Page 6 of Lie For Me

‘I think he’s got a thing for strong women,’ Anne’s soft voice interjected. ‘He seems to rather enjoy getting told off by Dot.’

Anne’s unofficial role was explaining to irate or trembling volunteers what Dot really meant to say. She was Dot’s compassion filter, arriving in the wake of Dot’s brute words and trying to tease them into something a little more diplomatic and considered.

Anne turned Dot’s, this simply isn’t good enough. You must do better, into, what Dot meant was, how might we improve on what’s already working?

As far as Lucy was concerned, Anne was a wizard, and they’d have more upset amongst the volunteers without her.

Dot dismissed Anne’s comment with a wave.

‘You need to speak to him, Lucy. He needs to be given short shrift and told to buck up his ideas. And if he won’t, then perhaps he is better off volunteering somewhere with different standards. Like March House.’

Dot smirked.

March House was a smaller but long-established historic attraction barely ten miles away across the Yorkshire Dales that had been somewhat eclipsed in recent years as the events and visitor programme at Dulcetcoombe had grown.

Lucy sighed and wondered how it was that her lovely sunny morning now involved finding a way to talk to an eighty-something-year-old man about personal hygiene and presentation.

‘Okay, Dot, I’ll find time to speak with Dick—Richard—about this.’

‘Jolly good. I’ll wait for your report on how you get on.’

Lucy reflected for a moment on the fact that Dot volunteered to work for her and not the other way around. Dot, leather-bound clipboard clutched once more to her matronly bosom, readied herself to leave. She gestured for Anne and Edward to follow her.

‘Do smarten yourself up, Lucy,’ she said, glancing at the faded T-shirt sporting the new coffee stain. ‘You represent Dulcetcoombe, you know.’

Dot spied Cassie feigning interest in a ticketing printout.

‘Cassie,’ she said, then nodded as she turned and marched to the door.

‘Nice to see you, Dot,’ Cassie said, all sweetness and light.

Dot gave one last disappointed shake of the head in the direction of Lucy’s trainers and was gone.

Lucy stared at the doorway and listened as Dot’s brisk voice, listing to Anne all that she had to do today, faded away down the corridor. Edward, his face now a more normal colour, took a breath and scurried after them.

‘Wow,’ Cassie said, descending into laughter. ‘You’ve got bigger problems than dealing with your family at a wedding.’

‘Yes.’ Lucy waggled a finger at Cassie. ‘It seems that I have to talk to Dick about cleanliness.’

‘Hmm, hard to do looking like that.’

Cassie nodded at Lucy’s coffee-tissue splodge.

Lucy glanced down and groaned.

‘I know, pots and kettles and all that. Maybe I’ll do it tomorrow when I’m actually presentable and have a leg to stand on.’

She sidled over and retrieved the cream envelope and card from Cassie’s desk.

‘This,’ she waved the invitation, ‘is a priority. I can’t show up on my own, especially not at this late stage. I’ll never hear the end of it.’

There was a knock at the door, and it squeaked open on ancient hinges.

It was Dick.

‘Hello Lucy, hello there Cassie. Sorry to bother you, but I just bumped into Dot, and she told me you wanted a word? Is now a good time?’

Cassie, who had just bitten into a biscuit, looked like she might choke. She swiveled in her chair and took a sudden deep interest in her wall planner, her quivering shoulders giving her away.

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