Christmas in Chamonix

by Christmas in Chamonix (retail) (epub)

  ‘OK, time to clear away!’ Sylvan clapped his hands as the last of the guests left the dining area and headed into the bar. The staff got to work, mumbling under their breath about Sylvan and his clapping.

  Elodie arrived at the end to do her usual directing of staff and just generally being condescending and rude.

  ‘Lily, if you could please make sure the tables are wiped down properly. And I do mean properly. There were crumbs left on the table this morning.’ She threw Lily and Imogen a stern glance as if they were the culprits, even though they had been on plate duty earlier. ‘Ollie, George and Joe, if you can rearrange the tables in preparation for the breakfast buffet. Amelia, Kate, you’re on dish washing.’

  ‘Who put her in charge?’ Lily whispered to Imogen as they scrubbed the wooden tables down thoroughly. ‘Or is she actually in charge and I’m being impolite?’

  ‘Nope.’ Imogen scrubbed a crusty spot of duchesse potato from the table. ‘In the absence of Celine, Elodie thinks she’s the best woman for the job. Between her and Sylvan, it’s hard to get a word in edgeways.’ She held her hands up and pulled her ‘hey, chill’ face. ‘Listen, I certainly don’t want to be in charge, and I doubt you do. So I can’t say I’m fussed either way.’

  Lily could see Imogen’s point. Someone had to run the show if Celine and Pierre weren’t around and maybe she was just narked because Elodie kept being obnoxious to her. But she was obnoxious towards to everyone, wasn’t she? Lily wondered if Elodie had it in for her specifically, however, and she said as much to Imogen as they finished cleaning the tables.

  ‘Have you ever thought that it might be because you’re exceptionally pretty, Lily?’ Imogen answered as the boys started moving the buffet tables around them. ‘All new girls are a threat to the other girls and ditto the boys for the boys. I’m not saying it’s exactly like that TV show Love Island here, but… it’s basically like Love Island.’

  ‘Don’t be daft! I thought I’d done something to offend her.’

  ‘No, she’s genuinely just a bitch, Lils.’ Imogen finished her table. ‘Are you done? We’d better get off to this meeting.’

  ‘I’m done.’

  They put all the cleaning stuff away and headed to the staff area. It was a cosy room tucked away at the back of the hotel with sofas and armchairs, a large TV and a table tennis table. When they arrived, most of the sofas and armchairs had been taken and the room was practically full. All the instructors were there, including Luc, who was leaning against the wall at the far end. He smiled when he caught sight of her, then carried on chatting to whom Lily assumed must be Matteo, judging by the chamois leather complexion and the snug-fitting, turquoise all-in-one ski suit.

  There was a slight hush in the chatter as the Devereuxs entered the room together. Celine, Pierre and Marc were still sporting ski gear, but Elodie had changed and she looked radiant in a pair of tight jeans and a black polo neck jumper, her golden hair around her shoulders in a straight sheet as though it had been professionally ironed.

  ‘Thank you all for coming to this meeting,’ Pierre said, taking residence at the front of the room. Celine stood by his side, with Marc and Elodie standing back slightly. Elodie seemed to be making a point of shimmying closer to Luc, but Lily might have been mistaken. Imogen clearly agreed, however, because she gave Lily an unsubtle shove in her already bruised ribs.

  ‘I wanted to speak to you all about some issues we have been experiencing at Boutique Hotel Devereux,’ Pierre was saying, his tone grave. ‘This is confidential information and it is to go no further than this room. Is that understood?’

  The staff looked at one another, shocked. This sounded serious.

  ‘There have been some administrative errors,’ Pierre continued. ‘Mistakes with bookings, such as rooms being double-booked and overcharging for rooms with set rates. Also a few other things that haven’t gone unnoticed, but are more minor compared to those offences.’

  There was now a hush across the room. Lily glanced around quickly to see if anyone looked uncomfortable or guilty, but everyone just looked shocked. Elodie was watching everyone like a hawk, presumably also trying to work out who might be behind the errors.

  Pierre cleared his throat and carried on. ‘The Devereux family take many of these bookings, but obviously you are all on rotation and run the desk at one time or another. It hasn’t been possible to ascertain who is responsible as some of these bookings were telephone bookings and I can’t say for sure who was on the rota each time. On a more serious note, money has gone missing.’

