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‘Fair enough. Don’t you want to know the cost?’
Alice decided that she would really rather not, in case she bottled out and told him to take her home instead. ‘It’s fine. I trust you.’
‘I’ve flicked on the meter.’
‘Good.’
The taxi driver threw her a last glance in his rear-view mirror, as if giving her one last opportunity to back out of her trip. Alice raised her eyebrows at him as if to say,what are you waiting for?
He shrugged, flicked his indicator and set off.
‘May I have that number of the guest house?’
‘Of course.’ The driver handed his phone to her over his shoulder. ‘I kept it up.’
Alice leaned forward in her seat and took the phone, ready to copy the number into her own phone.
That was when she discovered that it wasn’t in her handbag or her coat pocket. ‘Oh, blast, I’ve left my phone at home.’
The taxi driver glanced in his mirror. ‘Do you want me to turn around and go back?’
‘No, it’s fine.’ It wasn’t, but she couldn’t turn back now. Besides, it looked as though there were plenty of vacancies, so there wouldn’t be a problem if she didn’t book ahead. At least she hoped not.
‘Use my phone if you want to make a reservation,’ the taxi driver said.
‘Do you mind?’ Alice replied.
‘Not at all. Go right ahead. You wouldn’t want to travel all that way and discover you can’t get booked in, or they are closed this time of year.’
‘Good idea.’ Although the website said they had vacancies, that didn’t mean they were taking bookings.
Alice caught him staring at her. He looked away, as though embarrassed. She could feel her cheeks growing hot. When was the last time she’d caught the attention of a man that wasn’t her husband? She raised her eyebrows.It was at the guest house.She didn’t want to think about that. It made her wonder if this trip was going to turn out to be a bad idea.
‘So, have you been to this guest house before?’
Alice frowned. There it was again. It was as though the driver had a sixth sense. Then again, he met all sorts of people throughout his working day. It was probably no surprise that he could guess a thing or two about his passengers.
Alice leaned forward in her seat, not feeling inclined to get into a conversation about the guest house. ‘Do you mind putting on the radio?’
‘Ah, I can do one better!’
She watched him lean across to the glove compartment, open it, and get out a disc.
Moments later, they were listening to Frank Sinatra belting out a romantic song. Alice wasn’t a fan, but then again, the music was quite soothing, and Marley had stopped hissing at Hester, so that was a plus. Whether it had anything to do with the music, she had no idea. Alice stroked the top of Hester’s head. ‘Are you sure you don’t mind me using your phone?’
‘Of course not.’ The taxi driver lowered the volume for her to make a call.
‘Ah, hello. I want to book a room please.’ She waited with bated breath, hoping they were open out of season. ‘When did I want to book for? Tonight.’She heard the woman tapping on a keyboard.
A moment later, the young woman asked her if her stay would just be for the one night.
‘Ah.’ Alice hadn’t planned ahead.
‘We’re not busy this time of year. There are always vacancies, so if you only want to book for a night ...’
Alice wasn’t about to up and leave the next morning. ‘May I book for three nights, and then take it from there?’
‘Of course. So, I’ll book you in for a long weekend. What name, please?’
