Liv waited, thoughts swirling in her mind like a snowstorm. Fraser saw the doctor out and after a few minutes, where she assumed he was getting an update on her condition, he came back into the library.
He pouted. ‘Got concussion then,’ he said.
‘So it would appear.’ Liv wasn’t sure if she’d successfully hoodwinked the doctor or if she did actually have concussion. She didn’t feel great about either option. But she had been honest about banging her head, blacking out and feeling queasy.
‘I’m sorry if it ever came across that I doubted you.’ He looked sheepish. ‘Doc says you need to stay put for a couple of days.’
She couldn’t stay for a couple of days. For one the whole deception thing was getting out of hand. For another she needed to get in touch with her family and let them know she was okay. They were expecting her home later that day. ‘I’ll stay in a Travelodge or something,’ she said getting to her feet.
‘Nearest one of those is at Fort William.’
‘Great,’ said Liv, heading for the door.
‘Which is just over twenty miles in that direction,’ he said pointing over his shoulder.
‘Right.’ Liv was trying to work out how she was going to get to the car and then find someone to sort out the flat tyre and then she wasn’t even sure if she was meant to drive or not.
‘You’d better stay here,’ he said.
Was he telling her or was he just being nice? Her head started to hurt again but possibly for different reasons. ‘I couldn’t impose any longer,’ she said.
‘I don’t think you have a lot of choice. But it’s up to you,’ he said.
She didn’t like that he was right and she wasn’t keen on staying in such close proximity to him, but even if she just stayed long enough to find her phone and work out an exit strategy. What choice did she have? ‘Okay. Thanks.’
He nodded before reaching for the door. ‘Seeing as you’re staying for free you may want to pitch in and help. Just a thought.’ He opened the door and Effie almost fell inside.
She did a very bad mime of someone dusting the doorframe without a duster. ‘What’s happening? I guessed you’re not going to hospital. Are you staying? Please say she’s staying.’ She looked from Fraser to Liv and back to Fraser.
‘Daphne’s staying,’ he said with a roll of his eyes and he left the room.
‘Yay!’ squealed Effie clapping her hands together. ‘We are going to have the best time.’ She wrapped Liv in an unexpected hug. For a moment Liv was resistant but then she relaxed and it was really quite nice to be held. After the roller coaster of the last twenty-four hours she’d been so caught up in everything she’d not realised that what she really needed was someone to hold her. Effie pulled away. ‘Dear Daphne, what’s wrong?’
Liv wiped away a tear from her eyes. ‘I don’t know. Must be the knock on the head.’
‘You’re going to be fine. Me and Fraser are going to look after you. You’re safe now.’
‘Thanks,’ said Liv. Effie’s kindness made her smile despite everything. ‘Fraser said I could help out. I thought the hotel was closed. What did he mean?’
Effie became animated. It didn’t seem to take much to get her excited. ‘It’s the build-up to the big launch of Fraser’s new restaurant. We’re holding a showcase dinner on the twenty-third of December, assuming everything is ready.’
Liv didn’t want to be the voice of doom but from the bedrooms she’d seen last night they were a very long way from being able to have paying guests. ‘I think the bedrooms need quite a bit of attention. One of them has water pouring through the ceiling.’
‘It’s only the restaurant that’s opening, not the hotel. But if that makes money Fraser might be able to open the hotel again but then it’s really only the cooking he’s interested in, so maybe not. He’s focused on the kitchen, the dining room and the menu. And I’m going to be a waitress and maybe help a bit in the kitchen when I’m not caring for my grandmother. And now you’re going to work here too. This is so exciting!’ She began clapping her hands again.
‘It’s only for a couple of days remember.’ Effie looked instantly deflated and Liv felt bad. ‘But we’ll make the most of it, okay?’
‘I can show you where everything is in the kitchen. I can show you now.’ She turned to leave.
‘Actually there was something else I wanted to ask,’ said Liv. ‘Doc said something about Robbie Williams. Does he live around here?’ She knew he’d lived in LA but she remembered reading something about him moving back to the UK.
