Chapter 8
8
‘Hello again,’ Sadie said as she approached Charlie and her friends. ‘Are you all settled in?’
Charlie nodded. ‘All unpacked, thanks. How’s your room? Is it amazing?’
Sadie laughed. ‘It’s incredible! I’ve got the most enormous four-poster bed. Only trouble is, I’m not sure how I’ll get on it.’
The others joined in with her laughter. ‘Here, sit down,’ Jane said, pulling out the empty chair.
‘Oh, I don’t want to intrude on your special weekend together…’
‘It’s fine. Please, join us.’ Anna gestured towards the chair. ‘My bed is enormous too, and so comfortable. I made the mistake of lying down on it and wanted to stay there.’
Sadie settled into the seat with a grateful smile. ‘So what do you all have planned for the weekend? Rowena was just telling me about a group art project planned for tomorrow, which I think I’m going to check out. Are you coming along or are you going to make the most of your access to the spa?’
Charlie slid a leaflet she’d been looking at across the table. ‘I was just reading about it in here and it sounds like it might be fun. We can go together if you like because I think these two are booked in for some spa treatments.’
‘Well, only if you’re sure?’ They were incredibly kind but Sadie didn’t want them to feel obliged to look out for her.
‘Definitely. I’d rather walk in there with someone I know, anyway.’ Charlie raised her glass and Sadie clinked hers against it. ‘There, we’re friends now!’
Sadie took a sip then glanced down at the leaflet. ‘Oh, is this what they have planned for the weekend?’ She picked it up for a closer look. The front page was all about the art workshop, with the plan being to create a partridge in a pear tree using a range of different techniques from crochet to metalworking and everything in between.
Reaching out, Charlie tapped the back of the leaflet. ‘There’s a murder-mystery dinner on Saturday. We have to sign up for a table if we want to take part.’
‘What’s a murder mystery got to do with the twelve days of Christmas?’ Sadie pondered aloud as she turned the sheet around. The answer became apparent as she read the description.
A terrible crime has been committed at Staunton Hall. Inspector Turtle and Sergeant Dove are on the case and will need all the help they can get to track down the dastardly murderer!
‘Sounds like it might be a laugh,’ Jane said beside her. ‘Though I’m not sure I’ll make a very good detective.’
‘Me either,’ Sadie agreed.
‘They want groups of eleven as we have to leave a space at each table for a mystery guest,’ Charlie added. ‘So, us four and…’ She nodded at the table next to them. ‘Maybe we could see if they want to join us as well?’
Sadie glanced over to see she was gesturing towards the man and the two teenagers she’d noticed arriving earlier. The man looked up, catching her eye before she had the chance to look away. Goodness, it ought to be illegal to be that handsome. When he quirked an eyebrow at her, Sadie realised to her horror she was still staring and, in a panic, she thrust the leaflet towards him. ‘We… uh, we were wondering if you wanted to join us for dinner on Saturday evening.’ Oh, dear, how forward did that sound? ‘All th-three of you, of course,’ she added, quickly, trying to ignore what she was sure was a blush rising. ‘For the murder-mystery dinner, I mean.’
The man leaned over and took the leaflet, glanced at it briefly, then showed it to the teenagers. ‘What do you think?’
‘Sounds fun,’ the boy said.
‘Is it going to be like Clue?’ the girl asked.
Her father nodded. ‘Yeah, like a live-action version with actors playing the parts. You want to give it a go?’
She nodded. ‘Sure, why not?’
The man turned back to Sadie, offering her the leaflet back. ‘Count us in.’ He smiled. ‘I’m Dylan, and this is Theo and Avery.’
‘I’m Sadie.’ She turned to the others, feeling a little awkward about introducing them when they were all but strangers, no matter how friendly they’d been. The three women said their names in turn and waved across. ‘It’s nice to meet you,’ she added, not sure what else to say.
Her blushes were saved as someone tap-tap-tapped on a microphone and they all looked around to see Stevie and Rowena standing with three younger women in front of the bar. A hush fell over the guests and a few shuffled their chairs around so they were facing the right direction. Dylan picked up his chair and moved around to the other side of the table, placing it between Sadie and Avery. ‘Do you mind? I don’t want to crick my neck.’
‘Not at all.’ Sadie shifted over so he had a bit more room then turned her attention to the women at the front.
Stevie smiled. ‘Thank you, everyone. We won’t disturb you for long, we just wanted to outline the plan for the weekend and give a bit more information for those of you who will be with us for the full fortnight Christmas experience. As you will see from the flyers we left on the tables, the plan is to celebrate the twelve days of Christmas with a special event each day. We are conscious of making sure you all have time to relax and do your own thing, so please be assured that participation in all the activities is voluntary and will only ever take up a portion of each day. I’m going to hand over to Hope, who will explain a bit more.’ Stevie smiled at a young woman with thick dark hair and a bright smile as she passed her the microphone.
‘Good afternoon, everyone. I’m the deputy manager here at Juniper Meadows, and I’d like to quickly introduce you to Tasha, our events manager—’ a woman with curly red hair raised her hand ‘—and our activities consultant, Lydia.’ The other woman, with thick glossy hair held back with a red Alice band, smiled and nodded. ‘While Mum, sorry, Stevie , and Rowena will be looking after every aspect of your stay here at the hotel, the three of us are your points of contact for the twelve days’ events. At least one of us will be present at each of the activities to make sure everything runs smoothly. If you look over towards the door you’ll see there are two tables with information packs on them. The ones on the left are for those of you who are here for the long weekend, and the ones on the right are for everyone else who is here for the full fortnight. Please help yourselves once the briefing is over. They should tell you everything you need to know, but you’ll also find contact details for myself and Tasha in them so if you have any questions, feel free to send us a WhatsApp, or give us a call if it’s anything urgent.’
