‘That you did.’ He smiled. ‘Now stop fretting, we’ve got this. The Inglenook Inn is going to be the accommodation of choice. It’ll be shouted from the rooftops with a review and a feature next year.’
‘You didn’t mention it to Sofia yet, did you?’
‘No, but I think you should. She’ll only see it as a positive step.’
‘I’m not sure.’ Sofia wouldn’t be very understanding if Holly’s article was published with comments about the manager interfering in guests’ personal business. Darcy had a sudden panic that the woman in the restrooms at The Plaza would’ve told other people, and then each of those probably passed it on to more acquaintances. The rumours could’ve multiplied and become totally out of control.
‘Darcy, Sofia needs to step out of her comfort zone,’ Rupert assured her.
Maybe he was right. And when he left her to it she wondered whether that was exactly what she needed to do in her personal life. Then again, she’d already tried. And look how well that had gone.
*
Darcy was busy sorting through wrapping and Sellotape and all the additional bits and pieces she’d need to help Adele, when Isabella popped in on her way to meet Jake to do some last-minute shopping. Thankfully she only had ten minutes to spare in which to quiz her friend about the night at The Plaza.
‘So come on, out with it.’ Isabella didn’t hesitate in getting to the point. Her hat was still on, her scarf in place and coat done up. She’d only removed her gloves to allow herself some inside warming-up time before she ventured out into the depths of Manhattan again.
‘Out with what?’ Darcy stacked the rolls of paper below her desk, where she knew the kids never went. They’d been told by both parents they were never to venture round the other side and right now they were on their guard against Santa’s elves catching them doing anything untoward. ‘I told you, Isabella. It was a first date and it’ll be our last. Men are complicated, and I’ve got too much going on right now to think of anything else.’
‘You always put work first.’
‘Well that’s just about all we had in common, to be honest.’ Darcy stacked scissors and Sellotape behind the rolls of wrapping paper. Ian Cunningham had already taken her up on her offer and asked her to wrap one gift, safely stowed inside a white, square cardboard box. She’d returned it to his room this morning, wrapped in red paper and tied off with a green satin bow. She assumed it must be for his wife and he needed it ready for when he left the Inn this afternoon to catch his flight back to England.
‘Oh I do wish you’d give him a chance,’ Isabella urged.
‘It was his fault I ended up losing my job once upon a time, remember.’ In simple terms, if Myles hadn’t made a complaint, Darcy would never have been dismissed from her position.
‘I thought you’d moved past that.’
‘He also bad-mouthed me via email for putting up the tree and interfering in his life.’ She watched her friend’s face drop. ‘And that email is more than likely winding its way to the editor staying in the room right above our heads, and therefore my feature write-up she promised could possibly end up being the worst decision I’ve ever made.’
‘Oh.’
‘Exactly.’
Darcy had been remiss in lighting the fire today because with one thing after another she hadn’t even cleared out the grate. She got the brush and a pan and knelt down in front of the fireplace to do the job.
‘Why would he ask you out if he’d been bad-mouthing you? I mean, if he just wanted to get you into bed, he wouldn’t be likely to make you go along to a work function, surely.’
‘Who knows, Isabella. I’m tired of trying to work some people out.’
‘Did he apologise?’
‘Of course.’
‘And was the email sent a while back?’
‘Yes, but it doesn’t matter. He still said those things about me.’
When Isabella’s phone pinged impatiently and she pulled a face, Darcy knew the interrogation had come to its conclusion.
‘I’ve got to go, Darcy.’ Isabella gave her friend a hug.
‘Thanks, I needed that.’
‘I thought so. You act like you’re not bothered by the date that didn’t turn into anything more, but I’ve known you a long time. I know you are hurting.’
‘OK, agony aunt.’
Isabella stopped her from bending down to pick up the brush and pan again. ‘I’ve seen the way he looks at you, Darcy. It’s more than lust on his part.’
At least she made Darcy laugh. ‘You can’t tell that much from a look.’
