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  ‘What’s happening?’ Gabriel asked.

  ‘I think it’s going to be OK,’ Kate assured him. She did her best to sound confident and professional but she wished with all her heart that Gabriel had just turned a blind eye and not told her there were people in the barn at all.

  Poor things, Kate thought, feeling guilty that she had ever found the pathetic pair at all threatening. Homeless on a night like this. Bitterly cold. Driven to find shelter in this old barn, which had more gaps than planks in its rotten old walls. And now Kate and Gabriel were going to turf them out of even this mean hovel. The contrast between the circumstances of the trespassers and the paying guests up at the hotel, who would soon be slumbering in luxurious Egyptian cotton sheets after a seven-course dinner and enough wine to knock out a horse, could not have been starker.

  But there was no place for sentimentality. They had made a fire, there was no way Kate could let them stay as they were. If the fire spread… If a hotel guest was hurt… It didn’t bear thinking about. Kate could not afford to let it happen.

  ‘Please,’ said Kate, trying to keep her voice firm and authoritative. ‘Open up. There’s no need for this to get nasty.’

  The woman on the floor nodded and the man finally moved to un-bar the huge barn door.

  He was desperately skinny and woefully underdressed for the weather. Now that she saw him more closely, Kate guessed he wasn’t that old either – maybe twenty at most – but care and worry had worn deep grooves into his cheeks so that at first glance he looked far older than he really was.

  ‘We’re sorry,’ was the first thing he said. ‘We just needed somewhere to sleep. It’s so cold tonight.’

  ‘That’s OK,’ said Kate, stepping inside. Gabriel was right beside her, casting a circle of light ahead of her feet with his torch. ‘I perfectly understand why you don’t want to be out on a night like this. It’s bloody freezing.’ Kate wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling the cold again herself as the surge of adrenalin slipped away. These two were going to be no trouble. She could somehow tell that now.

  ‘But you can’t be here,’ she continued. ‘This is private property, you see. Even though it looks abandoned. It’s still part of the hotel. And you certainly can’t go setting light to things...’

  Kate’s heart sank as she saw that one of the things they were burning was a gilded picture frame. She hoped it wasn’t in some inventory, waiting to be restored.

  ‘We were just trying to keep warm,’ said the woman. She was as young and frail as her companion, who had gone straight back to her and stood over her like a guard. ‘We didn’t mean to cause any harm. But we had to… ’

  The woman got to her feet. From the way she swayed, lumbered, from side to side as she did so, Kate immediately knew what had forced them to take shelter in such poor lodgings that night.

  Chapter Six

  ‘Eight months gone?’ Kate guessed.

  ‘Nearly nine,’ the girl confirmed, her breathing quickening.

  ‘Oh no.’ Kate closed her eyes tightly.

  ‘Does it make any difference?’

  Of course it made a difference. There was no way Kate could do what she had hoped to do now. She couldn’t just press a twenty pound note into the girl’s hand, wave the couple off the premises and make them someone else’s problem. Especially as, now that she was standing, the girl was wincing in pain. Kate subconsciously winced along with her. Was the girl beginning to have contractions?

  Kate didn’t know anything much about pregnancy, but she did know that pregnant women often got some sort of false contractions long before the baby was actually ready to arrive. What were they called? Braxton Hicks? Kate prayed that was what the girl was experiencing now.

  ‘What are your names?’ Kate asked, deciding that the best way to keep things from getting out of control was to make a personal connection.

  ‘I’m Jack and she’s Mandy,’ said the young man. At that precise moment, Mandy was too busy panting to answer for herself. She sat back down heavily. ‘Are you OK?’ Gabriel asked her.

  ‘I just need a sit down,’ Mandy sighed.

  ‘Mandy, you look like you need to be in a hospital,’ said Kate.

  ‘I can’t.’

  ‘Why ever not?’

  ‘Because they’ll take the baby away the minute it’s born. I know they will. There’s no way I’m going there. I’m not going to risk it.’