She turned and handed the mic to Tasha, who stepped forward with a smile. ‘Welcome, everyone, I promise I won’t keep you for too much longer. We have aimed for a mix of daytime and evening activities, both indoor and outdoor. Outdoor activities are weather dependent.’ Tasha held up her hand to show she’d crossed her fingers and a ripple of laughter went around the room. ‘But the forecast is looking pretty promising. I just wanted to cover off a couple of practical things. There’s plenty of hanging space in the downstairs bathrooms just off the entrance hall so you won’t need to carry wet coats and things up and down to your room if you’d prefer not to. We also have a boot-room facility behind Reception with spare wellies, hats and gloves, umbrellas and waterproof jackets. Please help yourselves, but we do ask that borrowed items are returned in case someone else needs them. Other than Christmas Day, the only event meal we have planned is the murder-mystery dinner this Saturday evening. There’s a blank table plan also by the door, so please pop your names down on it. We hope you will all choose to join us for what should be a fun night, but supper will be available for anyone who would prefer a quiet meal instead, and that will be served in the blue drawing room.’ Tasha paused and looked at Hope and Lydia. ‘I think that’s everything?’ They both nodded and Stevie stepped forward to take the microphone once more.
‘All that remains is for us to thank you for choosing to spend time with us here at Juniper Meadows and we wish you all a wonderful stay. There’s plenty of champagne so please don’t be shy if you would like another drink. Dinner will be served in the main dining room this evening between six-thirty and eight-thirty.’ There was a polite round of applause.
Avery jumped up. ‘Shall I get our packs, Dad?’ she asked, her expression eager, and Sadie couldn’t help but smile at her excitement.
‘Sure, sweetheart. Why don’t you get some for the ladies here while you’re at it?’ He turned to Sadie. ‘Are you here for Christmas as well?’
She nodded. ‘Yes.’ She looked at Avery. ‘Can you get us one Christmas pack and three weekend ones, please?’
‘Sure thing!’
Dylan frowned. ‘You’re not all together?’
‘No. I met Charlie and the others when we were picked up at the station earlier and they were kind enough to invite me to join them for a drink.’ She leaned slightly closer and spoke in a lower tone. ‘I’m trying not to gatecrash their weekend too much.’
Dylan grinned. ‘Try having two teenage children, then you’ll feel like a permanent gate-crasher.’
She laughed. ‘Ah, I well remember those days. I swear my son only communicated in grunts for about three years. Once they fly the nest, you’ll miss them, though.’
‘I’ll take your word for it! Theo isn’t that bad, but he spends too much time in his room for my liking, and when he’s not hiding away—’ Dylan nodded towards his son, who was tapping away on his phone ‘—he’s glued to that.’
‘I hate to tell you, but if you look around that’s exactly what 90 per cent of the room is doing.’
He chuckled. ‘Good point. So, your children aren’t joining you here for Christmas?’
‘No. They both have young families of their own now and they’re each having a quiet Christmas with their children.’ She hesitated, wondering how much to share. ‘I was quite relieved when they suggested it, because I’ve hosted for as many years as I can remember. And when they told me they’d booked me in here, it was simply the icing on the cake. We’re all getting together at my son’s just before the new year, which will be fun.’
‘Sounds like the best of both worlds,’ Dylan said. ‘We’re here because I promised the children they could do whatever they wanted for Christmas while their mom and stepdad are on their honeymoon.’
‘Mom? Your ex-wife is American? I thought Avery had an accent.’
‘Yeah, I’ve lived there for nearly thirty years. I bummed around for a few years on various working holidays and found myself in Florida and somehow never left.’ His smile said he didn’t seem to mind how things had turned out.
‘Florida to the Cotswolds seems like a bit of a leap for your kids to make. What’s the attraction?’ The luxurious surroundings of Juniper Meadows were perfect for her, but it seemed an odd choice for a couple of teenagers.
Dylan gave a funny kind of half-shrug and she wondered if her question had made him uncomfortable, though for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why it would. ‘We have family in the area,’ he said eventually before taking a large mouthful of his champagne.
Avery returned at that moment, a stack of information guides in one hand, her other clinging tightly to the woman who’d introduced herself as Hope during the announcements. ‘Look who I just met!’ Avery announced, her blue eyes shining with excitement as she dumped the guides on the table.
Hope smiled at Dylan. ‘Mum said you’d arrived safely. Are you settling in okay?’
Sadie found herself looking between Hope and Avery, noting the same dark, glossy hair and blue eyes. Blue like Dylan’s. Blue like Stevie’s.
Oh.
As Dylan rose to greet Hope, Sadie reached for the abandoned packs and quickly sorted out one for herself and the three weekend ones for Charlie and the others. ‘Let’s see what else is going on,’ she said in a bright voice as she shifted her chair back to its original position and handed them out. Soon the four of them were deep in conversation and making plans for the next few days. Well, the three women were making plans. Sadie did her best to focus on them and ignore the nosy bit of her brain that was hyper-fixated on what was happening behind her. When Dylan had said he had family in the area, that had been one hell of an understatement.