‘I can,’ she shrugged, and then embraced her friend again. ‘I’ll see you a couple of days after Christmas, for lunch. I’ll book somewhere – Italian?’
‘Sounds perfect to me. I should be hungry by then.’
‘I’ll bet the feast you’re planning for here is huge.’
‘It certainly is.’ She’d never made a Christmas lunch before, let alone been the hostess for multiple guests, and although she was nervous, she knew with Rupert at the helm she had no need to be. She’d be able to write it up on the website, advertise the event for future Christmases to come, add photos of happy guests, a sumptuous dinner with all the trimmings.
Isabella pulled on her gloves. ‘Have a wonderful Christmas, my beautiful friend. I’m sorry we won’t make the Christmas Eve Party.’
‘You’ll be far too busy with Jake to miss me,’ Darcy smiled. ‘Merry Christmas, Isabella.’
She drew in her breath and puffed it out again. ‘Now wish me luck, I’m heading to Macy’s. Jake, as usual, has left his shopping until the last minute.’
Laughing, Darcy said, ‘I will wish you lots of luck, you’ll need it.’
After she’d waved Isabella off, Darcy turned to carry on clearing out the grate. She swept out the ashes, she took them to the trash, she arranged logs and kindling in the familiar way she knew would allow the fire to evenly disperse. She pushed small pieces of firelighter in between logs at equal intervals to help it along and then got it going. Crouched down, she watched the flames take hold. Sometimes, late at night, when she’d closed the damper and all the guests had gone to bed, she’d sit here and daydream about running her own inn one day, as the last flickers of orange made everything glow.
She heard the door to the brownstone shut and Ian Cunningham walked in. With thinning hair, his scalp was as red as his face. ‘You didn’t wear a hat?’ she queried.
‘I’d already packed it.’ He shook his head. ‘I thought, not a problem, it’s not even snowing.’
‘Ah, New York can catch you out that way. It’s a bit different from England.’
‘Of course, I keep forgetting you were over there for a while and that you met Myles before.’
Darcy turned back to tend to the fire that was already capable of looking after itself.
‘Darcy, give him a chance.’
‘Mr Cunningham, I—’
‘His issues with Christmas are something that have gone on for far too long, but he’s making headway. We all seem to be.’
Darcy was surprised by this man’s determination to help his son, but maybe he felt he owed it to Myles. His voice explained, yet his eyes pleaded and her insides knotted at the thought she was adding to his angst. But she had to stay focused. She didn’t want to mess around. She wanted to keep building her career and with Myles causing trouble twice, she didn’t have the time or the energy for anything else.
‘I’ve made a lot of mistakes,’ Ian continued, ‘and he did well considering. He’s not a bad person.’
Darcy had often been the sounding board for guests, but she’d never been embroiled in the complications before. She couldn’t even tell him to stay out of it, because he was a paying guest and to do so would be impolite.
She said it the best way she knew how. ‘I shouldn’t have become involved with a guest. It wasn’t professional of me.’
When the brownstone door creaked open again Darcy hoped it wasn’t Myle
s, home early from work. She didn’t think she could face both Cunningham men at once.
But it wasn’t. It was a woman Darcy didn’t recognise. Timid, with hair highlighted grey and blonde and drawn back in a bun, she immediately unbuttoned her coat as she met the heat of the room.
‘Good afternoon.’ Darcy stepped forward but the woman only met her gaze momentarily before she locked her focus onto Ian.
‘My god! Martha.’ Ian, flummoxed, didn’t take long to step forwards and take this woman in his arms.
Darcy deduced it wasn’t a potential guest stepping in off the street, but Myles’s mum. She moved away and occupied herself with tidying the desk, shuffling papers, checking email. But when Ian and Martha didn’t move from in front of the fire she had no hope of avoiding overhearing them.
‘I’m flying home this afternoon,’ said Ian, eyes still wide with surprise.
‘Cancel the flight. Winston is having Christmas with Victoria and the kids. You, Myles and I are having Christmas together. I don’t care where: at a hotel, at a local deli if we can find one open, a takeaway in Central Park if we have to. But I couldn’t stand being there and Myles not coming home. I can’t go back to how it was, not ever. Something needs to change.’