  ‘They wouldn’t take the baby away,’ Kate insisted, though, in reality, she had no idea whether what she was saying was true. Perhaps the social services would have to be involved. Jack and Mandy were homeless. It couldn’t be right to let a newborn live on the street or even in a barn. ‘But you do need proper medical care,’ Kate continued. ‘It’s dangerous for you to be here. It’s cold. It’s dirty. A hospital is where you should be.’

  ‘They’ll take the baby away from us,’ Mandy repeated gravely. ‘And I don’t want it to have the kind of life I had.’

  Kate looked to Gabriel for back up, but it was no use expecting him to take a harder line. Gabriel looked stricken. His soft brown eyes were watery with compassion. Seeing that Kate was hoping he might have an answer, he merely shrugged.

  ‘Where’s your family?’ Kate asked Jack.

  ‘Family?’ said Jack. ‘We haven’t got any. At least none that gives a toss.’

  ‘I haven’t seen my mum or dad in years. I grew up in a children’s home,’ Mandy explained.

  ‘That’s where we met,’ added Jack.

  This was getting worse and worse. Kate prayed she wasn’t about to find out she was dealing with two runaway kids.

  ‘How old are you?’ she asked Mandy.

  ‘Nineteen,’ said Mandy. ‘So’s he.’ She nodded towards Jack.

  ‘When we were old enough to leave the home, we left together. And we were doing all right for a bit,’ Jack continued. ‘We had jobs and we got ourselves a flat.’

  ‘Until I had to give up work because of the baby and Jack lost his job about a month ago. We used up all our savings paying the rent. The housing benefit didn’t come through in time and our landlord kicked us out last Thursday.’

  ‘Couldn’t social services find you a place in a hostel?’ Kate asked.

  ‘Fat chance,’ said Mandy. ‘We’ve been in all the hostels around here, but we just didn’t feel safe at any of them.’

  Just then another contraction hit Mandy like an unexpected wave. She gave a little cry. Jack rushed to her side and crouched down next to her, putting his arm around her.

  ‘Please don’t make us leave here tonight,’ he said.

  ‘Please,’ Mandy echoed. ‘We won’t be any trouble and we’ll go first thing in the morning. We just need a place for one night. One night. So we can get some rest and come up with somewhere else to go tomorrow. We won’t be a bother, I swear.’

  ‘What shall we do?’ Gabriel murmured.

  ‘I’m trying to come up with a plan,’ Kate assured him in a half-whisper. ‘But I don’t see what we can do other let them stay here in the meantime. Mandy can’t be outside in this cold but we can’t take them up to the hotel either.’

  ‘But the fire? They can’t have a fire in here.’

  ‘I know,’ said Kate. ‘Look, how about you stay with them? Make sure the fire doesn’t get out of control while I work out what to do next? I’d better go back to reception and check that everything’s OK in the big house.’

  And get my coat, Kate thought. And some blankets. A duvet perhaps. And some food. She knew there would be plenty left over. Would anyone miss a couple of plates?

  ‘I’ll be ten minutes, max,’ she promised Gabriel.

  She turned to Jack and Mandy.

  ‘I’m going to sort something out,’ she said. And she meant it.

  But what was Kate getting herself into?

  Chapter Seven

  Back at the hotel, the Christmas Eve party was still in full swing. The guests were being served their desserts: a choice of Black Forest G
ateau or Baked Alaska (no mean feat when serving so many, that Baked Alaska). The noise level had risen with the consumption of booze, just as it always did. Kate poked her head around the dining room door and spoke to Clare, who was her second in command for that evening.

  ‘Is everything under control?’ Kate asked.

  ‘Everything is going perfectly well,’ said Clare. ‘Of course. I’ve kept an eye on everyone. But where have you been?’

  ‘I stepped outside for my break, and then I had to take a phone call.’

  Clare narrowed her eyes at Kate.

  ‘Right,’ she said slowly. ‘I see.’

  Kate was overwhelmingly popular with all the staff at The Stables, with the exception of Clare. Clare had joined the hotel staff a year before Kate when Dave was drafted in from another of the chain’s properties to take over the running of the newly opened hotel. When Dave’s original assistant manager left a year later, Clare made no secret of the fact that she had expected to get the job and was still bitter that Kate had been appointed to the role from outside the company altogether. There were also rumours that Clare had a big crush on her manager and hoped to one day usurp both Kate and Dave’s wife.

