Shallowfield sat on the southern edge of
the Finchbottom Vale and was bordered on the other side by the Dancingdean
forest and the town’s fortunes had always relied largely upon forestry and
agriculture for its survival.
In the post war years with rationing and a
shortage of work a lot of people moved away from the area and it only just
survived and the community around Teardrop Lake fared even worse.
Only a few of the houses around the Lake
were thriving, a lot of the houses had been rented out and those that hadn’t
were in a poor state of repair, some too such an extent they were little more
than ruins.
But by the 70s however things were
beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism as a result of an increase in
leisure time.
This trend was reflected by the fact that
the previously derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young
couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown, was being turned into a Hotel.
From then on Shallowfield went from
strength to strength which was echoed by the fortunes of the Claremont Hotel.
It was once the home of a wealthy Downshire
family but like so many similar great houses in the county it fell into disuse
as the fortunes of the owners suffered after the Great War.
It had had many reincarnations since then,
particularly in the years between the wars and had been used for many things
over the post war years but it wasn’t until the 60s that it became The Claremont Hotel.
However things had got tough in the Hotel
trade with the success of Travelodge, Premier Inn and Holiday Inn Express and so places like
the Claremont needed to offer something extra to attract the guests.
In the early summer a new manager was
appointed, Matthew Millward, and he was an instant hit with the locals
because
he was young, tall, dark and handsome, physically fit, well-toned and had a
reputation as a fair minded guy, which had very much preceded him.
He was 28 years old and his father owned the Millward Manor chain of
hotels and he was grooming him to one day take over the reins of his worldwide
hotel empire, the problem was that Matt had no head for business and he felt
that he was more of an artistic soul.
Which could possibly have been ignored but for the fact that he had
broken off his engagement with the granddaughter of his father’s oldest friend.
However that in itself wasn’t what had him exiled, it was Elaine’s
attempted suicide, not that his action had caused her mental meltdown, it was
rather more her mental instability being the deciding factor that forced him to
end the engagement.
So it was decided to send Matt to the Claremont Hotel where he could do
no real harm until the dust settled.
When he first found out he was being sent
to Shallowfield, Matt was very unhappy, he was a city boy, born and bred, and
he viewed being sent to the country as purgatory, but no one was more surprised
than he was when he found that he actually loved it, it was a beautiful place,
it was quiet and the air was clean and he felt immediately at home.
After the broken engagement and the
resulting fall out he decided that Matthew Millward would not under any
circumstances get himself romantically entangled while he was on punishment
duty.
But there is a very apt saying which goes “never on your
own doorstep” which he had clearly never heard because on his first day he fell
head over heels for the Hospitality Manager, Sarah Poole, although in his
defence the feeling was mutual.
He had met the staff informally at the beginning of the day and then
chose to do a walk around and meet people again where they worked.
He had noticed her among the group dressed
in her uniform of a blue skirt and jacket with a crisp white blouse.
She was five foot eight with short red
hair, in a pixie cut, mesmerizing green eyes and a cute figure with curves in
all the right places and long slender legs.
Sarah was 26 years old and wasn’t looking
for a relationship either because she was married, albeit to an alcoholic who
hadn’t shown her any marital attention for two years but she was still married
to him nonetheless.
Sarah had worked at the hotel since she
left school, five years in housekeeping,
five more in hospitality, and for two of those as Manager and she loved her
job.
When Matt went on his walkabout he could see Sarah Poole as soon as he walked into the lounge, she wasn’t
wearing her uniform but he recognised her from the earlier meeting because of
her stunning legs and the other thing he noticed when he finished staring at
her legs was that she was definitely flirting with him.
“Hello” he said “Shouldn’t you be working”
“I’m on my break,” she answered with a smile
“Oh I’m sorry,” he said “I was just looking for someone to show me
around, not to worry”
“No I’ll do it” she said eagerly and picked up her bag
“But I need the loo first”
“Well ok then” he said and five minutes later she returned looking
flushed and surrounded by a cloud of freshly applied perfume and he noticed her
makeup had been repaired.
He clearly spent a little too long studying her because she blushed and
said
“We can go now”
And she strode off
“Great” he said and broke into a jog to follow her as Sarah led him down
a corridor, and through a door that said staff only.
Sarah soon regained her composure and the tour continued and lasted for
about an hour and they talked casually like old friends all the way and when
they were done they headed down the back stairs to complete the tour.
Which was when Sarah slipped on the bottom step and fell against Matt
and inadvertently pushed him back against the wall where she had a rush of
blood to the head and kissed him.
A kiss which took him by surprise but only for a second and then he was
joining in and her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
“Well I’m not sure this is what my dad had in mind when he sent me here”
He said when they finally came up for air
“Oh God” she exclaimed “This is bad, this is very bad”
“I don’t think it’s so bad” he said
“No it’s really bad” Sarah said extricating herself from his arms “I’m a
married woman”
And she rushed away mumbling to herself
“I know that he’s gorgeous, and I know that
you really like him, and that was a smoking hot kiss, but none of that matters,
because you can’t have him”
Even though she really wanted him with
every fibre of her being.
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