Faith Bleasdale - Secrets at Meadowbrook Manor

Abandoning her failed attempts to go back to sleep, she shuffled out of bed and put on her gym clothes. It was only six o’clock, but she was going to use the gym, hoping that she might begin to feel better. It was such a privilege, having a gym on tap. In her last job she wasn’t allowed to use the hotel gym – it was for guests only, and she couldn’t afford expensive city gym membership prices, so she had joined a local running club. She wasn’t very good at it, but she enjoyed the feeling exercise gave her, so she looked forward to the weekly group, when her nan’s health allowed. She’d given it up for a while, but when her nan went into the home, she had started running more and more, and now she felt that she needed it – it seemed to help to keep her sane. It allowed her to breathe.

She was grateful not to bump into either Pippa or Freddie as she made her way down to the basement. Meadowbrook was a different world. Yesterday, she had been given a full tour of the house, and she’d been taken to the garden room, which hadn’t been used for years, because apparently it reminded Andrew Singer, their father, of his late wife. It had been her favourite room, and when she died he shut it away; it hadn’t even had the door opened until recently. Pippa said they sort of forgot about it, which seemed ridiculous.

Gemma couldn’t imagine living in a house where you had enough rooms that you could shut one off and not notice, but that was Meadowbrook. The garden room did what the name said, and opened out onto the garden, which would make it wonderful for the hotel. Although the siblings were nervous about it, Pippa said they realised that it was time to lay the last of the ghosts to rest – especially as they all hoped their mum and dad had been reunited wherever they were now. It was quite moving as they surveyed the room, which was at least as large in size as the drawing room.

Although at the moment it was dusty and full of old furniture, one of the walls was practically made up of floor-to-ceiling French windows currently covered with heavy velvet drapes. She realised it must have been so painful for Andrew Singer to shut off such an amazing room. It would take a lot of work, but she could see it being Freddie’s bar. In the day, guests could enjoy coffee, tea or light refreshments while enjoying the garden view, and in the evenings, it would be perfect for cocktails. In the summer, the doors could be opened, so that they could use the terrace for outside drinking and dining. Gemma began to get excited, as she could see it becoming a reality. Then the enormity of the task she had undertaken hit her once again, and she shrank back to uncertainty.

Trying to ignore the niggling doubts in her mind, she concentrated on the treadmill. She made a mental note when she went home for the weekend to pick up her swimming costume; the pool looked so inviting, perhaps she could add a daily swim to her routine. She knew she was already drawn into Meadowbrook, and she dreaded to think what would happen if she got fired after the probationary period.

She could only imagine what it was like growing up surrounded by this luxury, but at least the Singers were all trying to do something with Meadowbrook, which Gemma now understood. Because Pippa and Freddie were rattling around at home, and Meadowbrook felt as if it were a house that needed to be filled with people.

Yes, Gemma could see it being one of the most appealing hotels in the area. What with the beautiful house, set in the stunning grounds, you couldn’t fail to have a luxurious, relaxing, perhaps even romantic break here. She still wasn’t sure where the sanctuary would fit in with that, but she felt, instinctively, that somehow it would. Romance over the alpacas? She wished she felt confident enough to say what she thought sometimes; then she wouldn’t come across as so uptight. She wished she were more like Freddie, or any of them actually.

Gemma headed into the kitchen after finishing her run, having showered and dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a white blouse.

‘Oh hi, Gem,’ Pippa said.

‘I used the gym, I hope you don’t mind,’ Gemma mumbled.

Pippa looked so stylish in a plain black dress and tights with her hair pulled back from her beautiful face. She felt a stab of envy again. Where and at what point did life decide who would be pretty, rich and with a family who adored them? Or like her, unremarkable, worried about money, average in most ways and with parents who didn’t like her enough, let alone love her, even to stay in her life? How was that even fair? She tried to push her thoughts to the back of her dusty mind. What was wrong with her?

‘Of course not, you need to treat this place as if it’s your home, honestly.’

In theory, Pippa was someone to dislike for literally having it all, but there was nothing about her that you could remotely take offence against.

‘I’m so sorry about last night. I tried to warn Freddie I wasn’t a drinker but, well, I don’t think he realised how much I meant it.’ Gemma flushed.

‘Oh, don’t worry. Fred is a terror. He feeds everyone his lethal cocktails. We have reined him in a bit. He was off the rails at one point – ten times worse than now. I mean he does like a drink, it’s not a secret, but actually he can handle it now, and he can also go days without one. To be fair he doesn’t often, but he can. Anyway plying you with cocktails, it’s almost The Freddie Test.’

‘Then I well and truly failed. He seemed very disappointed.’

‘Oh don’t worry about him, he’ll be fine. Harriet’s going to meet you in Dad’s office in twenty minutes. She wants to explain everything; she doesn’t think I’ve given you a thorough background to us and to Meadowbrook. She’s probably right. I get so excited you see, I just get carried away.’

‘I understand,’ Gemma said carefully. ‘And I guess Harriet is rightly protective of all of you, as well as the house.’

‘Yes, that’s exactly it! I knew you’d understand. I knew instantly when I met you, but I also knew if I let Harriet get involved she’d try to take over. I knew that this hotel didn’t need a carbon copy of Harriet, which is exactly who she would hire; it needed someone like you.’

‘Well I’ll do my best for you,’ she replied, feeling the pressure being loaded on top of the layer of flattery. Yes, she could see that Harriet would have taken over, and she saw Pippa in a bit of a new light. She was ballsy to go ahead and hire Gemma without the others knowing. She wasn’t as meek as she sometimes came across.

‘Oh, and when you’ve finished with Harriet, I’m going to help you with your wardrobe. I feel awful that I didn’t tell you that you’d need more casual wear than suits, but we’re about the same size and I’ve got loads of spare clothes. I’ve also got scruffier things, which you’ll need when you get more involved.’

‘What do you mean?’ Gemma startled. Although, most of her clothes were tatty actually.

‘Ah, perhaps I should have explained this before, but you see we all have our jobs at the animal sanctuary and, actually, it would be really good if you’d join us and help out – we think it’ll give you more of a feel for the place.’

‘You mean I have to work with the animals?’ Gemma heard the horror in her voice and felt her heart sink.

Visiting the sanctuary had shown her how terrifying she found most of them. Surely they wouldn’t make her muck out the pigs, or deal with that scary-looking bull? Or even Madonna. And the hostile alpacas. This was not in the job description. Although thinking about it, not much was in the job description.

‘Oh, don’t worry, it’ll be fine. We all felt that way when Daddy said we had to in his will, but we all came to love working at the animal sanctuary and you will too.’