Chapter 3
As Lily let Hannah lead her towards the hotel, her mind was still reeling, mainly from utter mortification.
It had been a crazy ten minutes, from crashing her car into a pond, getting stuck in the mud and then finding herself lying on top of Hannah’s brother.
Hannah had shown her photos of Ben over the years.
But somehow she hadn’t made the connection between Hannah’s big brother and the good-looking man she had ended up on top of.
She hadn’t expected him to be so attractive, for his eyes to be such a dark brown or for him to be strong enough to pull her free of the mud.
She glanced at him once more. He didn’t look at all like his younger sister.
Where Hannah’s hair was golden blonde, Ben’s was dark and still a bit spiky from being out in the rain.
Hannah was slim and petite where Ben was far taller and more muscular.
She briefly found herself wondering whether he had a girlfriend before she pulled herself together.
She had hardly made the right professional first impression she had been hoping to give, especially as he had told her that he was the hotel manager. After all, this was a make-or-break job for her career so it hadn’t been a great start so far.
Lily was thrilled to see Hannah though. It had been too long since they had last seen each other face to face and she was grateful to see her friend looking well. She couldn’t wait until they had a proper catch-up, although she knew she had to keep quiet about the loss of her job.
But what a commission Maple Tree Lodge could be, she told herself, looking up at the hotel. It was so warm and rustic looking, and so much larger than she had imagined.
As they drew nearer to the entrance, Hannah called over to an elderly man who had appeared from around the corner.
‘Grandad! Come and meet my friend Lily,’ said Hannah.
Her grandad nodded and held out his hand. ‘I’m Walter Jackson,’ he said.
‘Lily Wilson,’ she replied. She remembered Hannah telling her that they had celebrated his seventy-ninth birthday earlier that year but despite that, he had a surprisingly firm handshake and the blue eyes that studied her were still sharp above the bushy grey eyebrows.
‘Welcome to Maple Tree Lodge,’ said Walter. ‘What do you think of our home?’
He turned with what appeared to be pride on his face as he looked up at the building in front of them.
‘It’s lovely,’ she told him. ‘Really spectacular.’
The warmth of the wood panelling along with the sandy-coloured stone seemed right at home in the middle of the forest. Hannah had invited her to the hotel many times to stay and yet Lily had always been so busy with work that she had never found the time.
Now she was regretting not staying before as it was so beautiful.
Walter’s smile faded. ‘Shame you won’t see it at its best inside,’ he muttered, shooting his grandson a piercing look as Ben came over to join them.
‘Let’s go inside and get you cleaned up, shall we?’ said Hannah in an overly bright tone.
Lily wondered whether she was imagining the tension in the atmosphere that had suddenly developed.
She followed Hannah through the oak-framed porch and into a large reception hall. It was a long room, flanked by an ornately carved oak staircase which rose in an arc up to the upper floor.
The whole place was filled with wooden beams along the walls and a grey flagstone floor.
It felt cosy and warm, despite the lack of decoration, she realised.
There were no pictures, no furnishings of any kind, in fact.
But it was in the middle of a renovation as a large scaffolding tower took up most of the room.
‘This is Frankie, our receptionist,’ said Hannah, gesturing at a dark-haired woman in her late fifties who had just come out of a nearby room at the sound of their voices. ‘This is my friend Lily who’s staying here this weekend.’
‘Nice to meet you,’ said Frankie, with a warm smile.
‘And don’t mind the mess,’ added Walter, from behind them as he stepped over some trailing wires to turn and go through a doorway on their right. ‘We’re just having what I’ve been told is yet another update.’
‘A necessary one,’ she heard Ben mutter under his breath.
‘It’s hardly necessary,’ grumbled Walter, before turning to head towards a nearby doorway with Ben in pursuit.
At the sound of their muted but definitely tense voices, Lily hesitated about what to do or say next.
Frankie, the receptionist, looked at her. ‘Don’t mind them,’ she said, with a cheerful smile. ‘They’re just having their daily argument.’
‘The usual one,’ added Hannah, rolling her eyes.
Lily remained silent. This was obviously a problem between family members and nothing to do with her.
‘So you’re the interior designer,’ said Frankie, eyeing Lily up and down. ‘Heard all about you, of course.’
‘None of it good,’ joked Hannah, nudging Lily with her elbows.
‘Apparently you’re the creative one of Hannah’s group,’ carried on Frankie. ‘Let me see, Beth’s the brainy one and Ella’s the trendy one always on her phone.’
‘That’s about right,’ said Lily, laughing.
‘Hang on. What does that make me?’ asked Hannah in a mock-hurt tone.
‘The only one that can bake given your friends’ attempts recently,’ Frankie told her, with a wink.
‘Beth and Ella came here?’ asked Lily, somewhat surprised.
‘Over the summer,’ confirmed Frankie. ‘They came, sunbathed, drank a lot and laughed even more, from what I remember.’
‘Thanks to your cocktails,’ replied Hannah. Her smile faded and she looked a little awkwardly at Lily. ‘It was Beth’s birthday over August bank holiday. When you had that deadline…’ Her voice trailed off.
‘Haven’t I always?’ said Lily, in a breezy tone.
