Take no notice of me. Reece means nothing to me. He was just a holiday romance.” She tightened the belt of her dressing gown. “I’m going to get some breakfast then take a shower. Do you want anything?”

  “No thanks, dear. I’ve already eaten.”

  Ellie went into the kitchen to pour herself a bowl of cereal. Her hand was shaking as she poured milk on the cornflakes, she took a deep breath and steadied it. She was pretty sure Mum would sign that contract - and she had to admit that it was a pretty good way for her to live at Gwel Teg without any of the financial responsibility. Which meant that Reece and his business partner would own Gwel Teg. He’d always be there, in the background of her life.

  Damn Reece, he had really gotten under her skin and now he was coming up smelling of roses. Well, he might have won Mum over but she would never forgive him. Never.

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  She shouldn’t mind, Ellie told herself as she drove back home on Sunday evening. She hadn’t lived at Gwel Teg for years. It was Mum’s home to do what she liked with. And still would be her home for as long as she wanted, she just wouldn’t have any of the financial worry.