Chapter 7 #2
“Wow. Rude, Katie,” Ellie murmured. But while overly blunt, her sister did raise a good point. Nearly all of the bookings for high tea at The Silver Teapot were made by women, so it was unusual for a man to do that.
Ethan coughed. “It was a package add-on, and I forgot that my friend who got sick must’ve added it to our deal.”
“I hope your friend is feeling better now,” Ellie said.
He nodded. “Yep.” He sipped his coffee, then glanced at Katie. “So is that a yay or a nay?”
“As tempting as it is to neigh like a horse, I won’t.”
“Phew,” Ellie muttered.
Ethan chuckled. “You can if you like. No judgement. Well, no judgement out loud, at least.”
That earned him a more genuine smile from Katie, who sipped her tea, then glanced at Ellie, eyebrows raised.
Ellie pressed her lips together but refused to give a hint. What she’d like would be for Katie to leave them alone, but she sensed things were strained between them enough already and didn’t want her sister any more upset with her.
“I can take a hint. Fine. I’ll go read my murder mystery by the fire while you two have your high tea.”
Now was when Ellie was supposed to protest and insist she join them. But she didn’t want to.
“If you’re sure,” Ethan said, in that easygoing way he had. “I think they’d probably need a bit more than an hour’s notice if an extra person was added.”
Katie peered at her, then snatched up her tea and apple and stood. “I can tell when I’m not wanted. So, I’ll go back and finish packing and take our stuff out to the car while you two keep talking.”
“It’s not like that,” Ellie protested now.
“What is it like?”
Ellie glanced at Ethan. “I don’t know.”
Ellie’s words hit him in the heart. He didn’t know what this was either, only that he wanted to spend more time with Ellie and wasn’t above snatching at any excuse to have her stay.
And while the high tea was an add-on he hadn’t realised was added on, he was grateful—for once—for Lucinda’s extravagance and selfishness, which meant that for once things were working out in his favour.
“I’m already packed, but I can help with the bags,” Ellie said.
“Or you could stay here with Ethan while I deal with it. I’m not completely helpless, you know.”
Ellie bit her lip, then rose to hug her sister. “Nobody thinks you are.”
His heart panged at the affection shown. He wished his family did spontaneous affection, but alas, that was something that had ceased when Mum did.
Katie murmured something, then glanced at Ethan. “Don’t have too much fun without me.”
He nodded gravely. “We’ll be sure to have just the right amount.”
Katie half smiled at that, then turned to her sister. “I’ll be reading next to the fire, so come find me when you’re ready.”
He wondered at the quick change in her attitude, then internally shrugged as she walked away.
Maybe Katie was just prone to moodiness, like Lucinda was too.
For a second, he wondered where Jason was, and whether they had concocted some secret plan, then instantly dismissed it.
Jason had moved on to a far more willing candidate, if what he’d seen last night could be believed.
Should he mention to Ellie about what he’d seen?
Maybe not. He wasn’t one hundred percent sure what had happened, or even if it really had been Jason, even if it had looked ninety-nine percent certain.
Besides, he didn’t want Ellie worrying about her sister. He wanted her focused on him.
“So, hi again.”
Ellie’s smile was a little shy. “Hi.”
“Thanks for agreeing to stay for high tea with me.”
“You’re welcome. Thanks for asking me.”
He leaned forward, hands on the table. “I really would like to get to know you more, you know.”
“Me too.”
“So, what is it you want to know?”
Her head tilted. “Tell me more about your family.”
“Okay.” He motioned to the staff who were cleaning up around them. “Do you want to do that here, or go to the lounge or somewhere quieter to talk?”
“Mm, if we’re eating again, I wouldn’t mind going for a bit of a walk. If you’re okay with that.”
“A bushwalk?”
She chuckled. “Let’s not get carried away. No, a walk around the grounds would be nice. There might be some picturesque views for photos.”
He could do with some more pictures of her, so that was a definite “Sounds good.”
They’d both worn sneakers, so it was just a quick matter to grab jackets, load their bags in their respective cars, then begin their stroll past the tennis courts.
The old building’s architecture, with its mix of styles, drew their comments for a while, and then she asked him again about his family.
He told her more about his mum’s passing from cancer a few years ago and the strain it had placed on his dad, sister, and brother.
“They’re not believers, so they don’t understand why I wasn’t more upset.
I loved my mum, but I know that because she was a Christian, she’s now in heaven, so I think they blamed me for not being more upset like them. ”
Her hands were in her jacket pockets, a chunk of dark hair slipping from her ponytail as she studied him soberly. “I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like. I’m so sorry.”
He felt something like a tangible wave of her sympathy towards him, something that softened his heart towards her even more. Lucinda had known him all her life, but she’d never been so obvious in her compassion. For a moment, he wondered if Ellie was about to cry.
She blinked, looked down, scuffed the toes of her shoe in the dirt. “My family are all Christians. So I haven’t had to face that kind of challenge. But I’ll be praying for your family to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.”
“Thank you. That really means a lot.”
He motioned to the tennis courts, and they were able to take a few pictures through the tennis fence of the dramatic view of the valley. “Can you imagine losing a tennis ball over this cliff?”
“It’d be a long way to go find it.”
He pointed out what looked like a bushwalking track. “I’m not sure how people manage to get down there. I saw some brochures at the hotel about nearby walks, and it looks like you need to walk up near the train station to begin.”
“Either that or clamber over that barbed wire fence.”
“Neither hold much appeal right now.”
“Not a bushwalker, huh?”
“Can you believe it? But no.”
He chuckled. He liked her dry sense of humour. It matched his own. “So, want to head through the gardens and see what’s on the other side?”
“What time is your high tea booking?”
“Twelve.” He glanced at his phone. “So we’ve got plenty of time.”
“In that case, sure.”
They passed old drystone walls and an Italianate-style fountain, then passed the arches of the Hydro Grand’s former entrance.
Once upon a time, there had been three separate buildings, which had been joined together by long passageways like Cat’s Alley.
And while most of the accommodation was all down at the original hotel Belgravia section, there were a few rooms in other locations.
The cool breeze that had felt playful before had stirred to greater energy, so they didn’t linger.
Instead, after taking a few requisite snaps, they went inside and looked at the café and provedore, which boasted several artefacts from various iterations of the hotel.
Chairs from the 1930s and 1960s dangled from the ceiling, alongside ice skates, snowshoes, and skis that showed just how cold it could get around here.
Nearby were further odd remnants of the hotel’s past as a hydrotherapy retreat, such as cupboard-like contraptions designed to pummel one with water.
Or a collapsible sedan chair, designed to take guests to the outside solar bath.
He read the information cards, smiling at the funny things people would do.
Ellie chuckled. “Can you believe people used to have needle baths?”
“Sounds painful. But so does bowel kneading, whatever that is.”
She shivered. “That sounds gross. Ugh. See, this is why trying to be healthy is bad for you.”
He chuckled. “So, do you do anything for exercise?”
“Apart from exercising my hands when I paint or draw?”
“You paint?”
“Some landscapes. I like them, even if they’re not to everyone’s taste.”
“I’d like to see them one day.”
“Well, maybe you can. One day.”