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It wasn’t a young woman – the receptionist she’d spoken to on the phone – who answered the door, but a large fellow with dark, curly hair and a greying beard beneath a jolly smile. He was wearing jeans and a thick jumper.
‘I have a room reservation. My name is Mrs Beaumont.’
‘I’m Gerald. Come in, come in. I don’t normally do this sort of thing. I leave the running of the guest house to my wife.’ He reached for the cases.
Marley chose that moment to hiss at Gerald.
‘Marley!’ Alice exclaimed, wondering when Gerald was going to tell her that she could only bring one well-behaved dog.
Gerald chuckled. ‘Marley. What a great name for a cat.’
‘Sorry about that, he’s not normally …’ Alice trailed off in the middle of her outright lie. Hewasusually grumpy, and hissy if something wasn’t to his liking, which included most things lately.
Gerald turned to the cat. ‘Now, don’t let my beard worry you. I am really a big softie.’ He picked up the cat carrier and the suitcase.
She noticed he had said nothing about Percy, as though it was quite normal for someone to turn up with a hissy cat, a dog and a parrot.
Alice let out a sigh of relief as she stepped through the doorway. It didn’t look as though the pets would be a problem.
As they stepped into the wide square hallway, Alice couldn’t help but admire the polished, warm mahogany panelling that reached halfway up the walls and the pretty delicate flowered wallpaper above. It was so different from what she remembered. She was sure the panelling had been painted cream and the walls an austere white.
‘Wow,’ she said to Gerald as she approached the little reception desk, ‘this looks so different to when I was here before.’ She silently berated herself for letting that slip. She had planned not to mention her visit years earlier.
Gerald looked at her. ‘Sorry, I don’t remember you.’ He must have gleaned from her expression that she didn’t recognise him either, because he added, ‘I’ve changed somewhat over the years.’ He patted his ample stomach. ‘I’m a fisherman, so I don’t always get to meet the guests. It must have been some time ago that you stayed here. We did this place up years ago.’
Alice smiled. ‘I’m afraid it was a very long time ago, soon after I got married. We came here the first time for our honeymoon.’
Gerald’s face dropped. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’
‘Oh, you don’t have to apologise. The place was lovely back then, even though it needed updating.’
‘Um, I was talking about your husband.’
Alice looked at him bewildered until she realised he must have thought she was there on her own because she was either widowed or divorced. ‘We’re in the process of moving house, so I left my husband to the packing. I wanted to get away for a bit, have a break. On my own.’
‘Ah, I see.’
Alice frowned. She could tell by his expression he still didn’t understand why she’d booked her break alone.
Percy broke the awkward silence.’Liar, liar, pants on fire!’
‘Percy!’ Alice apologised. ‘My daughter, when she was small, taught Percy some naughty words.’ He has a rather long memory, and a penchant for coming out with them just at the wrong moment.’ Alice could feel her face flushing red in embarrassment.
Gerald burst out laughing. ‘Don’t apologise! Dear me, you’ve got your hands full, though.’ His gaze shifted from Percy to Marley. ‘And who’s this fella down here?’
Hester furiously wagged her tail as Gerald knelt down and gave her a stroke.
‘That’s Hester.’ Alice smiled at her dog. At least she could rely on Hester to be the sweet-natured dog she was.
‘That’s an unusual name for a dog. I like it, though.’
‘Yes, my daughter who loves archaeology named her after a famous American archaeologist – Hester Davis.’
Alice heard a woman’s voice behind them. ‘Sorry I wasn’t around when you arrived. Just had to spend a penny.’
She thought the voice sounded familiar. She guessed it was the young lady she had spoken to over the phone when she made the booking.
Gerald walked over to the reception desk. ‘Ah, this is Emily.’
