The Cosy Teashop in the Castle Page 15

  The door opened. ‘Hi.’ She was there with a sunny smile just for him, dressed in a cute flowery top and jeans.

  Wow, she looked great. ‘Hi. You look lovely.’

  Her smile broadened. ‘I might need to borrow Deana’s boots again, if that’s okay? If we’ll be walking on the beach, that is?’ He looked down at her footwear. She was in those black plimsoll things again, not ideal.

  ‘No problem. I’m sure she won’t mind. We can pick them up on the way out.’

  ‘I’ll just pop on my coat.’ Ellie went back into the room, leaving the door opened wide.

  He looked in. She’d made it really cosy and rather stylish, all red-and-white bed linen with cushions and nick-nack things that women seemed to love. It looked like a different room altogether from the rather dreary one he’d offered her those few weeks ago. In fact, the castle seemed a different place from what it had been before she had got there.

  ‘Right, I’m ready.’ She had put her red mac on. He liked her in that. It was bright and cheery, just like her.

  They were soon off in his VW Golf. He put his foot down, knowing there’d be no tourists hanging around the castle today, and sped off up the driveway. It was great zipping through the country lanes with a gorgeous-looking woman in the passenger seat. He was feeling better about his decision to ask her out. It would be a chance to get to know her a bit more. And then he might be clearer about what next, or if there should be a ‘next’.

  ‘Have you been to the beach here before? We’re heading to Bamburgh?’

  She gave him another smile. He remembered those lips on his, it put him off his driving for a second. He tried hard to focus on the bend ahead.

  ‘I might have done … as a little kid. Though we didn’t tend to come up this far. I can remember having fish and chips at Amble and ice-skating in Whitley Bay.’

  ‘Was that when you were younger, as a kid, in Newcastle?’

  ‘Yeah, what about you? Did you have days out, trips up the coast?’

  ‘No, not often. There wasn’t an awful lot of spare cash for days out. Once or twice we went out to Tynemouth on the bus. I remember having an ice cream down by the castle. And the seagulls going crazy. Mam was usually busy working, though. I’d sometimes go with her, especially when I was younger. Some big posh houses she’d clean, we used to have to take the bus out to those. And then she used to do the cleaning for a couple of factories near our house. They weren’t so glamorous, mind.’

  * * *

  Ellie

  His home life sounded very different from hers, even though they hadn’t lived that far from each other.

  ‘Oh, I see.’ But she couldn’t really. Couldn’t imagine it being anything but her and her close-knit family. ‘Do you have any brothers or sisters?’ He had never mentioned anyone.

  ‘No, just me and my mam. It was okay. We always got on fine. And then when I was a bit older I had my mates, we’d play footie when Mam was off on her cleaning jobs on a Saturday. There was a bit of rough grass near our house, mind you it was more gravel than grass. Scuffed your knees to bits if you went down. There wasn’t a lot of diving in our matches.’ He gave a wry grin, ‘Happy days, huh!’

  She had a feeling that sometimes they had been far from that.

  Majestic on the skyline, a towering, walled castle of salmon-pink stone came into view. Beyond it was the metal blue of the sea, and she got that little thrill she always used to at seeing the coast. She and Jay used to sit in the back of the car, willing that line of deep blue to come into view, and be the first to shout out. She held back from calling out now, in case Joe thought her a total nutter.

  ‘Now, there’s a castle for you, Bamburgh.’

  It really was impressive, with several layers of walls and lookouts. Even from here she was sure she could see cannons – it must have scared the living daylights out of any potential attackers. She wondered about its history.

  ‘Does anyone live there now?’ she asked, thinking about Lord Henry rattling about in their own castle.

  ‘Yes, I believe so, the Armstrong family. Some pad, hey?’

  ‘Hmn, and I bet they have tearooms, or tea palaces in there. We could maybe eye up the opposition?’

  ‘Let’s hit the beach first.’

