‘We do have a five-star hygiene rating, Miss Jones.’ The fact he knew her surname even though she hadn’t told him was disconcerting. Was it that they knew of Holly Lodge? She supposed they must know all their competition in the town. ‘I can assure you nothing like this has ever happened before.’
At a nearby table, a woman was angling a phone as if she was recording the whole thing. Even the mayor was watching with her group of councillors. Nell’s cheeks grew hot and she looked at Tom for support.
‘I’m sure it’s just a one-off,’ he said to Bryan. ‘But if we could maybe change Nell’s starter to something else? And you might want to get rid of that batch of soup, just to be sure.’
Bryan eyed the woman with her phone, and suddenly his demeanour changed. He stood a little straighter and his expression hardened. ‘There is another explanation. As the owner of Holly Lodge, you might have placed it there to sabotage us—’
‘What?’ Every muscle in Nell’s body stiffened. ‘Don’t be absurd. Why would I do that?’
‘We’re well aware, Miss Jones, that your business has suffered since the opening of our hotel. You could have come here and placed that spider in your soup, so we lose business and even our hygiene rating. Or possibly you wanted a free meal. It wouldn’t be the first time someone has tried something like this. Though they usually use one of their own hairs.’
Nell’s temper flared. ‘I would never do such a thing. How dare you suggest that I would? Do you think I found and kept a soggy arachnid, bringing it with me to dinner just so I could put it in my soup to try and discredit the Langdon Mansion Hotel? That is ridiculous.’ She crossed her arms over her chest. It was clear that having realised who she was, Bryan was now trying to blame her rather than take responsibility for the oversight of his restaurant.
Bryan puffed out his skinny, wimpy chest. ‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave, Miss Jones.’
Nell gasped in a breath. This was so utterly embarrassing. Her body felt like it was on fire, she was sweating and could feel how beetroot-red her cheeks were.
‘Now hang on a minute,’ said Tom, his voice edging towards angry. It wasn’t something she heard all that often. ‘We haven’t done anything wrong. Your restaurant has allowed a spider to crawl into its soup and yet you’re trying to blame us?’
Tallulah the waitress was looking on in terror at the furore in front of her and she suddenly looked much younger than she had before, more like Tom’s Janie – just a young girl caught in a horrible situation. Nell felt instantly sorry for her. From Bryan’s behaviour she could imagine he wasn’t a very nice boss. One of those who was fine as long you were on the right side of them but get something wrong and you were thrown under the bus, especially if it caused him any problems.
‘Let’s just go,’ said Nell, feeling the eyes of everyone on her. She’d never been so humiliated in her entire life and once she’d walked out of a public toilet with her skirt tucked in her knickers and shown half her bum as she walked down the high street. At the time she’d thought nothing could top that, but she was wrong, this definitely took the trophy for the most embarrassing moment of her life.
‘Are you sure?’ Tom asked. ‘You’ve done nothing wrong, Nell. You shouldn’t be bullied out of having your dinner here because they’ve messed up.’
Bryan sniffed and ignored the comment even though Tom shot daggers at him.
Trying to regain some of her dignity, Nell stood and grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair. ‘I’d really rather just go, Tom. We can grab some fish and chips on the way home. My treat.’
As Tom passed Bryan, he turned to face him. ‘You should be ashamed of yourself. You know full well Nell didn’t place that spider there, you’re just too embarrassed to admit it. That’s despicable. And cowardly.’
As they left, with all eyes upon them, Nell felt Tom’s reassuring hand on her back. It wasn’t until they were outside in the cold, fresh night air that she felt able to breathe again and her cheeks began to cool.
‘Well, that was horrible,’ Nell said, wrapping her scarf around her neck. The awful automatic doors opened and closed as people inside walked past them.
‘It was. Do you want my coat?’ Tom asked as Nell shivered.
‘No. I’m not actually that cold. I think it’s just shock and shame.’
‘Hey,’ Tom said quickly, turning Nell to face him and taking her face in his hands. She loved the warmth of them. ‘You have nothing to be ashamed of. They’re the ones who should be ashamed. They’ve treated you so badly. I hope the mayor saw it—’
Panic flooded her face. ‘I hope she didn’t. What if she believes them?’
‘No one would believe them. They were clearly lying to save their own skin. Much easier to turn the tables and try and blame you than tell the truth that they messed up. You heard him say about people trying to get free meals. I bet they’ve done this before, blaming customers rather than take responsibility for the meals they serve.’
Some of the tension released from Nell’s shoulders and she tipped her head down. Tom did the same, resting his forehead against hers, and she enjoyed their closeness for a second.
‘Shall we get those fish and chips?’ he said as they stood there in the dark.
Nell lifted her head and nodded. ‘Much better than – what was that beef thing?’
Tom thought for a moment and recited the menu. ‘Full-blooded, Australian Wagyu beef strips in a flaked cheddar and chive pastry envelope.’
‘So, beef Wellington in cheesy pastry?’
‘Yep.’
As they strolled back into Swallowtail Bay, Nell threaded her arm through Tom’s, glad that even though the night