  There was a collective gasp. Lily was taken aback. She glanced at Imogen, who looked equally stunned. Administrative errors were one thing, but missing money was another.

  Pierre looked grave. ‘It saddens me to have to tell you all that, but it’s happened more than once, and I am sharing this with you all in the hope that the culprit will come and see me privately and own up.’

  Ollie put his hand up. ‘How has money gone missing, if you don’t mind me asking?’

  Celine stepped forward, pushing her frizzy hair out of her eyes. ‘Money has gone missing in various ways. Some from the cash box in the main office. Extra money from overcharging has been syphoned from the main account and anyone could have done that because you all leave your login information in the desk drawer.’ She stared at all of them pointedly. ‘Because we trust you. And because we need you to all take turns manning the desk.’

  ‘That’s terrible,’ Imogen breathed. She looked around the room. ‘I just don’t understand how any of us could be capable of that.’

  Ollie and a few others shook their heads, while other staff members looked indignant or upset.

  Pierre took over again. His body language was rigid and disapproving. ‘Well, I’m glad you all feel that way, but unfortunately, one of you isn’t telling the truth. I will be in my office for the next three hours. I invite the person responsible to come and see me privately and I promise to be as fair as possible. I will listen to any reasons and we will work together to find a solution.’ He looked saddened, his shoulders sagging briefly. ‘I hope the person steps forward so we can resolve this. That’s all, everyone.’

  Everyone stood and looked at each other for a second and then slowly they began to melt away and leave the room. Lily and Imogen left with Ollie and headed upstairs to Lily and Imogen’s room.

  ‘Wow.’ Ollie threw himself onto Imogen’s bed. ‘Shocking or what?’

  ‘Defo.’ Imogen joined him on the bed. ‘Who do we think it is?’

  Lily sat on the edge of the tiny desk. ‘God knows. You know them all better than I do.’

  Imogen shook her head. ‘I can’t imagine any of the staff doing this.’

  ‘Even the ski instructors have access to the office,’ Ollie said. ‘It could be anyone. It could even be one of the family,’ he added darkly.

  Lily pulled a face. ‘One of the Devereuxs stealing from the Devereuxs? What would be the point of that?’

  Ollie looked crestfallen. ‘I don’t know. I was just playing Inspector Gadget.’

  Imogen supressed a laugh and caught Lily’s eye as if to say ‘bless’. ‘Anyway, let’s change the subject. We know it’s not us. Have you gotten back to Jamie yet?’

  Lily clapped a hand to her mouth. ‘God, no, I haven’t! What should I say?’

  ‘Show me what he said.’ Imogen took Lily’s phone. ‘Hmm… I would just go back and go on about how gorgeous it is here and say that you’ve started skiing. Friend-zone him completely.’

  ‘OK, good call.’ Lily quickly typed a message back to that effect. ‘Oh, how weird. Ivy has just sent me a message.’ She looked up worriedly. ‘Do you think she’s with him?’

  Imogen shrugged. ‘Doesn’t matter if she is. You just friend-zoned him so it won’t look odd anyway. What did Ivy say?’

  ‘That she misses me and hopes I’ve settled in.’ Lily frowned. ‘A very Ivy-ish text, but I’m surprised she hasn’t mentioned Jamie.’

  ‘Ask how thing
s are going,’ Imogen urged.

  Lily grinned. Imogen was uber-nosy, but Lily wanted to know as well. She sent a message back and received a response from Ivy seconds later. ‘It’s all wonderful with Jamie!’ followed by a big red heart.

  Lily felt herself plummet immediately, then felt terrible. This was her sister. She should feel pleased for her.

  Imogen put her hand on Lily’s. ‘Ouch. Sorry I made you ask.’

  ‘That’s OK.’

  Ollie pretended to roll his eyes. ‘Men!’ he said amiably. ‘We’re all bastards, aren’t we?’

  Lily decided she rather liked Ollie. She hoped Imogen wouldn’t swallow him up and spit him out the way she had with others.

  ‘You need a distraction,’ Imogen announced, sitting up.

  ‘Oh God.’ Lily cringed. ‘Don’t go on about Sylvan or other men please.’

  Imogen tutted. ‘Not men! Skiing. You need to get into skiing. Once you get the bug, you’ll be totally distracted and want to do that all day long. When you’re not working, that is. Ollie, we need to help her.’