  For that reason, there was no way Kate could tell Clare what she had really been doing ‘on her break’. Even if she pretended to understand Kate’s dilemma and, though it was unlikely, actually sympathized with Jack and Mandy, Clare would inevitably use it against her at some point. She would just have to keep Clare occupied while she gathered supplies for the poor couple in the barn.

  ‘Thank you, Clare,’ Kate said carefully. ‘For keeping an eye on everything in my absence. It makes my life so much easier to know I can trust you to make sure this place runs like clockwork. It means a great deal to Dave too,’ she added, in a strictly political move. ‘He’s always singing your praises.’

  ‘Is he?’ Clare asked.

  ‘Of course he is,’ said Kate, laying it on thickly. The mere mention of Dave’s name had made Clare’s hard face soften just a little. Now Kate went for the kill. ‘And he was saying just the other day how much he likes your hair in that new style.’

  ‘He does?’

  ‘Oh yes,’ said Kate.

  This time Clare all but melted.

  ‘The most professional and prettiest member of staff, was what he called you. I hope you won’t sue him for mentioning your appearance.’

  ‘Oh no,’ said Clare. ‘People are much too sensitive about that sort of thing. I’ll just take it as a compliment.’

  Kate had known that she would. Now Clare’s eyes were sparkling. And Kate dared to make her next move.

  ‘I’m really sorry to do this to you, but that telephone call I had to take… I need to do a couple of things as a result.’

  ‘Like what?’

  Kate inwardly cursed. Of course Clare wanted to know what things. Kate had to think on her feet. ‘We might have a VIP arriving in the morning,’ she adlibbed.

  ‘Who’s that?’ Clare asked.

  Kate tapped the side of her nose. ‘I’ll tell you when it’s been confirmed.’

  ‘You can trust me,’ said Clare.

  ‘I’m sure I can. But the truth is, I don’t actually know the identity of the mystery guest myself. The call came from head office. They just said we should prepare to receive someone very important.’

  ‘Why wouldn’t they just say who it is?’

  ‘Ours is not to reason why,’ said Kate, using a phrase that Dave was very fond of. ‘But first I need to check if there’s any way whatsoever we can actually accommodate this person.’

  ‘Aren’t we full?’

  ‘Almost. There’s the Shergar Suite,’ said Kate, referring to the hotel’s very best rooms, named after the legendary racehorse, which was stolen and never seen again back in 1983. The suite, with its four-poster bed and separate sitting room, was stunning. From time to time, Kate snuck up there and just sat on the sofa in the sitting room for a while, imagining what life would be like if money were no object. ‘So, if you’re happy to be left overseeing the restaurant, I’ll see what sort of the state the suite is in.’

  Clare nodded. ‘You go ahead. I can keep an eye on things down here.’

  Kate went to walk away. Clare grabbed her arm. ‘Did Dave really say he liked my hair?’ she asked.

  ‘He really did,’ Kate lied.

  Chapter Eight

  With Clare momentarily disarmed by the thought of Dave’s compliments, Kate swung into action. She had to move fast. She got the key to the housekeeper’s cupboard from the key safe in her office and gathered up a couple of blankets. Thanks to Clare, she hadn’t been able to get anywhere near the kitchen to take the food she had hoped to steal, but there were biscuits in the housekeeping cupboard and crisps and nuts destined for the hotel’s mini-bars. Kate gathered up as much as she could carry, making a mental note of how many packets she took so that she would be able to replace them before anyone noticed. As she passed the reception desk, she added a couple of satsumas to her haul.

  With her big bundle of blankets and snacks, Kate headed towards the hotel’s main door. She was just about to make her getaway when she heard Mr Shepherd call out to her.

  ‘Hold on there, Kate,’ he said. ‘I’ll get that for you.’

  Gentleman that he was, Mr Shepherd insisted on opening the door.

  ‘Where are you going with all those blankets?’ he asked.

  ‘Oh, staff quarters,’ Kate lied. ‘It’s going to be cold tonight. Best be prepared.’

