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.