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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