An hour or so later, after a reviving shower and half an hour working on her laptop back at the auberge, Belinda decided there was time before dinner to make a couple of Skype calls, one to Chloe and one to Nigel.
She rang Chloe first because of the twins’ bedtime. Closing the connection afterwards, Belinda sighed. Although relieved to hear they were all well, she was missing them already and she’d only just arrived.
Afterwards, she rang Nigel. As soon as they’d exchanged the normal pleasantries, she dived straight in. ‘Did you actually walk around the site before you bought it?’
‘Most of it,’ Nigel said.
‘I’m sending you a file of photographs and a provisional incomplete list of what needs to be done, as well as a list of the equipment we need to buy. Bringing this place up to our usual Milton Hotels standard in the timescale you’ve given me will be difficult.’
‘Getting the place up to scratch will be a challenge, I grant you, but we always thought you liked a challenge.’
‘This campsite is more than just a challenge, although it does have potential. There’s a couple of run-down buildings on the site that need demolishing. The long traditional mas on the far edge laughingly called a café… that, though, is a gem.’ Personally Belinda thought that particular mas could be the key to making the campsite a success in and out of the season.
‘It is?’
‘Fully restored, it would be a wonderful venue for weddings and other large functions. A basic café needs to be nearer the entrance.’
‘So, finally, there is something you like about the place.’
Belinda decided to ignore the amusement she could hear in Nigel’s voice.
‘You also need to know I’m probably going to stay at the auberge in the village for an indefinite period. There is nowhere on site where I would consider sleeping currently, although I haven’t yet had a chance to check out the staff cottage.’
‘Stay at the auberge for as long as you need to. Anything else?’
‘One major problem, your so-called manager, he’s got a real attitude problem. Either that or he hates the English. Or maybe he hates women. Not sure I can work with him. Can you sack him?’ Belinda could have sworn she heard Nigel smother a laugh.
‘That’s priceless. He wants me to sack you. Says he can’t work with you.’
‘What? He’s had the nerve to ring you and complain about me?’ Belinda couldn’t believe what she was hearing. ‘On what grounds?’
‘He doesn’t need an uptight bossy female undermining what he’s already doing.’
‘I haven’t been here eight hours yet! We’ve barely spoken to each other and there is absolutely no evidence of him doing any actual work, apart from maybe pruning and cutting back a few bushes.’
‘Anyway, I told him what I’m telling you. I’m not sacking either of you, I need the two of you to work together.’
Belinda was silent.
‘Come on. You’re normally so good with people. Always diplomatic and kind. Don’t let Alain get to you. He’s French, he can’t help having attitude, it’s in their DNA. But he’s a good bloke really.’
Belinda ignored his words. ‘How about if I resign? I can be on the morning ferry and come home.’
She heard Nigel sigh. ‘Don’t be silly. You’ve only just arrived. Give it a couple of weeks and see if things improve between you. If not, I promise we’ll think again,’ and Nigel ended the call.
Belinda was still seething five minutes later as she made her way downstairs to the auberge kitchen.
Fern took one look at her and handed her a glass of wine. ‘You look a bit uptight. Everything okay?’
Belinda nodded before taking a drink. ‘Thanks. Just a work problem.’
She laughed as she caught sight of BB, who had deserted her the moment she’d arrived back at the auberge, making a beeline for Lady, his new friend, and the warmth of the kitchen. He was now curled up with Lady in her basket, looking completely at home.
‘That’s a bit of a tight squeeze, BB. Mind you don’t squash Lady.’
Half an hour later, Belinda placed her knife and fork on her empty dinner plate. ‘That was delicious. I’d ask you for the recipe, but I rarely cook these days and I know I’d never be able to produce a meal like that.’
Fern shrugged away her praise. ‘I enjoy cooking.’ She stood up and cleared the plates before putting the cheeseboard on the table. ‘So, if you don’t cook, what do you eat? Ready meals?’
‘I work for a small chain of three hotels, so I can always find a proper meal if I want it. If there’s time to stop for lunch, I eat in whichever hotel I’m working at, and in the evening at home, I’ll have a bowl of soup or a sandwich of some sort. If I’m really hungry, I can always have dinner in the hotel restaurant.’
‘What d’you do in these hotels – obviously nothing kitchen-related.’ Fern smiled.