  ‘Absolutely. I bet you were a girl guide. And all those peanuts?’

  ‘One of the perks of working here,’ said Kate. ‘I’m just nuts about them. If you don’t tell anyone…’

  ‘I certainly won’t. If you don’t tell my wife about this.’

  Mr Shepherd pulled a cigar from the inside pocket of his jacket.

  ‘My lips are sealed,’ Kate assured him.

  ‘A man’s got to have his indulgences,’ Mr Shepherd continued. ‘My lovely wife has her shoes and her handbags. So many handbags. She could open a shop. Meanwhile, I have two cigars a year. One on Christmas Eve and one on the Queen’s official birthday.’

  ‘Really?’ said Kate, trying to remain polite and seem interested but not too interested. She wanted to get the blankets to the barn before someone much more curious, or rather suspicious – someone like Clare – wanted to know where she was going.

  ‘Yes, indeed,’ said Mr Shepherd. ‘She’s a wonderful woman our Queen. You know, I was lucky enough to have the chance to meet her when I was about your age. I was in the Navy…’

  Kate’s heart sank. Her long years in the hospitality business had taught her that stories that began ‘I was in the Navy’ or ‘in the Army’ or ‘in the Air Force’ were never very short. And she was right. There was no walking away from Mr Shepherd now that he was reminiscing. She would have to stay with him for as long as the story took, which was as long as it took him to smoke his cigar. His extremely smelly cigar. Kate didn’t say so but she thought Mr Shepherd was incredibly naïve to think his wife wouldn’t notice he’d been smoking. She’d be able to smell the smoke on his jacket for at least a week.

  At last the story finished. The punch line was that Mr Shepherd had been so discombobulated at meeting the monarch that he had curtseyed rather than bowed. Forever after, Edward was known by his colleagues as ‘Elsie Shepherd’.

  ‘I can laugh about it now,’ he said. ‘And the Queen laughed too. Which is why I always celebrate her birthday. Wonderful woman. Wonderful woman.’

  ‘Indeed,’ said Kate. ‘And talking of wonderful women, Mr Shepherd, if you’re out here much longer, your wife will start to think you’ve run away with me!’

  ‘Good point,’ said Mr Shepherd. At last he seemed ready to go back inside. ‘But I’m forgetting my manners, I should help you carry those blankets. Are the staff quarters far away?’

  ‘No!’ Kate almost shouted. ‘I mean, no. They’re really very light. I can manage.
I don’t want you to miss another second of the party.’

  It took another minute or so before Mr Shepherd was convinced that Kate could indeed manage to carry the blankets she had been holding for the last quarter of an hour, but finally he went back inside. Kate hurried on with her mission, checking as she crossed the car park that nobody was looking out of the windows. She really couldn’t afford to be seen.

  When Kate got to the barn, Gabriel was sitting on the floor with the young couple. He had taken off his big black puffa jacket and loaned it to the shivering girl. Dear Gabriel, thought Kate. Always thinking of other people’s comfort before his own. She remembered the staff summer picnic, shortly after Gabriel first started his job, when he laid another jacket on the ground so that two of the girls could sit on it to save their dresses.

  Kate handed the blankets and the snacks to the grateful couple.

  ‘It isn’t much, I’m afraid.’

  ‘It’s more than we’ve had all day,’ Jack told her. ‘You’d think people would be more generous at Christmas but perhaps the cost of all those presents they’ve got to buy makes them feel skint.’

  ‘Perhaps,’ said Kate, hoping Jack and Mandy didn’t recognise her from earlier that day, when she had refused Jack’s entreaty for change. Her knee-jerk reaction – thinking they were drug addicts begging for a fix – was deeply embarrassing to her now. She listened with a growing sense of guilt as Jack told her how demeaning it was to have had to turn to begging and felt a flush of shame heat her cheeks.

  ‘People look right through you,’ he said. ‘You become less than human. But it’s easy to end up on the streets. People don’t understand how easy it is. We had savings. I looked for work everywhere, every day. We thought we’d get housing benefit and that would tide us over for a while but the safety net had a hole in it. The money didn’t come. Our landlord wouldn’t wait. And you try finding somewhere else at this time of year.’