The desperation in her voice stunned Darcy. She watched Ian reach out and touch his wife’s face. Darcy wanted to leave, give them privacy, but doing so would draw attention to herself as she passed them.
‘Where are you staying?’ Ian asked.
‘I hadn’t thought past getting here and seeing you both.’
‘Don’t worry, we’ll sort something out.’
‘What time will Myles be back?’
‘I’ve no idea. We said our farewells this morning. Probably late, knowing Myles.’
Darcy could feel him looking at her and willed him not to refer to her date, perhaps suggesting she might have heard from Myles and know when he would return. She wanted to stay professional from now on. There was no room for tangled emotions to get in the way.
‘Darcy…’ Ian came over to the desk. ‘Is there any way I could extend my stay here?’
Darcy hated giving guests bad news. ‘I’m so sorry, Ian. I can give you an extra night tonight, but tomorrow I have new guests checking in for the Christmas period.’
‘Not to worry. We’ll figure something out.’
‘I’ll help you. How long do you need to stay?’ It was going to be next to impossible to find something in the city at such short notice, but she could ring round for them. She’d already run her hand along a set of notebooks, pulling out the maroon one she knew contained details of other well-respected establishments they could recommend when they had no room. In turn, those same establishments often recommended the Inn when they were in the same position, so it worked both ways.
Martha spoke up so Darcy would know how long they needed. ‘I have a return flight booked for December 29th.’ She looked at her husband. ‘We’ll need to book you another seeing as you’re missing your flight today.’
‘We’ll think about that later. But thank you, Darcy, for the extra night tonight, and it would be very helpful if you could make some calls to see if there’s somewhere that’ll have room at such short notice for the extra five nights.’
Ian suggested to Martha that they go up to his apartment. She looked shattered, they both did. There were so many emotions stirring beneath the surface that all Darcy wanted to do was find them a place to stay and take a weight off their mind.
She started with some of the smaller boutique hotels but no luck. She called hotels midtown, downtown, uptown, but still nothing. She called cheap hotels, mid-range accommodations, even the more expensive – but she might have known Manhattan itself was at full capacity, not just the Inn.
‘How’s it going?’ Ian asked when he reappeared an hour later. ‘I’ve left Martha upstairs taking a long shower. She’s worn out.’
‘I’ll bet she is.’
‘Any luck?’
Darcy shook her head. ‘We might have to look outside of the city.’
‘That could work, as long as it isn’t too far. Martha is insistent we have Christmas together with Myles. I’m not sure how he’s going to feel about it, but it’s what she wants and, I think, what we all need.’
Darcy tried not to get lost in the emotions of it all. She couldn’t empathise with Myles because it would make her weak, make her susceptible to being persuaded to give him another chance.
‘I do have one idea, but I’m not sure how you’ll feel about it,’ she said. The fire crackled and spat out onto the rug so she went over to make sure the spark hadn’t done any damage, and pulled the glass front down. Sometimes she liked to leave it completely open but it was roaring away from the extra log she’d put on as she waited to connect through to one of the major hotels in Manhattan.
‘And what’s that?’
‘Myles has a sofa bed in the apartment on the top floor. It’s an enormous space up there and I have all the extra bedding. And you have the Christmas tree,’ she added with a flourish before remembering how that had instigated so much trouble when it was meant to bring joy. ‘I’ll charge you a minimal sum for the remaining nights, it’ll be cheaper than any hotel, and it’ll give you and your family some time together.’
When Ian roared with laughter Darcy asked, ‘What’s so funny?’
‘I’m just picturing Myles’s face in the mornings, when he comes out to see his parents on his sofa bed. Don’t get me wrong. We do need family time, but I think we’re under a lot of strain already, so I don’t want to make it worse.’
