Page 34 of Welcome to Pennycress Inn

‘Oh, well, all part of the service.’ He grinned, his dimple appearing. ‘Seriously though, please stop thinking and talking about yourself like that. You’re one of the most capable people I know.’

‘Ha, now I know you’re still intent on joking.’

‘I’m not joking.’ He spoke quietly, each one of his words clearly spoken.

‘Hmm. I know you’re just trying to make me feel better, but I think we both know that’s a lie.’ She shivered.

‘You’re cold. Here, have my jumper.’ Jackson pulled his jumper over his head and held it out for her.

‘Don’t worry, I’m disgusting.’ She looked down at her T-shirt. ‘I’d only get it dirty.’

‘It doesn’t matter. You’re cold. Take it.’

‘Thanks.’ Pulling it on, she smiled a small sad smile. She had a wardrobe of clothes upstairs, but even fetching a jumper felt like too much for her at this moment. ‘Why does everybody hate me?’

Jackson pulled a face as he leaned back against the reception desk. ‘Nobody hates you.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Now there’s no excuse for lying. I was there. I heard what they said in the pub earlier.’

Jackson took a deep breath in before sighing equally loudly. ‘Oh.’

‘Oh? That’s all you’ve got to say?’

Rubbing his hand over his face, Jackson twisted his body so he was facing her. ‘They don’t hate you. They just don’t like you living here.’

‘They don’t want me in Meadowfield?’ She frowned.

‘Not in Meadowfield. The fact you’ve moved to the village isn’t the problem.’

‘So it’s the inn, then? They don’t like the fact I bought Pennycress.’ She scratched at the cuticle on her thumb, her stomach churning. They’d seen through her already. ‘They know how incompetent I am. I must just have one of those faces.’

‘You’re not incompetent.’ Jackson shook his head. ‘It’s not you. They’d have a problem with anyone who had bought this place.’

‘What? Why? What do they want? For it to stand derelict? To go to ruin?’ She set her jaw. That wasn’t fair on Pennycress. It was too beautiful for that, even with all of its problems. A flash of anger replaced the self-pity.

‘It’s a bit more complicated than that.’

‘I’m listening.’

‘Vivienne Fields was the previous tenant of Pennycress. The actual building was owned by a chap called George Yates, I believe. He moved out of Meadowfield about thirty years ago now and Vivienne had been running Pennycress ever since.’

Laura shook her head. What did Vivienne have to do with the way people were acting towards her?

‘She’s a very, very well-respected and liked woman in Meadowfield and the surrounding area. The inn attracted a lot of tourism, money, to the village and they were thankful to her for that.’

She looked up from her now raw cuticle. ‘I don’t understand. If they want Pennycress back up and running, then why won’t anyone help me? Why can’t I employ anyone to help with any of the tasks? Why won’t anyone talk to me?’

‘From what I can understand – and it’s only what I’ve picked up here and there, so there may well be chunks of information missing…’ He shrugged. ‘But George Yates basically evicted Vivienne so he could put the inn up for sale.’

‘And she didn’t want to leave?’

‘I don’t think so, no. I don’t think she was ready to retire. But she didn’t have the money to buy at the price George was asking.’

‘Oh.’

‘It’s still no reason for people to treat you the way they have.’ A deep crimson crept up Jackson’s neck from beneath the collar of his T-shirt.

‘I didn’t know any of this. Ms Taunton?—’

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