  They drove through the village of stone cottages, quaint shops, a pub and hotel, which was set around a grassy, tree-lined green. Joe turned the car into a narrow lane that took them down towards the dunes, where they pulled up. The castle dominated the skyline here too, commandeering the view out across the gunmetal blue-grey of the North Sea. The tide was out and the golden sands of the beach stretched as far as you could see. People looked tiny, like something out of Gulliver’s Travels on the sands there. As she stepped out of the car, Ellie could hear the ‘husshh’ of the rolling waves, the cry of a circling gull, the beating of her heart. She was suddenly nervous, being here with Joe. She wanted everything to go well. She wanted him to like her.

  She started gabbling on about the lovely view, and that she wasn’t sure if she had been here before, she would surely have remembered a view like that. … And then he took her hand, held it warm in his, as they made their way down the sandy path between the spiky marram grass. That silenced her.

  The early May wind raked through her hair and made her eyes smart as they got on to the beach. It swirled the soft sands around their feet. The pair of them walked, chatting comfortably – about work, her visit home last week.

  ‘My lot are threatening to come up for a day out soon. That’ll be fun.’ She was playing mock-horror, but was looking forward to it really.

  ‘That’ll be nice for you.’

  ‘You reckon?’ she joked. ‘Does your mum ever come up?’ She seemed to remember asking that before, as she was saying it.

  He stared ahead, answering, ‘No … no. I generally go down there.’ His tone was blunt, then softened, ‘I try and visit fairly often, though maybe not as often as I should.’

  ‘Oh, okay.’ Ellie willed him to go on, but didn’t want to probe.

  They walked across the line of dried seaweed and straggled shells, the debris of the last few tides, and kept to the soft, flat sand, going a good mile or so southwards down the coast. He didn’t let her hand go all the while. He seemed so much more relaxed with her today, and that was lovely.

  ‘Ready to turn back?’ As they switched direction, they broke hands as they turned, but she felt comfortable enough to loop her arm through the crook of his elbow, and snuggled in a bit closer. It felt good, but then her conscience warned her: this is how it all starts, then you get in too deep. This is how you get hurt. They leave you, they betray you. Could she do this all again? But Joe was different; Joe wasn’t Gavin. She had to give him a chance and, blimey, it was such early days, they might just realise they weren’t really suited and it would all fizzle out anyhow. But with her arm through his and their bodies side by side, it felt that they were meant to be that way. She felt all buzzy inside having a tall, handsome man, with floppy dark hair and a fantastic grin walking alongside her. They looked like any other long-standing couple out for a stroll, and yet this was all so new and exciting it almost hurt.

  ‘So what do you fancy for lunch, then? There’s a couple of great pubs, or we could drive along for fish and chips in Seahouses. Or we could try the teashop?’

  ‘No, no teashop, much as I’d like to suss out the opposition, maybe not today after all. I fancy a total break. A pub sounds fine if they do good food?’

  ‘They do great food. I’ll take you to the Cross Keys.’

  The Cross Keys was just off the village green in a row of old stone cottages. Despite it being early May, there was a roaring log fire and a cosy feel with tartan-patterned carpets and a dark-wood bar. She eyed up the homemade fishcakes with a side salad on the specials board, or thought she might go for the scampi and chips. They found a small round table and sat on stools. The conversation was easy-going as they joked together about the latest stories of life in the cast
le – there was always something daft or unusual going on. Last week, they’d had a couple locked in, Joe told her. They’d gone off the tour guide route, probably being nosy. Derek and Malcolm had checked all the main viewing rooms, as per usual, before shutting up for the night. Well, this pair had ignored all the private signs and headed off for a tour of Lord Henry’s living quarters so it seemed. Luckily for them, Henry was out or they’d have been met by an aristocratic bear with a very sore head at the invasion of his privacy; though it would have served them right. Joe had found them battering at the inside of the main castle door, shouting for ‘Help’ at 7 o’clock at night, desperately trying to get out.

  Ellie had to laugh.

  ‘So, do you feel you’ve settled in at the castle? Is it what you expected?’ he asked her.

