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Like I said, she does look like she’s full of rabbit or something.
Oh, and your mom came over with a stack of something called “wellness dust.” She wants to put a display on the counter. I told her I had to ask you, and she went off in a huff.
Luckily, when I entered the restaurant, I found it empty. Hugh must be on his call and Charlie might be in the bathroom or up in his room. A delicious smell wafted from the breakfast buffet, and the staff bustled around, setting out a spread that was worthy of a magazine shoot.
“Good morning, Mina,” Donna greeted me as I passed through the door. “Were you and Oscar out for a walk?”
“Hello, Donna.” In the bright lighting of the restaurant, I could see that Donna was impeccably dressed in a linen suit. She was watching the servers arranging sprays of flowers on the buffet. “Yeah, we stepped out for a bit, but we didn’t get far when the rain started up.”
“Yeah, the weather’s supposed to be awful today, and a bad storm this evening. If trees come down the road may close, but at least it’s cozy here at the castle.” Donna swooped in on the buffet as soon as the servers moved away, and snapped a bunch of pictures.
“For the ’gram,” she explained to me as she tapped on the phone. “If we want to appeal to a new, wealthier, clientele, we have to beaspirational. My parents never bothered with social media, but I’ve grown Meddleworth’s following up to over twenty thousand.”
“That’s pretty impressive,” I said. “I do the social media for my bookshop back home, although Allan helps me now that my eyesight has worsened. I’ve learned a lot from brands and my favorite fashion labels about creating anexperience. A feeling. I do a lot of moody stacks of books and cozy reading corners and quotes about reading. Now, some people actually come to Argleton specifically because they follow our Instagram.”
“That’s exactly what I’m trying to achieve,” Donna beamed. She handed me her phone so I could scroll through the Meddleworth feed. I couldn’t make out a lot of the pictures but I was pleased to see that she was using alt tags with descriptions, so I could ‘read’ what the pictures were about. “It’s working, too. Meddleworth is becoming a must-visit destination for luxury travelers. I did a lot of this back in London, helping luxury brands build a media presence. I never thought I’d get to use my skills on this place…”
She trailed off, her gaze focusing across the room, where Morrie had told me a portrait of her parents hung on the wall.
“I’m so sorry to hear about your parents,” I said. “It must be hard to run this place without them. I know how much they loved it. I’m sure they’d be proud of what you achieved.”
“I hope so.” Her voice sounded far away. “It’s not easy. They put so much of themselves into Meddleworth, but they just couldn’t move with the times, and it just wasn’t enough to balance the books. Sometimes I think that it was really the stress of this place that killed them. When I finally got a look at the books, the bank was ready to sell the place. I know some people in the literary community don’t like the changes I’ve made, but all my parents writing and publishing friends came for was for the free booze and the scandalous parties. Meddleworth may have been the backdrop for every sordid literary scandal over the last two decades, but it never made my parents a cent. I’ve kept Hugh’s retreats because at least they actually bring in money, but Meddleworth’s days of offering cheap rates and free piss to anyone who claims to be a writer are behind us. I don’t want to say that we’re out of the woods yet, but things have been turning around.”
“If the food is anything to go by, I think you’ll be a millionaire.” I grinned as I squeezed my sodden hoodie. “I have to go. I need to change before any of the other writers see me like this. I guess I’ll see you for tonight’s dinner?”
“Oh, no, actually, I’ll be in today’s sessions with you,” Donna said. “I’ve been writing a book about Meddleworth House. It’s not a mystery novel, more of a history of the estate and a memoir about growing up here, and all the famous literary figures my parents entertained. It’s a little bit salacious, so I’m changing some names to protect the guilty. I was telling Hugh about it yesterday and he said that I could sit in on the classes and he’d take a look at the manuscript, see if it was something he might be interested in publishing.”
“Oh, that’s exciting.” I couldn’t help but think that Hugh Briston was probably the star of many of those salacious stories, but I didn’t dare believe that Donna would portray him as the disgusting man he truly was.
“Itisexciting. Oh, speaking of which, this is for you.” She shuffled through sheafs of paper in her oversize leather tote and pulled out a memory stick. “Hugh said I had to give all the writers an excerpt to critique. I printed off copies for the others, but I remembered you said you prefer electronic.”
“I do. Thank you.” I’d specifically mentioned on my application that I preferred written material in a digital format so I could read them on my Braille note. But often people forget, and I was thrilled that Donna remembered.
“You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy it. It was a lot of fun to write and research. And it will be great for business – people will flock to Meddleworth to stay in the place where all these real-life dramas took place.” Donna lowered her voice to a whisper. “All we need is a famous murder here in the hotel, and we’ll be set for life.”
That’s a weird thing to say.
“Er, yes, that would definitely help.” I plastered a smile on my face. Having being involved in several murder investigations now, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. “Especially if the victim’s ghost haunted the place.”
“Exactly. You’re a businesswoman like me. You get it. Sex and murder sell. Oh, and speaking of sex, I’m keen to hear more about your story, too. I read the first few chapters, and it’s positivelyracy. I haven’t read the other pieces. Hugh gave me copies, but I was up late last night chatting with him and Charlie Doyle in the bar so I didn’t get time…oh, I must fly.” Donna bent down and air-kissed both my cheeks. “I need to make sure everything on the estate is settled before I take the day off for the retreat. The storm warnings are getting worse, and I need to check that Jonathan has taken care of everything.”
“See you later.” I directed Oscar toward the staircase. The wind whistled down the chimneys and hammered at the castle walls. Jonathan hurried from the music room, Fergus trotting at his heels. I called out to him, but Jonathan was struggling into an oilskin raincoat and didn’t reply. The front door slammed behind him.
He must have a lot to do with this wild weather moving in.
Oscar and I ascended the staircase. The guest wing burst with noise and movement as writers and other guests emerged for breakfast. Morrie met me on the staircase, sweeping me into his arms and planting a knee-weakening kiss on my lips.
“I woke up and you weren’t there,” he whispered. “Heathcliff and I had to make our own fun.”
“I’m sure you managed,” I said with a smile.
“Oh, I managed so well that Sir Stroppywimple needs to lie in for a bit.” Morrie bit my earlobe. “But we missed you.”
“Quoth and I went to visit the ravens. They’re in an aviary, and he wants me to help him set them free.”
“Oh, our poor bleeding-heart birdie.” Morrie sighed, wrapping his arms around my waist, holding my body against his, my back perfectly notching against his chest. He rested his chin on the top of my head, and I smelled Heathcliff’s peaty scent clinging to him, mingling with his zesty grapefruit and vanilla in a way that drove me wild. “What are you going to do about it?”
My fingers trailed down his arm, stopping at the heavy gold watch on his wrist. Morrie had expensive designer taste, and I liked that he took the time to look good. “I’ll have a word to Jonathan about them. That’s all I can do.” I dropped my voice as Charlie slipped down the stairs beside us. I couldn’t see him glaring at us, but his animosity rolled over me like a wave, making me shudder. “I overheard an interesting conversation between Charlie and Hugh Briston.”
