‘Which brings me to the second thing I want to ask you. Could I rent all the rooms in your B & B?’

Gilly was a bit taken aback. ‘Of course you can, but it rather depends on when your party is. I may have bookings already.’ She smiled apologetically. ‘I do get bookings quite far in advance. I know I should have my diary on my phone but although Helena explained how to do it I kept forgetting to update it. And frankly, it’s quite nice to have a bit of time to reflect sometimes.’

William nodded. ‘It’s quite soon, I’m afraid – this month. January Barn have had a wedding cancelled and haven’t yet filled the spot. They were quite keen on having a less labour-intensive event although obviously one not quite as lucrative.’

Gilly got up. ‘Why don’t you email me the dates and I’ll get back to you? I’d love to have your family to stay.’ Already she was considering passing on any bookings she might have to her friend nearby whose B & B was nearly as good as her own.

‘And I know they’d love staying with you,’ he said. ‘It would be for my aunts and some cousins. I’m very fond of them.’

‘Of course I’d be happy to give you a special rate as your family will be taking all the rooms,’ said Gilly.

‘As your accountant I shouldn’t let you do that,’ he said firmly, but Gilly could see a twinkle in his eye he couldn’t quite suppress.

She felt a rush of warmth towards this kind man who wanted to do something nice for his elderly relatives. ‘But as your friend I think you have to let me charge what I think appropriate.’

He laughed. ‘I’m glad you think of yourself as my friend, Mrs Claire.’

‘I do, and I think it’s high time you called me Gilly.’

‘And you must call me William.’

Gilly smiled and got up. ‘I must go. Thank you so much for your advice and get those dates to me as soon as you can.’

He got up too and walked her to the door where she stopped, pointing to the wall. ‘I’ve never mentioned it before, but I really love those photographs. Seeing the hills covered in frost with the sunshine just catching them, the river looking magnificent, they’re really beautiful.’

‘Do you like them? I took them from my glider.’

‘Glider? You have a glider?’

He nodded and opened the door.

That’s a bit of a surprise, thought Gilly as she left.

Chapter Three

Helena’s best friend Amy called on her the following evening. Helena had sent her a text – Met our new landlord Jago Pengelly – but hadn’t gone into detail. She knew she couldn’t cheat Amy by being brief. While Helena wasn’t interested in him as a possible date, Amy probably would be.