‘Yes he does. He lives at Invergarry, which isn’t far. He’s kinda cute.’
‘My mum likes him,’ said Liv, thinking that an autographed something would make an excellent extra Christmas present as she’d only got her smellies so far.
Effie frowned at her. ‘Your mam knows Robbie?’
‘She’s never met him. She’s just a fan of his music. You know,’ said Liv breaking into a hummed version of ‘Let Me Entertain You’.
Effie started to giggle. ‘You are silly. Not that Robbie Williams. He doesn’t live around here. The one you met last night – that Robbie Williams.’
It was Liv’s turn to frown. ‘The bloke who was laughing with Dolly?’
‘Yes. He’s Robbie Williams. And so is his dad, and his grandad and his great-grandad too but he lost the family bakery in a game of cards so we don’t talk about him. But none of them are the pop star.’
‘Right. And The Police?’ Liv thought it best to get everything cleared up while she was at it.
‘Robbie works for them. He’s taking his sergeant’s exam in the new year. He would have sooner but he managed to get stuck in a pair of his own handcuffs, so he said it was best to let that blow over first.’
‘Ah.’ At least a few things were starting to make more sense. ‘Then there’s nobody famous around these parts?’
‘No.’ Effie pulled a sad face. ‘Susan Boyle lives near Edinburgh but that’s like a hundred and fifty miles away. I wish we had some celebrities. Are you one? You might be.’ Effie leaned very close and studied Liv’s face.
‘No, I think I’d remember that.’
‘Let’s wait and see,’ said Effie hopefully. ‘Do you think the new restaurant will bring some in? The lawn is easily big enough for a helicopter to land on. I’d love to meet Jedward.’
‘You never know, Effie. We can only hope.’
Effie had to go and check on Dolly, so Liv was left alone. Liv slunk out of the library checking all around her. She felt like a cartoon villain. The reception and hallway were quiet. She went behind the reception desk and to her relief found a telephone. She quickly dialled her mum’s home number. She kept scanning the reception area because she didn’t want to get caught. Someone with amnesia wouldn’t remember any phone numbers to call.
‘Hello, I don’t need any insurance and there’s nothing wrong with my computer,’ said her mum.
‘Mum it’s me,’ whispered Liv, scanning the area like a rubbish spy.
‘Oh Liv. Thank heavens! I thought you’d been kidnapped. No actually Charlotte thought you’d been kidnapped; I thought it might be worse and that you’d let this loser sweet-talk you around. I do hope it’s neither of those things.’
‘It’s not. Listen I—’
‘Good. Where are you? Because it said number withheld, which was why I let whoever was calling know I was onto them from the get-go.’ Goodness her mother talked more than Effie.
‘Mum, this is a really quick call. I’m fine but it’s taking longer to sort things out than I thought—’
‘How long does it take to tell someone off?’
‘Mum, I have to stay here for two days. I love you. Don’t worry about me.’
‘Now I’m worried!’ said her mum.
‘Trust me, I’m fine. I have to go,’ said Liv putting the receiver down. She needed to call a tow truck but with no phone and no internet how was she meant to get a phone number for one? She needed to find her mobile – that was the easiest solution. She could hear voices approaching as she came out from behind the reception desk. The front door opened and a cold blast quickly made its way through to her. Dolly and Effie came in, mid conversation, covered in snow like a bad case of dandruff.
‘I think my new year’s resolutions are to help the bees, to be less political and to understand more about pineapples.’
‘Hi,’ said Liv as Effie helped Dolly take off her coat.
‘I’ve just been telling Granny all about you,’ said Effie. Liv wasn’t sure there was anything to share. At least that was one benefit to her imagined amnesia.
‘Hello, how are you feeling this morning?’ asked Dolly.
‘Okay. A bit awkward about staying here but the Doc didn’t give me much choice.’
‘Don’t worry about that,’ said Dolly. ‘It’s good to have people about the old place again. Are you sure you are up to helping out a little?’