  Ollie sat up and saluted. ‘At your service, ma’am. Tomorrow, we hit the slopes!’

  As sweet as Ollie was, Lily felt her stomach churn all over again. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for this skiing lark. And for some reason, she wasn’t sure she was going to trust Ollie on the slopes the way she had Luc. But maybe she needed to give him a chance. Maybe skiing with Ollie would be even better.

  Not believing it for a second, Lily put skiing out of her mind and carried on gossiping about who the thief might be.

  Chapter Eleven

  ‘Oh, that feels formidable…’ Sylvan breathed happily.

  Lily rolled her eyes and carried on massaging Sylvan’s back with firm, professional strokes. He had requested a relaxing massage, but for some reason, using slow strokes felt inappropriate, so Lily had opted for a more breezy, impersonal approach.

  ‘And what is that oil? It smells delicieux!’

  ‘It’s just sweet almond with lavender and chamomile,’ Lily replied in a low voice, hoping to encourage Sylvan to not talk too much. She had lit several candles and dimmed the lights so the room was dark, but she was now worried Sylvan had mis-read the atmosphere. Perhaps he thought she had been trying to create a romantic vibe.

  Lily shuddered. Hopefully not.

  ‘Mmmm… I love the smell of lavender.’

  Lily couldn’t help smiling. This was the second massage Sylvan had had in as many days. And both times, he had talked enthusiastically throughout.

  He had a good body, Lily observed, more from a clinical perspective than anything else. He clearly worked out in addition to being a prolific snowboarder, and he had well-defined back muscles and his arms bulged impressively. That aside, Lily felt completely unmoved by Sylvan’s physique – and his effusive compliments. He simply wasn’t her type.

  Lily sighed. Sylvan was her third massage this morning and her mind had wandered each time. The trouble was, she really missed Jamie. She wished she didn’t, but she did. She missed their chats and jokey messages and the hugs and the way he made her feel. He hadn’t messaged her since the other night and even though Lily was firmly going cold turkey, she felt disappointed. But it was for the best. This was why she had come to Chamonix, after all. To get over Jamie. To put some distance between them. To let Jamie and Ivy get on with their relationship. Her heart sank at the thought. She longed for the time when she wouldn’t feel that way and would be happy to hear how fabulous things were between them.

  ‘You are helping put up all the Christmas decorations after this, yes?’ Sylvan asked, lifting his head from the face hole. He had red creases all over his face.

  ‘Er, yes. Head back down, please. I need to do your neck.’

  Lily concentrated on the massage. The last thing she wanted to do was put up Christmas decorations when she still ached all over, but Celine had asked her to do it. And to be fair, she wouldn’t have to clean the guest’s bathrooms if she put the deccies up. She was also skiing with Ollie and Imogen later, which was making her feel horribly anxious. Lily had managed to avoid skiing over the past few days because she had so many massages with non-skiing guests, mostly women, who had them at prime skiing time: first thing in the morning during lessons and in the afternoon when lessons were over and everyone was skiing together in groups.

  ‘There you go,’ Lily said, finishing up and covering Sylvan’s body with a towel. ‘Take your time and I’ll go and get you some iced water.’

  Sylvan nodded but didn’t move. Typical. The only time Sylvan relaxed and didn’t speak or move was when he was due to leave. Lily stepped over the predictable little puddles of water dotted throughout the corridor – the boot room was a few doors down and snow fell off the bottom of guests’ and instructors’ trousers as they traipsed back to their rooms. She grabbed Sylvan’s water, and as she turned back, Lily crashed straight into Luc.

  ‘Ooh!’ she shrieked, her face in his chest.

  ‘Sorry.’ Luc grinned and grabbed her elbows. He was wearing salopettes and a tight black ski top. ‘I didn’t mean to scare you.’

  ‘That’s OK.’ Lily took a breath and released herself from his grasp. Reluctantly. ‘I was miles away.’

  Luc frowned, the furrow in his brow doing nothing to take away from his attractiveness. ‘Miles away?’

  ‘It’s an expression. It just means I was thinking about something else.’

  ‘Ah.’ Luc’s brow cleared. ‘I see. Are you OK?’

  ‘Oh yes. About to put up some Christmas decorations.’