‘I’ve been known to get stuck into the washing-up when the dishwasher breaks down, but that’s about it.’ Belinda laughed. ‘Nigel, my boss, defines my role as a troubleshooter. Basically means that I oversee the smooth running of everything. If there’s a problem, I have to solve it. I do the website and the accounts for each of the hotels every week too. I interview the staff with Nigel and Molly, his wife. And because I have a flair for interior design, I also help with that when any of the hotels are given a makeover.’
Fern stared at her wide-eyed. ‘Are there enough hours in the day for you to do all that? I feel positively lazy listening to you.’
Belinda laughed. ‘It is a bit full on, I admit. But it saved me from going loopy after my divorce. I’m just hoping Nigel and Molly manage to keep on top of everything while I’m over here to sort out their latest acquisition.’
Fern looked at her, puzzled. ‘And where is that? The nearest hotel is at least fifteen kilometres away.’
‘They’ve branched out,’ Belinda said. ‘Not sure now I’ve seen the place, which is just the other side of the village, whether they are completely in their right minds, but,’ she shrugged, ‘they’re very determined.’
‘They’ve bought the campsite, haven’t they?’ Fern said as the truth dawned on her. ‘I knew it was up for sale. You’ll have your work cut out with that place.’
‘I know.’ Belinda nodded ruefully. ‘And I’ve got approximately two, possibly three, months to get it up and running.’ She swirled the wine round in her glass. ‘A task I wasn’t sure I wanted or was even up to before I arrived. Now, having seen the site and met the resident attitude-riddled Frenchman currently employed as an on-site manager, I know for sure. I wish I was still in Devon.’ She fell silent for several seconds. ‘But, hey, I’m a troubleshooter. Alain Salvin is trouble, so I could always shoot him, couldn’t I? End of problem.’ She drained her glass and replaced it on the table and saw the look on Fern’s face. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t really shoot him, as much as I’d like to,’ she muttered under her breath. ‘Haven’t got a gun handy.’
‘But Alain is a lovely man,’ Fern said. ‘I’ve met him once or twice since he returned. Lady adores him. I didn’t realise he was still involved with the site.’
Belinda stared at her. She was the second person this evening to defend Alain. As if a dog liking him was proof of a good human being!
‘Hmm. The jury is out on that, I’m afraid.’ She looked at Fern expectantly. ‘What do you mean, though, still involved with the site?’
‘Your Nigel would have bought the place from Alain’s parents.’
‘He did say something about old friends being involved.’ Belinda nodded thoughtfully. No wonder Nigel was reluctant to sack him. ‘Right, enough about me. How did you end up here in deepest Brittany?’
‘Long story short: I got married, had two children, got divorced and became a single mum for about ten years. Once the girls were independent, I knew I needed to do something for me, so I enrolled on a Prue Leith catering course, thinking I’d open a seaside B&B or a café somewhere in the West Country when I qualified.’ Fern smiled. ‘Fate decreed otherwise. I met a sexy Frenchman on the course and plans changed. I got married again instead.’
‘Gosh, that sounds romantic,’ Belinda said.
Fern nodded. ‘It was and totally unexpected. I wasn’t looking for a new relationship but…’ Fern shrugged. ‘Laurent was very persuasive, with his tales of how much I’d love living in Brittany with him. We’d been married three years when he inherited this place from his grandmother, which gave him the opportunity to open his own place.’ Fern took a sip of her wine. ‘Mind you, I couldn’t believe it the first time I saw it. Talk about back in the dark ages, and that was just the furniture. Electrics, plumbing, decorating – so much had to be redone.’
‘How long did it take you to renovate?’
‘Fourteen months of hard work,’ Fern said. ‘It’s five years now since we opened.’
‘When do I get to meet your husband?’
Fern bit her bottom lip and blinked hard before she answered. ‘Eighteen months ago, a drunk driver on the N164 near Châteauneuf-du-Faou changed my life again.’
Belinda looked at her, stunned. ‘I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how you must feel.’
Fern shook her head. ‘Numb is the only way to describe it. Some days the numbness lifts a fraction, other days…’ She shrugged. ‘Other days it doesn’t. C’est la vie – or rather it’s not,’ she added with a break in her voice.