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.
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 Matthew Millward decided that he 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.
Although
apart from two very passionate kisses, the first initiated by her and the
second by him, and the fact they were hopelessly in love with each other
nothing else happened.
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 had shown her any marital attention
for two years but she was still married to him nonetheless.
Sarah had
worked at the hotel for since she left school, five years in housekeeping, five more in hospitality, and
for two of those as Manager and she loved her job.
Despite the
fact that Matthew was sent to the Claremont as a punishment and possessed no
head for business he surprised his father as well as himself by doing a very
acceptable job of managing the hotel and had grown the corporate side of the
business and it was becoming a very popular venue for functions.
This was as
a result in no small measure to his decision to promote the former Hospitality
Manager Sarah Poole.
This was
after Martin Tyrer tendered his resignation, he had been a loyal employee of
the Millward Manor group for ten years and had been the Assistant Manager at
the Claremont for 5 of those and when the Manager’s vacancy came up he believed
he was a shoe in for the job.
So when Matthew Millward was parachuted in over his head it was just too
much for him to take.
It left
Matthew in a very difficult position as he needed someone who knew the place
inside out and Sarah Poole was the only person that really fitted the bill so
he offered her the job.
Matthews
father was particularly pleased with him, there had been no reported mishaps
and he had turned around the fortunes of the hotel, and so he invited him up to
Abbottsford for the weekend for a celebratory meal but as he was conscious that
his success was due more to Sarah Poole’s efforts than his own he dragged her
along as well.
The following weekend he went on his own, the meal was very good and it was nice to
see his parents but he didn’t stay the whole weekend as he was missing the
quiet of Claremont.
And in
truth he was a little embarrassed taking all the credit for the success at the Claremont
plus he rather missed Sarah.
Matthew felt
very pleased with himself for persuading Sarah to take the assistant Managers
job although it was for purely selfish reasons.
Having
Sarah as assistant manager, who was not only hard working and diligent but
could also handle the guests very well, meant he could comfortably leave her in
charge while he was doing what he did best, letting other people get on with
it.
Sarah Poole
was five foot eight with long shapely legs, but in his leather chair she looked
quite small, almost childlike, her head, with her pixie cut red hair was turned
to the side and she had an angelic look on her face.
It was a
pretty face that he was very familiar with, he saw it every day at work and
every night in his dreams.
Matthew Millward’s
arrival at the hotel had a massive impact on Sarah Poole, and not just the fact
that she fell in love with him at first sight and the relationship that had
developed between them after she had stolen a kiss on his first day.
She had
been promoted from Hospitality Manager into the assistant manager’s position
and she had been able to leave her alcoholic husband because she was living in
the Gate Lodge.
And Matthew
had decided that because she had done such a wonderful job, to such an extent
that she was making him look good, coupled with the fact that he was in love
with her, he decided she deserved a reward, and he knew just the thing, her own
office.
Which he
surprised her with in November after Sarah had a week off to move the remainder
of her possessions from her former marital home in the village to her new home
at the Gate Lodge and she was thrilled
with it.
Although
Sarah was living in the gate lodge and had started the process of divorcing her
alcoholic husband, and had completely lost her heart to her boss, they had not progressed
from sharing the occasional spine-tingling kiss.
She knew
though that he was just being the gentleman and was waiting until she was
ready, well by December she was.
It was on
Christmas Eve when Sarah was sitting in her office opening the mail and she had
a rather large parcel addressed to her personally, she opened it and found a
gift wrapped present inside but she didn’t open it, she just read the card
instead
“Have a
very Merry Christmas Sarah, with love from a very grateful Guest”
“Well
that’s lovely” she said to herself and then she remembered that she had a
present to deliver as well.
After she
had finished opening the mail she ordered what sounded like a very interesting
sandwich from the kitchen which turned out to be rather boring so she drank the
cup of tea that came with it and decided to go and deliver a present of her
own.
Sarah stood
in the hall holding a Christmas package when she knocked on the door of his
suite.
When the
door opened she found Matthew Millward standing there wearing a dressing gown.
“Happy
Christmas Matthew” she said beaming a big smile and holding out the package.
“Wow Happy
Christmas Sarah” he responded, “come in”
“Ok” she
said still smiling broadly “but no impropriety”
“No impropriety”
he agreed and Sarah stepped inside
“You didn’t
have to get me a gift,” he said to her as she sat down on the sofa.
“I think I
did though because last Christmas Ken was drunk for ten days in a row, we had
no decorations, because he ripped them all down in a drunken rage, no tree for
the same reason, no Christmas dinner because he spent all the housekeeping
money on booze and there were no presents” she said and tears were beginning to
form in her eyes
“This year,
I have a new job, which I love, I have somewhere I can call home, which I love,
I have my own office, which I also love, I have money in the bank and a bright
future ahead and it’s all thanks to you”
He tried to
interrupt but Sarah continued
“If you
hadn’t helped me, believed in me, I wouldn’t be here now having the best
Christmas I’ve ever had since I was child, and I will always be grateful for
that, and the other things of course” she added and blushed as she stood up and
produced a sprig of mistletoe.
“Doesn’t
that constitute “impropriety”?” he asked
“No this
doesn’t count” she explained
“We have to
kiss, it’s the law”
“What law?”
he asked
“Christmas
law” Sarah replied
“Oh ok then”
he conceded and they kissed and afterwards she said
“I don’t
want to have to use mistletoe like this again”
“Ok I’ll
try and remember for next year”
“No that’s
not what I mean” She said and smiled “I want to be able to kiss you at any time
I want, wherever I want, no matter who might be looking”
“Are you
sure?” he asked
“Absolutely,
it’s time for me to be happy” she replied and kissed him again.
After
satisfying the Christmas ritual and establishing the new status of their
relationship, she left his suite.
Matthew was
leaving to spend Christmas in Abbottsford with his parents while she was on
duty.
She had volunteered
to give people with family the time off, but they would be spending New Year’s
Eve together and the New Year would be their new beginning.
“Happy
Christmas to me, I’ve got a boyfriend” she said as she walked down the hall
smiling broadly.
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