Page 36 of The Village Inn of Secret Dream

Belle made a face. ‘We like being independent,’ she told him.

‘And I like having money in the bank,’ he replied.

‘Couldn’t we just do bar food?’ she asked. ‘Surely we don’t need to have a restaurant when it’s never mattered before. How do you know if anyone will even come?’

‘They’ll come if there’s a decent chef here,’ he said. ‘We want modern, beautifully presented food that will attract punters from miles around.’

Belle made a face. ‘Modern food?’ she said.

He shook his head. ‘I understand that the inn needs to be the heart of the community,’ he said. ‘Can’t you see that I’m trying to save it for you? I mean, for everyone?’

‘A fancy restaurant?’ she murmured, still trying to take it in.

‘It’s not open for discussion,’ he told her. ‘I’m going to make this a successful business even if it kills me.’

‘Not unless I get there first,’ she said, before walking away.

She was so annoyed with Pete’s attitude.

It hurt because they had always been so close. When she had first arrived, she had thought the Kennedy boys would be too sophisticated and cool to play with her as they were a couple of years older. But they were always messing around in the village and the countryside beyond so she had joined in, ever the tomboy at that age.

The anger went out of her as quickly as it had arrived, replaced almost immediately by sadness. Because it seemed as if their friendship really was buried in the past.

20

Monday and Friday nights were Belle’s normal nights off from the inn for as long as she could remember. But she was unsure as to how that would fit in with Pete. However, Grandma Tilly had caught her in the lane that morning and asked if Belle had remembered to pop in again that evening to help with more quilts. Normally it wouldn’t have been an issue, but with nobody else other than Pete to help behind the bar, it was a problem.

In addition, Grandma Tilly once more wanted their get-together to be kept secret from the family which Belle still didn’t understand but reluctantly agreed to.

So Belle was going to have to lie to Pete about meeting his own grandmother for an hour or so.

Not that she wasn’t grateful to take a break from the inn that evening. She had endured a day of clattering and clanging whilst the scaffolding had been put up around the inn. The Black Swan was now completely surrounded by a shroud of metalwork and was almost unrecognisable underneath.

Customers were still able to head between the poles to get to the front door, which was essential as they needed to stay open despite the mess. But at least everything remained the same on the inside, for now. Because Pete had opened up the door through to the second lounge downstairs to try to imagine what was going to be the new restaurant area.

That evening, once more, Belle found him standing in the dark space looking across the large room.

In truth, she had almost forgotten about the second lounge as the doorway through to it had been blocked for so very long. She could barely remember it ever being used and that had to have been at least fifteen years ago. She was surprised that it was such a large space. It had a fireplace that mirrored the one on the other side of the chimney breast in the main bar area. But apart from some very old and tatty-looking chairs, it was devoid of anything else.

Pete, however, was very pleased with the space. ‘It’s going to be great,’ he said, nodding at the darkness beyond. ‘We can get loads of tables in here.’

Belle still wasn’t so sure. If there were hardly any customers in the normal bar on a daily basis, what was the point in making the place even bigger with a fancy restaurant? But it was his money, she supposed.

She looked back at the main bar where only one customer sat by the fireplace. Ned Shearing had lived in the village for many years, but his brusque, somewhat abrupt manner meant that he didn’t appear willing or able to socialise at any of the events. Lucy had told Belle that she never saw him in the community hub, which was a shame as that was a good meeting point for the villagers these days. Ned lived alone in his cottage a few roads away and came into the inn on a Monday night where he would sit alone for exactly an hour before leaving.

‘I’m just heading out for an hour or two,’ Belle told Pete.

He spun round to look at her in surprise. ‘You are?’

‘It’s my night off,’ she told him. ‘I did remind you of that earlier.’

‘I know. So, what are you up to?’ he asked.

‘Oh, er, I’m just meeting someone,’ she stammered.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise at her lack of information. ‘Who?’

‘Just someone,’ she told him, zipping up her winter coat. ‘I’m sure you can handle the rush in the meantime.’