‘But if you stay somewhere else, especially out of the city, you won’t have anywhere near enough time together.’ She hesitated. ‘I hope I’m not speaking out of turn…’
‘Go on, dear.’ He touched a hand to her arm. ‘I’m happy to hear your opinion. Lord knows I’ve spent enough years too internally focused rather than thinking about life from everyone else’s point of view.’
‘Well, from what you’ve said, and what Myles has told me, the problems you’ve been having aren’t going to be solved in one conversation.’
‘Ain’t that the truth?’
She grinned at the colloquial English ‘ain’t’. It was a long time since she’d heard one of those. ‘Why don’t you talk with Myles – give him a call and ask him?’
Ian shook his head. ‘I don’t want to tell him Martha is here yet.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because I’m afraid he’ll stay out even later, avoid the whole situation. At least if he comes back to the Inn, which I know he will because he’ll want to see you,’ he winked, ‘Martha will see him tonight and we can begin the process of talking properly with one another, putting the past to rest and moving on. At least that’s what I’m hoping.’
‘I think you’re underestimating your son,’ she said, buoyed by the comment about him wanting to see her, even though she knew she shouldn’t be. ‘Maybe he’ll surprise you and want to sort things out as much as you do.’ Here she went again, interfering. But Ian didn’t seem to mind one bit. In fact, he seemed to appreciate having a neutral party to confide in.
Ian sat down on the sofa opposite the fire and stared into the flames. ‘Let’s hope you’re right.’
With the rest of the Inn quiet for now, Darcy sat next to him. ‘You look worried.’
‘I just don’t want this to blow up in our faces.’
‘You’ll be in trouble if it does.’ She smiled and met his gaze. ‘I don’t want any fighting around the dinner table at Christmas.’
‘God, I hadn’t even thought about that. Myles is here for lunch isn’t he?’ He clasped his fingers together in front of him on his lap.
‘Not a problem at all. Christmas lunch I can do.’
Martha appeared and came over to join them. ‘Christmas lunch sounds good.’
Darcy stood up to leave them alone.
‘Please, sit.’ Martha gestured to the armchair beside them in such a maternal way tha
t Darcy felt she had no choice. She reminded her of her own mum, wanting to make sure every visitor was looked after and didn’t want for anything. ‘How’s the search going?’
She’d clearly been unable to relax upstairs, this playing on her mind. Darcy reiterated everything she’d told Ian, the suggestion she’d made.
Martha was thinking the same way as her husband. ‘I think the relationship between Myles and me is far too delicate to survive an intrusion. I should’ve thought of this,’ she berated herself.
‘You were thinking with your heart not your head,’ said Ian. ‘It’s a good thing.’
Darcy had to do something. ‘Let me book you in somewhere. The subway and trains will run, even if it’s a reduced service. The main thing is that you’ll have somewhere to stay and there’ll be no pressure on Myles.’
‘We appreciate it. Anywhere will do.’ But Martha wasn’t looking at her, she was solely focused on Ian.
Darcy left them beside the fire, fixed them both a cup of coffee and then settled at her desk to start making the calls.
Less than an hour later the door to the brownstone swung open and in came Myles. By the look of his coat and the white dusting on each shoulder, the snow was starting to fall outside again.
‘Hey,’ he said, gingerly stepping into the lounge as Darcy finished on another call.
‘Hey.’ Darcy willed him to take another step so his view was no longer obscured. Right now it was all he needed to do to see his parents tucked next to each other on the sofa opposite the fire. Both of them had heard his voice and looked too frightened to move.
‘I’ve been wanting to talk to you ever since the other night,’ Myles began, striding towards the desk in the lounge, not even turning his head left to see who was waiting for him. ‘I can only apologise again for something I had no intention of going any further than the person I emailed.’
‘Myles,’ she tried, but he went on.
‘I was having a moan, went into a rant, I wasn’t thinking clearly.’
‘Myles, I think—’
‘I don’t know how else to say I’m sorry. I’ll talk to the editor, I’ll tell her the truth, how this inn is the best place I’ve ever stayed, the hostess one of the loveliest women I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet.’
Snowflakes and Mistletoe at the Inglenook Inn Page 21
