Danny nodded in appreciation, as Lucas went on, ‘But to get this extra star rating, everything – and I mean everything – from the outside step to the gents’ toilets, to the back corner of the restaurant and to the smallest shot glass in the bar: all have to be spotless. In the rooms, the bedding has to smell fresh, there are to be no cobwebs and absolutely no hairs of any kind anywhere. In the restaurant, the food must be consistently excellent. The staff have to be courteous, polite and smart, so no chipped polish – all right Tina?’ She unfurled her hands guiltily as Lucas finished with: ‘We have to think Four in a Bed combined with The Hotel Inspector.’
‘Oh, I love them two TV programmes,’ Tina piped up. ‘But shit, we don’t want the likes of that Alex Polizzi coming here with her “darlings” and her effing and jeffing to get us at each other’s throats.’
She laughed, but Lucas was deadly serious.
‘And there’ll be no swearing here either, not while we’re on duty, or someone will report that on Tripadvisor and it will damage our standing. But you’ve hit the nail on the head there, Tina. Because that’s part of it. To get this rating, the company who set up the awards send a mystery hotel inspector.’
‘Oh fu– I mean, oh dear.’ Danny raised his lip, likening him to a young Elvis.
‘Yeah,’ Lucas nodded.
‘Mind you, I hope it is Alex Polizzi. She is one sexy Italian.’
‘You and your thing for older women, my boy,’ Tina said with a sigh.
‘Yeah, experienced, can’t get pregnant, and they love us young bucks.’
‘That’s enough of that.’ She went to swipe her son, then remembering where she was, stopped herself. ‘When will they come then, Luke?’ she asked.
‘That’s the whole point, Ma,’ Danny interjected. ‘We dunno. The clue is in the word “mystery”, right?’ He put his hand up to high-five his boss. ‘OK. We’ve got this, Lucas, mate. We’re a winning team.’
‘Yes, from now on, we need to be vigilant,’ Lucas told them both. ‘Davina said she’d help out when she could. Make sure the female touch is on show.’
Tina raised her eyes and quickly lowered them again; luckily only Danny saw. Neither of them was enamoured by Lucas’s girlfriend of ten months. There was something about her they didn’t trust. The fact that she was a policewoman didn’t help either, as the Greens had been brought up trying to keep out of the way of the boys and girls in blue. Danny had even done a stint in prison, through no fault of his own. He had been protecting his ex, Leah, and mother of his child, who was now working on her addiction demons while living with her family in Wales.
Lucas was now saying, ‘And my brother Tom will give us some input, I’m sure. They – the inspector, that is – will come alone and pretty soon, I think, so from now on we just have to up our game and be vigilant.’ He paused. ‘I also need to talk to you about how we are going to manage the Christmas Grotto set-up, but let’s get this place shipshape first.’
While Danny and Tina headed upstairs to start on the bedrooms, Lucas went behind the bar to grab a coffee from the new whizzy machine he’d just installed. He then sat himself at a table in the window and looked out onto the beach. What a difference a year had made. Since their mother, Sheila Hannafore, had tragically died and left her two sons the old pub in her will, Lucas’s older brother Tom, despite living in Bristol with his family, still had a big say in the goings-on of the business and, as an accountant, made sure that the books were in apple-pie order.
It hadn’t taken a huge amount of money to do the old place up, and in the capable hands of Danny as project manager, and with Lucas’s plumbing skills, the two men had basically renovated the bedrooms and added a couple of en-suites by themselves. Sheila had left them a tidy sum of cash too, so as well as it covering the renovation work, Tom’s suggestion of hiring an interior designer had worked out well. The rooms and en-suites had been transformed into different seaside themes, with spanking new furnishings and bedding to bring the Ship bang up to date. The four en-suite bedrooms had been named after famous historic ships: the Mary Rose, RMS Titanic, the Golden Hind and HMS Victory, allowing the charm of the old building to shine through, but with modern comforts.
Freelance marketer Carly Jessop was also now on board to maintain the website she had recently created and to continually promote and update the hotel’s services online.
The place was unrecognisable from when it had been the Ship Inn. Even Lucas’s bedroom was like a posh hotel room. He had named his room HMS Belfast, purely because he had remembered sneaking a girl down to the engine room and snogging her there, while on a school trip. The imposing Air Force-grey warship, permanently moored on the River Thames, had also been a landmark to his life when he had lived in London.
Despite it being a great space, with the large lounge and newly modernised kitchen area also for his sole use, he quite often thought of moving out and getting a place not linked to his work. He always immediately changed his mind, however, for this place felt like home, and the memories of his mum and dad were still very much alive between its old walls. That made him feel safe – not quite so alone, somehow.
Taking a sip of coffee, he wondered what his forthright and quite often misunderstood mum would think of the place now. She would have hated it, probably. She had loved her old boozer, with its long-standing traditions, local clientele and family appeal. Despite grumbling about the changes and the price hike of spirits and wines, the locals did still frequent the hotel bar, with its roaring log fire and beach views. Lucas on the whole ignored their moans, but out of respect for them and knowing that the locals’ custom was key during the long, cold winter months in the Bay, he had kept all the draft ales, aware that if he dared to change any of them, there would be a revolt. They might even shift their loyalties to the Lobster Pot up the hill. No way would he allow that to happen.
The original plan had been for Danny and his family to live above the pub in one room but, working on the business plan, Lucas’s brother had said it made no sense to lose a room that could be used for guests. Instead, Tom would keep the rambling old place in Cockleberry Bay that he had bought a few years ago and was now only used for Hannafore family holidays. Danny, Tina, and Danny’s nearly six-year-old son Alfie could move in there, he suggested, and pay a peppercorn rent that was taken directly out of their wages. Nate, Rosa’s brother, who was also looking for accommodation, could live in the converted summerhouse at the bottom of the garden, so it was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Lucas liked the fact that his staff were close to hand at all times if he needed them. And Tom was happy that the rent paid for the expenses and a bit more on his property.
The Greens with their working-class London roots had been saviours to Lucas Hannafore. Rough and ready they might be, but they were cut from the same cloth as him and Lucas knew he could trust them not only to work hard but also to always have his back. This was no doubt helped by Lucas’s close bond with East-Ender Rosa, who had bravely saved Alfie’s life during the terrible storm of two summers ago.
Lucas’s thoughts were interrupted by a familiar high-pitched barking and on looking out of the front window and down to the sea’s edge, he could see Rosa, in bright yellow wellies and with Little Ned in a papoose on her front, running alongside Hot, dodging the waves as they came in. She was, quite clearly, without a care in the world. He had known all along that she would make a great mother; free and loving and fun. Fierce and protective. It was just a shame it wasn’t to his children.