Seaside Manor Bed and Breakfast - Lilly Mirren Page 0,18
I’m so glad you went out today, we’re running out of time to find somewhere if we’re going to meet that two-week deadline that I told Emily.”
He huffed. “Don’t you worry about that. We don’t have to stick to any time frame, but I think we’ll make it if you like it here.”
She hung up the phone and leaned back in her chair. Time to set out afternoon tea for the few guests they had staying that night. Emily was busy meeting with suppliers in nearby Tweed Heads. It was important, Diana had told her, for her to make a personal connection with everyone they worked with. After introducing her niece to each vendor over the phone, she’d set up in-person meetings for Emily to attend. Which meant that she’d be managing the Manor on her own for a few hours, perhaps for the last time.
She pushed the chair back a few inches and pulled open the desk’s bottom drawer. From beneath a neat pile of notebooks and personalised stationery, she tugged free an envelope. The flap hung open, jagged edges of the envelope hiding what she knew to be three sheets of paper with handwriting covering each. She stared at the handwriting on the front of the envelope; her name and the address of the bed and breakfast, in stilted, black ink.
The first time she’d seen the letter, she’d been seated in that exact same place going through a pile of bills and junk mail. She hadn’t expected it. It’d given her a jolt of panic and shock that’d lasted for days. Rupert had threatened to take her to the doctor in case she’d had a small stroke. But no, she assured him she hadn’t. Perhaps it was a virus, was all she’d said. She couldn’t tell him about the letter, hadn’t expected the past to show up now. Not after so many years. If only she’d done things differently, it wouldn’t be happening. It wouldn’t threaten everything that mattered in her carefully constructed life. But it was too late for regrets now.
In the kitchen, she placed freshly baked Anzac biscuits on a tray, alongside slices of banana cake. She carried the tray to the living room and set it on a table. Then returned for the pots of steaming hot tea and matching china cups and saucers. When everything was laid out, she rang a small bell and stood to one side as three children rushed up and piled plates high with food, soon followed by their parents at a more relaxed pace.
“This looks delicious, thank you!” declared their mother.
Diana smiled and nodded as Cindy popped her head around the corner and winked. Diana made her excuses, fixed a small tray with tea and cake, and hurried to meet her friend. They kissed cheeks and walked side by side back to the office. Diana set up the tea and cake between them and they settled into chairs on either side.
“I can’t believe you won’t be living here soon,” mused Cindy with a sad smile. “Times are changing.”
“Yes, it’ll be very different. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it as well. We’ll simply have to make more of an effort to see one another, since we can’t pop through the gate in the fence.”
Cindy’s eyes glistened. “That’s right, we’ll have to use the phone more and you can come down to the cafe to see me — we’ll have our tea and treats there.”
“Sounds perfect. You know I love you like a sister.” Diana swallowed around the lump in her throat.
Cindy’s brow furrowed. “You too, Di dear. What’s brought this on? You’re not sick, are you?”
Diana shook her head. “No, it’s nothing. I only wanted to say it… important to tell people every now and then I think.” She sniffled, reached for a tissue, and blotted her nose.
“Yes, of course it is. On another subject, before you make me cry, what do you think about Ethan and Emily working so closely together?”
Diana wiped her nose again, dropped the tissue in the bin beneath her desk. “I think it’ll be great.”
“Not too volatile?” Cindy arched an eyebrow.
Diana had thought of that. And from what she’d seen between the two of them, she knew Cindy had a point. “I think there’s a bit of a connection there, a spark maybe.”
“Do you think so?” Cindy’s eyes narrowed. “Hmm, interesting. Is it a spark or antagonism?”
Diana chuckled. “And besides, if it becomes too much of a problem, I’ve worked a clause