Page 33 of Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge

‘Where’s Lily?’ he barked at Frankie, whose eyebrows raised in surprise at his harsh tone.

‘She went out for a walk around the lake with your mum,’ said Frankie.

She opened her mouth to ask him what the problem was but it was too late. Ben was already striding out of the hotel.

With each step, he was feeling more and more annoyed. By the time he came across his mum walking on her own, his temper had risen even more.

‘Where’s Lily?’ he snapped.

She looked shocked. ‘She’s in the boathouse, having a look around,’ said Faye. ‘I had to leave her because I’m taking your grandmother into the village. What’s the problem? Hey!’

Ben heard her call out but he was too busy walking towards the boathouse, determined to get to the bottom of the problem.

Lily was walking around the interior of the boathouse, feeling in awe. It was beautiful, she thought. She hadn’t been inside it before but after seeing it on her walk around the lake, she had been desperate to peek at the interior. Now she was standing in the middle of the floor, she could appreciate how large a room itwas with its double-height oak-framed ceiling. There was even a wide balcony along the whole of the first floor, although it looked a bit rickety so she wasn’t going anywhere near it.

In the far corner, there was an opening in the floor where the top of a ladder could be seen peeping above the gap. It led down to the three docks below where she could hear the water lapping against the ancient boat that Faye had just shown her.

Faye needed to leave for an appointment but Lily had found that she wanted to loiter in the space for a while longer. There were no windows but the openings in the wall out onto the water made her feel as if she was floating above the lake itself.

The air was cool, coming in from the shutters through to the open front door. It still needed a complete renovation as all the floorboards were a little rickety and even the front door itself had to be wedged open with a heavy lump of wood that they had found.

‘There’s no handle on here,’ Faye had said, showing her the smooth door. ‘You won’t be able to get out otherwise!’

Not that Lily was in a hurry to leave. The peace after the endless noise and hammering of the workmen in the hotel was blissful. And for all its run-down state, the boathouse felt a warm and welcoming place.

She suddenly heard footsteps outside and figured it was Faye coming back.

But it wasn’t Faye at all, she realised, turning to look at the open doorway. It was Ben and he was looking extremely cross.

‘There you are!’ he said, standing in the doorway and filling the space with his wide shoulders.

‘Yup. Here I am,’ she said, somewhat worried about his tense expression.

‘I’ve had averyinteresting time this afternoon,’ he carried on.

‘How nice,’ she said, wondering where this was leading.

‘Not really,’ he replied. ‘I thought I’d see progress on the decorating. So I’ve just been into Bedroom No 2!’

She took a sharp intake of breath. He had seen the room! The truth was finally out on her secret design.

‘You totally disregarded all of my ideas,’ he told her.

‘Only because they were awful,’ she replied, finally feeling relieved enough to tell the truth.

‘That’s only your opinion and besides, that’s not the point!’ he wailed, before checking himself. ‘I wanted the minimal look.’

‘Which was completely wrong for the place!’ she told him. ‘Look, I know design and trust me when I say that I was on the right track. You’ve got to admit that the room looks much better.’

‘They were my ideas! Mine! I’m in charge around here, although heaven knows nobody seems to realise that!’ he shouted.

‘Listen,’ she began.

But he was in no mood to hear her ideas.

‘But why should I be surprised that you ignored everything that I hired you to do,’ he carried on. ‘I mean, if your own design company can sack you then you’re not exactly the most professional person at this, are you?’

Lily gasped, as a chill ran through her. ‘You’ve talked to Hans?’ she asked, with a gulp.