‘Apart from being a bit sore in places I’m fine. And I’d feel like I wasn’t a complete freeloader.’
‘Excellent. Don’t let Fraser intimidate you; he can be a bit of a grump but he’s a pussy cat really.’
‘Uh-huh,’ said Liv. She wasn’t sure about that.
‘Before you actually start work I think you need an orientation. That’s when someone shows you where everything is and how everything works,’ said Effie.
‘Yep, got that,’ said Liv.
They went through to the kitchen and Effie began pointing out obvious things like the cookers and the hobs.
This seemed to be the end of Effie’s kitchen tour so Liv jumped up to sit on the worktop.
‘We’re not meant to sit on the worktop. Fraser doesn’t like it,’ said Effie, checking over her shoulder as if expecting him to jump out at them.
‘It’s not doing any harm though.’
‘I guess.’ Effie ran her bottom lip through her teeth before hopping up to sit next to Liv.
‘What do I need to know about Fraser before I start working for him?’ asked Liv. ‘Any wife or girlfriend who might be unhappy about me stopping here alone with him?’
‘No he’s single.’
That’s what his profile said too, thought Liv. ‘Anything else?’
‘He wanted to be a cricketer when we were kids. He used to practise on me and I used to get loads of bruises.’
‘Practise on you how?’
‘He’d bowl and I’d try to hit it but I wasn’t very good and those real cricket balls are hard as rocks. They really hurt if they whack you.’
‘Okay. Does he have any bad habits, pet hates and any topics I should avoid?’
Effie pouted hard. ‘He’s not a fan of Jennifer Lopez.’
‘Right. I was thinking more about his management style.’
‘He can be quite bossy. He likes his kitchen staff to say “yes, chef” when they answer him. They’re really nice – you’ll meet them later. I’m going to feed Ginger. Want to come?’
‘Okay.’ Liv wasn’t sure about meeting the beast who had attacked her but she figured if she kept a safe distance away she’d be fine and it was an opportunity to find out more about Fraser.
Outside the weather was getting worse and it battered Liv despite the very large borrowed coat she was wearing that felt almost as heavy as she was. They trudged across the yard at the back of the hotel towards some stables. She looked about for any sign of life. At least she would have looked about had the hood of the coat not been completely rigid, so that when she turned her head she ended up looking inside the hood.
The falling snow with the sweeping mountain backdrop was like looking at a Christmas card. Liv wondered if her mum was worrying about her. She felt bad but she’d got herself in a mess that she wasn’t sure how to get out of. At least the hurried phone call should buy her the couple of days she needed before she could drive again. Although the car wasn’t driveable, which was another conundrum she needed to solve.
The stables had an overhang, making them a little more sheltered, and it was good to get out of the wind that was battering them with snow. They walked into one of the stalls. Effie pulled off her hood and stamped her feet to get off some of the snow. Liv looked around; the stable was empty.
‘Looks like Ginger has gone walkabout again,’ said Effie, grabbing a bucket from the wall and striding off. Liv waited in the stall as her face was stinging from the icy weather. Effie came back. ‘Come on, I’ve got some carrots. They’re her favourite.’
‘Should she not be inside in this weather?’
‘Nah, she’s hardy. Some breeds would likely die but not Highlands; they’re used to it. But it’s better that she’s not wandering about. It’s only a scowtherin now but there’s more forecast.’ With that she pulled her hood back on and left, making Liv feel that she should follow although she really didn’t want to. Her face was stinging and her ears were numb with the cold.
They seemed to trudge around for a while with Effie calling out the cow’s name. Liv hadn’t realised they would be doing this much walking. She’d assumed the cow would be nearby or at least come when it was called. She was about to declare defeat on the grounds of this not being the sort of rest she thought the Doc had meant, when an odd sort of wheezy honk could be heard.
‘There she is. That’s her bellowing,’ said Effie, spinning around and stomping off across the snow. Liv looked but could see nothing but snow, it was really coming down now. As far as she looked in every direction it was white. She hoped Effie knew where they were, because Liv had absolutely no idea.