  ‘I wasn’t sure what to expect, to be honest. It’s all been a steep learning curve. But I love the teashop, and the baking and yeah, well, I have to admit the business side is challenging sometimes, but I’m doing my best.’ She felt she could be open with him.

  ‘I think you’re doing well, honestly. I know you’ve had a lot to take on board. But the tearooms are looking great, and the food even better.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Wow. She gave a mental air punch and smiled.

  She decided to order the fishcakes, which were scrummy. Joe chose the steak-and-ale pie. It looked delicious. His knee moved to rest gently against hers at one point in the meal and she felt her own leg melt like jelly. She tried to ignore it, but it felt quite sexy and a bit naughty – or maybe that was just down to the fact she hadn’t actually had any physical contact with a man in months.

  People were in and out, eating, drinking, chatting. Then, too soon, it was time to go. Joe settled the bill, even though she offered to halve it, insisting that he pay this time; it had been his suggestion to come out. It was only a short walk to the car, as he’d driven up from the beach to park in the village, no hand-holding this time. She wondered how it would be when they were back at the castle, would they have to go back to appearing all professional? She wondered if he would give her a goodbye kiss as they went back to their rooms, or in the car before they got out. She realised she’d like another kiss, very much.

  She enjoyed watching him drive on the way back; the way he handled the gearstick, his long fingers, neat nails. He drove well, on the edge of fast, but it still felt safe. He evidently knew the roads. As they entered the tall black wrought-iron gates of the castle, she realised that she didn’t want this date, or day, to end. She glanced at her watch – it was only three-thirty, it seemed odd to go back to their own rooms and listen to him wandering about, the faint drone of his telly above her. The castle was quiet, no tourists today, no Deana in the office, no tearoom staff to see them … There might be all sorts of possibilities.

  There was just Colin pottering about by the main entrance, tidying the border there. They parked up.

  ‘Thanks, that was really lovely – the walk, the lunch, everything.’ She was building up the courage to ask him back to her room for a coffee. She wasn’t sure if it was just coffee herself yet, when there was a rap on the driver’s window.

  Joe pressed a button for the window to come down.

  Colin appeared at the side of the car, ‘Lord Henry’s been looking for you.’ He tipped his cap, then, seeing Ellie there. ‘I said I’d thought you’d gone out, what with the car gone, but he seemed quite keen to catch up with you. I said I’d tell you as soon as I saw you come back.’

  ‘Oh, I see. Okay. I’ll go and find out what’s up.’ With that, Joe was up and out of the car, muttering, ‘Sorry, Ellie.’ But already he seemed distant, as if he was wondering if there might be a problem. She’d barely climbed out of the car when he’d flown up the castle steps, with a brief, ‘Catch you later,’ shouted over his shoulder.

  ‘Yes, okay, see you later.’ Disappointment plummeted through her like a stone.

  * * *

  Joe

  Joe knocked on Lord Henry’s door.

  ‘Come in.’ The voice was cool, stern. As Joe opened the door, his boss uttered, ‘Ah, at last,’ grouchily adding, ‘Where the devil have you been?’

  Joe felt like saying it was his day off and that he was allowed to go out wherever and with whom he liked, his thoughts still lingering with Ellie. It was a bugger he’d been called away like that. Typical. Things had seemed to be going really well with her. But he knew better than to wind Lord Henry up, especially when he was already grumpy. Joe was curious as to what this was all about.

  ‘Is this right, what I’ve been hearing from Mrs Allan?’ Mrs Allan was the lady who cleaned Lord Hogarth’s apartments once a week. ‘That you’re planning on making us into a wedding venue? Roping in local florists and the like?’ His face was stormy. ‘And when the hell were you thinking of telling me, seeing as I own the damned place?’

  Oh shit. Someone had been talking, and the cat was out of the bag before he’d had the chance to prepare and brief Lord Henry properly. Bloody hell! Who had been gossiping? But hardly anyone else knew. This might jeopardise everything.

  ‘Yes, it’s right.’ Joe’s tone remained calm. He may as well be honest. There was no point beating about the bush now. ‘I have been looking into the wedding idea. But there’s nothing in place as yet. I wanted to find out as much as I could before I discussed it with you, so I could present you with the full information.’