She had seen the photographs, of course, but she still felt a small pang at the thought of her friends being there together without her.
Thankfully she knew that they understood how important her career was and why she couldn’t always meet up with them.
In any case, at least this weekend would give her a chance to catch up with Hannah properly.
Hannah glanced at her watch and gave a shout of exclamation. ‘I’ve got to get a cake out of the oven before it burns. Frankie, would you show Lily up to her room? She desperately needs to wash her feet.’ She looked at her friend. ‘You’re staying in one of the guest rooms.’
‘There’s no need,’ said Lily, thinking that she didn’t want any of the guests to be inconvenienced. ‘I’m happy to bunk in your room.’
‘It’s fine. Anyway, it’s not like we haven’t got the space,’ said Hannah, rolling her eyes. ‘Get yourself sorted and then come and find me in the kitchen. Mum’s desperate to finally meet you after all this time.’
As Hannah walked off, Lily realised something as she glanced around. ‘Where are all the hotel guests, by the way?’ she asked.
‘I’m looking at ’em,’ drawled Frankie, giving her a pointed look.
‘Oh.’ Lily blinked. ‘It’s only me staying here?’
She couldn’t believe it. Especially as it was a Friday night. Given that it was the weekend, shouldn’t a thriving hotel be even a little bit busy? She wondered whether the renovation work was putting off potential guests.
But Frankie just sighed. ‘Just think of yourself as a very VIP.’ As she came around the desk, she glanced at Lily’s bare, grubby feet. ‘Are you some kind of tree hugger?’ she asked.
Lily shook her head. ‘I had a small accident and had to leave my trainers behind.’
Frankie’s eyebrows shot up but she didn’t reply.
‘So how many rooms do you have?’ asked Lily, still wondering about the state of the business.
‘Twenty,’ replied Frankie, reaching under the counter to pick up a No. 1 key. ‘So I understand you’re going to give the place a makeover?’
Lily nodded, before picking up her overnight bag and following Frankie up the wide staircase. ‘Yup,’ she replied. ‘I’ve come to help out.’
‘Well, the Jackson family need all the friends and help they can get at the moment, I reckon,’ said Frankie as they reached the landing.
Lily took a sharp intake of breath. Was the business in trouble? She made a note to ask Hannah later. After all, this was the important commission that she was pinning the start of her own business on. Perhaps it was just a quiet weekend now that the summer rush was over, she told herself.
Lily glanced across the entrance hall before Frankie led her down a hallway and opened up the door to Room 1.
Lily was surprised to find a pleasingly large double room with a large picture window looking out across the lake.
‘How lovely,’ she said.
Frankie glanced around. ‘You’ll be the first one to try out the new bed. Updated plumbing and a fancy new en suite as well. Looks good, eh?’
Lily nodded. ‘It does,’ she lied.
Because although the king-size bed looked extremely comfortable, it seemed to be the only thing in the room that was. She couldn’t work out why.
‘Well, I’ll leave you in peace,’ said Frankie. ‘The kitchen’s just off the main hall. Come and find us whenever you’re ready. Dinner will be in a while.’
After she had left, Lily took another look around once more, trying to work out what the room was missing.
After all, it was a good size with two out of the four walls made out of wooden logs, the other two newly plastered.
Also, the downlighters and polished floorboards might look in place in a fancy hotel in a city, but out here in the forest, it felt a little barren.
A little too severe for the softness of the spectacular setting outside.
The only furniture was a divan bed which was steel grey and again felt a little too modern.
The bedroom didn’t feel like a place to relax in, which was crazy because the outside view was mesmerising.
She wandered over to stand next to the huge window.
The lake stretched out in front of the hotel, almost lapping at the bottom of the veranda on the floor below.
The water sparkled, even on a dull afternoon.
At its edges was lush tall grass and reeds swaying in the breeze.
The forest surrounded everything, making the whole place feel private, protected and special.
Of course, somewhere in the forest was her abandoned hire car.
She grimaced to herself. She was already regretting not taking out the full insurance.
That would probably be the last of her meagre savings gone, she realised.
After all, there was no way she was going to get her deposit back on it, seeing as how it was currently stuck in a muddy pond!
She turned around and looked at the room once more, wondering what kind of budget she would have to work with.
Then she frowned to herself, once more asking herself whether there was trouble regarding the finances given the odd comments that she had picked up on.
She hadn’t even worked out what commission she would receive yet.
But putting the money issues aside for a moment, she let her mind wander, imagining how she would redecorate it and make it warmer and more cosy.
Her imagination immediately ran riot, thinking up a style of cosy warmth and soft muted colours which would work perfectly, she thought, with a thrill of excitement.
She would keep the wooden wall behind the bed as a feature.
The rest of the room she would freshen and lighten up to bring in some much-needed colour to the room.
It also needed warm rugs to make it cosy, soft furnishings too.
But also a touch of elegance here and there, such as lamps and perhaps even a desk with some books.
With a satisfied nod, she smiled to herself. Oh, yes. Doing up Maple Tree Lodge was going to be so easy, she decided. Just perfect for her new portfolio of her very own company.
With a little dance of excitement, she headed over to her bag to get showered and ready for dinner.