  ‘That’s nice. Better than cleaning the toilets.’

  Lily smiled. ‘I guess so. And I do love Christmas.’

  A shadow passed across Luc’s face, but it was so fleeting, Lily wasn’t sure if she was mistaken.

  ‘You don’t like Christmas?’

  Luc’s face closed up. So she hadn’t imagined the shadow.

  ‘No,’ he said shortly.

  ‘Oh, OK.’ Lily shrugged, having the feeling there was more to it than Luc just not liking Christmas. She hadn’t seen him look this serious since they had met. His face always looked on the brink of laugher. ‘Not your bag.’

  Luc frowned again.

  ‘I don’t know why I keep speaking to you in English idioms,’ Lily sighed. ‘Not your bag means… it’s not your thing. You don’t enjoy it.’

  ‘Oh right. No.’ Luc glanced at the floor. ‘I don’t enjoy it.’

  ‘Fair enough.’ Lily was intrigued. She had assumed Luc was a charming playboy, but he looked agonised right now, as though some memory was tearing him apart.

  ‘My grandparents try to make Christmas special,’ Luc commented. ‘But my parents… non. And for me, no. I try to ignore it.’

  ‘That’s a shame,’ Lily said lightly. ‘Maybe I can get you to change your mind about that.’

  Luc shook his head. ‘I’m afraid not. But it’s very nice of you to think that.’

  Lily was puzzled. Luc seemed resolute. What could be so terrible about Christmas that he felt this way?

  ‘Luc,’ Sylvan appeared in the doorway of the massage room, fully dressed and glowing from his massage. He gave Luc a curt nod.

  ‘Sylvan,’ Luc said, nodding with equal seriousness, although Lily had a feeling Luc’s was more of a tongue-in-cheek kind of nod. ‘Good massage?’

  ‘Amazing,’ Sylvan replied rather smugly. ‘Haven’t you had one yet?’

  ‘No,’ Luc inclined his head, seemingly back to normal after his dark mood moments earlier. ‘I’d love one soon, though. I’m hearing such good reports from everyone.’

  Lily didn’t know if Luc was just being polite, but if he wasn’t, that was music to her ears. She prided herself on being good at her job. She wanted to ask him what he thought about Pierre and Celine’s speech the other night and who he thought might be involved, but she wasn’t sure Luc was the gossiping type.

  Sylvan loitered for a while, then realising he was superfluous to requirements, he
left, accidentally stepping in a melting snow puddle. He let out a violent, comical ‘Merde!’ then disappeared around the corner.

  Luc looked amused, then he turned back to Lily. ‘I’m glad I found you. I have this card for you.’ He handed her an old-fashioned business card. It was covered in little ivy leaves and curly writing. ‘A friend of the family is a hypnotherapist. She is excellent and I thought she might be able to help with your fear of heights.’

  ‘Right…’ Lily stared at the card doubtfully. She wasn’t sure she believed in such things. Massage was as holistic as she got, usually. ‘I suppose it couldn’t hurt,’ she said out loud. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I can see that you’re sceptical,’ Luc said astutely. ‘So maybe it’s not for you. But if you really want to get past it and move on with your skiing, it might be worth a try.’

  ‘No, you’re right,’ Lily said, realising she had nothing to lose. She tucked the card into her pocket. ‘And I do want to get better at skiing. I have to go upstairs and find Celine. Walk with me?’

  ‘Sure.’ Luc fell into step beside her. ‘Have you been skiing since our lesson?’

  ‘No.’ Lily shook her head as she climbed the stairs. ‘But I’m going with Ollie this afternoon.’

  ‘OK…’ Luc’s face was unreadable, but Lily had the impression he was concerned. ‘Ollie is a good skier, but he’s not an instructor.’

  ‘Of course. But you guys are so busy. I can’t expect you to babysit me.’

  ‘Babysit you? I don’t see it that way.’ Luc climbed the stairs easily and paused at the top. ‘I would like to help you. Let me check my schedule and see what I can do.’

  ‘Thank you, but don’t worry too much.’ Lily had no idea why she had just said that. She wanted Luc to teach her to ski; despite her fear, she had felt at ease with him immediately and she trusted him.

  ‘Don’t let them take you higher than a green run today,’ Luc warned her seriously. ‘And I mean that, Lily.’