  ‘Well surely you’d realise I don’t want even more people traipsing around my home, getting themselves tipsy in the great hall or in some marquee out on my lawn. You’ll be turning the castle into a God-damned theme park next.’ His cheeks were puffed out and red with indignation.

  ‘No, of course not, Lord Henry. Yes, it would be busy on the wedding-event days, admitted, but it seems a really excellent way of bringing extra income to the castle, and looking at the latest accounting figures we certainly need it.’

  ‘Well, yes, I had noticed,’ the elder man admitted grudgingly.

  ‘The weddings would just be a few pre-booked dates, probably on a Saturday, or maybe over a weekend if we opened up rooms for the night.’

  ‘Rooms?’

  ‘Maybe, yes, in time. We’d close the castle to general visitors on the wedding dates, so that would mean fewer visitors than now, but ones who were willing to pay a lot more money to have this fantastic castle as a venue. And, yes, they might want to stay overnight. Why not?’

  ‘Christ! We’re turning into a hotel now, are we?’ His grey brows were knitting together with frustration.

  ‘Look, just let me get all the facts and information together, like I was planning on doing. I’m nearly there, and then we can have a proper meeting and talk everything through with figures to back it up. I’d like the chance to explain fully what I’m proposing and the income opportunities relating to it.’ Joe stayed calm, giving it his best shot. ‘Letting the rooms out overnight would come much later. It’s not something I’d be planning straight away.’ Too many costs involved, and they couldn’t possibly let out the rooms as they were now. But he didn’t mention that to Lord H. It was definitely on a need-to-know basis at this stage. ‘So there’d really be minimal disruption, at least to trial the idea initially.’

  Lord Henry just raised his eyebrows, his narrowed eyes betraying his scepticism.

  ‘We’d just start by advertising as a wedding venue once the licence was in place,’ Joe continued, ‘I’ve already put feelers out with the local council. It wouldn’t be a difficult process.’

  ‘You have been busy.’ Lord Henry’s tone was sarcastic. ‘I just don’t like being kept in the dark … and then to hear it from the God-damned cleaner.’

  ‘Yes, well I apologise for that.’ He was going to have to have words with Ellie … he was beginning to realise it was the only way it could have got out. ‘That shouldn’t have happened, I’m sorry. But round here one tiny strand of information gets out and the whole of Northumberland seems to know about it.’ Now Ellie was in his mind. �
�I was thinking of catering too,’ he added, ‘Using Ellie from the teashop for buffets and the like. Or we might bring in outside caterers for a sit-down meal, if they wanted silver service.’

  ‘So, you’ve been discussing all this with that Ellen girl, then?’ The words hung heavily, meaning before he had been advised of anything himself. ‘Just be careful of getting in too thick with the staff.’

  What the hell did he mean by that? The cheeky bastard. Joe felt his temper flare. He felt protective about Ellie, even if she might have inadvertently let on about the wedding idea. ‘Anyway, she’s not staff as such, she’s a leaseholder here,’ he countered. And Christ! Henry was a fine one to talk – the hypocritical old codger. With everything, everything that had gone on. Joe felt like decking him, his fist was itching, but he held back enough just to give him a stare of steel. Losing control now wouldn’t help his case with the wedding-venue proposals.

  ‘How’s the girl getting on, anyway?’ Lord Henry seemed to realise he’d overstepped the mark, his tone softened.

  ‘Good. Yes, Ellie’s doing really well.’ Joe emphasised the correct version of her name. ‘The teashop takings are up a third on last year already.’ It had been a bloody poor year last year, and Ellie was starting to turn things around. ‘She’s met all her lease payments. And the customers seem very happy. There’s been some great feedback on the food and venue on Trip Advisor.’

  ‘Trip-a-Whattie?’

  ‘Trip Advisor. It’s a site on the internet.’

  ‘Oh, bloody computer stuff, is it?’ Lord Henry was always sceptical about anything to do with a computer.