The Hawkshead Hostage Read Online Free Page A

get on as quickly as possible.
    ‘Here we are,’ he said. ‘They gave me the tack room.’ He opened the door into a small boxy addition to the main stable block. An earlier door into the horses’ living quarters had apparently been sealed off, and the resulting new wall used for a floor-to-ceiling set of shelves. Simmy looked around, trying to work out the details of the conversion, with a faint idea of describing it all to her father at some point. He took considerable interest in such things.
    ‘Sit down,’ Dan Yates invited. ‘And tell me what you think of Melanie’s ideas.’
    ‘Well … I’m not sure how much she’s discussed with you. We should probably start from scratch, to be sure it’s all clear.’
    ‘Quite right. As it happens, the manager and I had been thinking we needed something decorative, something distinctive, but subtle – to improve the atmosphere. It’s all about perception, you see. We want people to remember us as having just that extra hint of luxury. The food is our main appeal at the moment, and the views.’
    ‘Right,’ said Simmy. ‘I see.’
    ‘Yes, but we need another dimension . We’re acutelyaware of the history here. There have been serious failures in the past. There’s a fragility, a vulnerability, to the whole industry these days. We want to consolidate what we have, build on it slowly, without making too many mistakes.’
    Simmy nodded. So far, she did at least understand the words he used. He hadn’t said ‘iterative’ or ‘quantum’ or ‘logistics’, which was a relief, if only because she might have laughed at the wrong moment if he had.
    ‘So we would like you to supply enough flowers for displays in the main ground-floor rooms and in the solar upstairs. That would be four positions. We’d like scented blooms, nothing too flamboyant. Perhaps you could share any ideas you have at this point?’
    ‘Well … I did have a few thoughts about your reception area and the lounge. I haven’t seen the other places. That big bay window in the lounge – an arrangement just to one side of it, with a lot of greens, would have the effect of bringing the view right into the room. For the reception, I thought lilies and foliage in the blue or mauve spectrum, with some scent, as you say. Nothing that would intimidate or distract, but be welcoming, like coming into someone’s house.’
    ‘Perfect,’ he approved with a wide smile.
    Again, Simmy found herself wishing he had a moustache. His upper lip looked weak and naked without one. She liked facial hair, reminding her as it did of a grandfather who had sported a full beard. She had loved to play with it as a child, and ever after associated beards with warmth and humour and manly strength. Her father had taken to going unshaven at times, but never allowed it to develop as nature ordained.
    ‘Is this just for the summer season?’ she asked.
    ‘Initially, perhaps. We’ll see how it goes, shall we? We are open all the year round, except for the middle of January. We close for two weeks then and give the whole staff a well-earned holiday. Now, then, we need to discuss money. What do you think?’
    She took a breath. Her price lists didn’t extend to such a large and regular commission, and every time during the day that she’d tried to work it out, the answer came out different. ‘Are you thinking two visits a week? Perhaps Mondays and Fridays? I don’t think it could be less than that. Some flowers do fade and droop after three or four days, although there are lots that would last a week if the water was topped up and the temperature wasn’t too hot.’
    ‘Twice a week is fine.’
    ‘Well, to cover my travel and time spent here as well as all materials, I would want five hundred pounds a week.’ She waited for the explosion at such an outrageous demand. If they paid that, she would find herself able to afford all sorts of things she’d been depriving herself of.
    ‘No problem,’ he said, so quickly that