It
was once the home The Clerembeax’s, who arrived in Downshire following the
Norman conquests and stayed for a thousand years before the name died out
following the death of the reclusive Marcus Clerembeax at the age of 96.
The current owner was
Yvonne Labuschagne,
who decided to open it as a Hotel and Spa.
The
Spa was a good attraction, but it was crucial for them to maintain a high
occupancy rate, however things were tough in the Hotel trade with the success
of Travelodge, Premier Inn and Holiday Inn Express
and so places like the Palace needed to offer something extra to attract the
guests, apart from the Spa.
So they put on novelty weekends, such as “Murder
Mysteries” and in addition, they had a sizable Ballroom which was used for
special occasions, high days and holidays, which boosted occupancy and Spa
numbers at the same time, and among the employees were Evelyn Cooper, Jane Dooney and Ken Cake and
from very early on after they met it had seemed to the casual observer that they were to be an eternal
triangle for the whole summer and one of the girls would have landed Ken by
autumn, but she knew that Jane did, which was why she took
every opportunity to do something without the other two, so they might finally
realise they were a couple.
Not that the three of them didn’t enjoy passing some
of their spare time together, but Jane looked forward to the times when she
could get Ken all to herself.
Fortunately, Jane and Ken were late risers and as
Evelyn was always up with the lark she was often out the door on her days off
well before the other two surfaced.
But although she liked Ken and got to spend a lot of time
with him she wasn’t sure enough of herself to make her feelings known, and as
he was painfully shy he wasn’t going to make the first move, so they were at an
impasse, and it would take some surprising news to begin to break it.
Sometimes Evelyn would set off on foot through the
wood or go up to the stable and exercise one of the horses up at Stevens Farm
while on other days she would get in the car and explore the countryside, but
on one occasion she was invited to her sister Claire’s house one Friday night
in June, for her husband Jacks birthday.
There was no particular surprise in that, but what
shocked all her friends and colleagues was that when she left her sister’s
house she was engaged to Dean Kerley.
Jane was shocked at the revelation, not because Evelyn
wasn’t a catch, she very much was, and in fact she was lovely.
But what left Jane gobsmacked was the fact that when
she left the village on Friday afternoon she was not only single but didn’t
even have a boyfriend.
“How did she manage that?” Jane asked herself and the
answer was that Evelyn was much more outgoing than Jane and that combined with
an excess of alcohol brought the engagement about.
But not only was Jane reserved she was also teetotal
so shedding her inhibitions in an alcohol haze was not an option.
The wedding date was set for the following year at St
Giles’ Church in Clerembeax, and in their little triangle the talk was of
little else with Jane to be a bridesmaid and Ken an usher, but despite the
additional time together Jane and Ken still couldn’t get beyond just being
friends.
A week before the wedding was the obligatory hen
night, organised by Evelyn’s sister Claire, which consisted of all the girls
from the Hotel, who could get the night off, her friends from the village, plus
Yvonne Labuschagne and Hannah Morgan.
It was held at the Clerembeax Spa Hotel and was a
weekend centred more on pampering and preening than drinking and was followed
by a lavish meal in the Hotel Restaurant.
Evelyn made sure that Jane and Ken were sat together
in the hope that they might finally break the ice, but nothing happened.
The wedding, the following Saturday, was a fairy tale
affair at St Giles’ Church and every woman present was jealous to the core and
such was Evelyn popularity in the village the Church was full to the gunwales.
St Giles’ was a pretty little Church and was made even
more so by the addition of flowers and dressings of appropriate finery.
The wedding party were conveyed to and from the Church
on a Governess Cart, a small two-wheeled horse-drawn cart with a small tub body
decorated with flowers, pulled by a set white horses and led by Rose and Muriel
from the stables at Stevens Farm.
Jane arrived at the church with the other Bridesmaids
shortly before the Bride, in the pale pink dresses and stood by the Lych-gate
where Ken was performing his duties as Usher.
When Evelyn appeared on the arm of her Father there
was an audible gasp.
“She’s absolutely stunning” Jane said, “Have you ever
seen anyone more beautiful?”
“Yes, every time I look at you” Ken said, and she
gasped, then he panicked when he realised what he’d said, but then she smiled
and took hold of his hand.
After a very moving ceremony through which Jane cried
most of the way, the reception was held at the Clerembeax Spa Hotel and Jane
and Ken were once again seated beside each other, but this time they did break
the ice and held hands all through the proceedings stopping only when it was
time to eat and resumed again at the earliest opportunity.
Their first kiss came later on the south terrace in
the moonlight and despite the fact it had been keenly anticipated it was
measured and unhurried and was lingeringly long.
It was a kiss they would repeat countless time, though
in that location only once more, which was twelve months later at their own
wedding.
