Free The Guestbook by Holly Martin Page A

rectify this. After this weekend you will no longer be one of my customers. I am never having you back in this house again. You can take your self-righteousness and stick it up your arse.
    **********

Annie, I’ve just come round to clean after Mrs Applecroft’s rather hasty departure. What on earth has got into you? You’ve been stomping around like a bear with a sore head since Olly left. This is not like you and I’m worried. Mrs Applecroft has been infuriating us both for years and you’ve never been rude before.
    Sophia
     
    I’ve just looked back at the messages that you and Olly wrote to each other as you wouldn’t tell me what’s going on. I had no idea you two slept together, but then I suppose it was none of my business.
     
    You can’t leave things like that between you, you’ve been best friends since you were born. You can’t throw away twenty six years of friendship now. I admit the man is being completely unreasonable but he’s still grieving over Nick. Please talk to him. If you can’t be together then at least you can stay friends. You owe him that.
     
    I don’t owe him anything. Apart from two million pounds. The man is an arse.
     
    As for Mrs Applecroft, I’m done with being nice to people who don’t deserve it. I invite these people into my home, bend over backwards to make them feel welcome, and when they’re rude I’m just supposed to smile and let them walk all over me. Well no more. Thanks to the arse, I’m in the fortunate position now where I don’t really need the money that these guests provide. If I don’t like them I’ll tell them so. I’m not going to be treated like scum any more, by Olly or by anyone.
     
    Then you’re in the wrong line of business. I worked in a hotel for five years before I married Albert. Every morning the guests that were checking out always had some complaint, the beds were too hard, too soft, the water wasn’t hot enough or it was too hot. The swimming pool was too small. I had one guest complain that the complimentary champagne we had left in her room tasted like goat’s piss. I did point out that it was complimentary and as such wasn’t going to be Dom Perignon, but she still insisted on compensation, which we duly gave.
     
    You are lucky that only Mrs Applecroft has found fault in the cottage so far. Maybe this isn’t for you if you can’t face customer complaints.
     
    Maybe it isn’t. I don’t actually want to do this anymore. Being in Wales with Hetty has showed me there’s a huge world out there just waiting to be explored. I love the beach here, but there are a million beaches out there that I’ve yet to see. Life is short, Lord knows we know that, and I want to get out there and see what the world has to offer before the grim reaper sneaks up on me too. My feet are itchy, they have been for years, but I stayed for my Dad and Nick. My Dad died first, Nick the year after. I stayed here then because of Olly, because this would always be the place he would return home to. But now I have nothing to stay for anymore. Don’t get me wrong. I love you like the Mum I never had, you will always be special to me. I love William too. I just need to do something for me for a while. The next few weeks are busy with the summer clients but when it dies down I’m going to look into selling this place.
     
    Damned reverse psychology. I was only saying that because the feisty Annie I know and love would have tried to prove me wrong. I didn’t actually mean for you to sell the place and leave Chalk Hill.
     
    Chalk Hill is your home and always will be. And you’ve worked so hard to establish Willow Cottage as a successful business. Don’t throw it away now because of some silly spat with Olly.
     
    It’s more than that. I need a fresh start.
    **********

25 th – 28 th July
    Imogen Brooke, Charlotte Carlisle, Paige Marsh, Amy Bradley and Sadie Collins.
     
    I’m on my hen weekend with my favourite girlies. We’re spending the day at a spa