Mike,
â and heâd had to ask Aurelia to produce some of her wildly expensive meals, which had been a help, but he couldnât afford to splash out so much for long, and though she talked about âmates ratesâ for things she wanted, she wasnât prepared to offer them to her âmatesâ herself. The last two chefs heâd hired were worse than useless, aged chalet girls who thought producing something hot with plenty of ketchup for dinner and bought ice cream with melted chocolate as a pudding was all they needed to do to please the guests, leaving them plenty of time to hit the slopes and the bars.
Faced with having to shell out for yet more of Aureliaâs âTempting Delightsâ (and she put her prices up for Christmas fare), he had taken his fatherâs advice to contact Eloise, his fatherâs goddaughter, who he couldnât remember meeting. She was â according to Desmond â a cordon bleu chef, though in fact she wasnât, but he didnât hold his exaggeration of her skills against his father, he always saw the best in people.
Eloise was doing her best, both dinners sheâd produced so far had been good but not spectacular, and he now worried that her best might not be enough, or sheâd panic and not be able to cope with the Christmas guests coming next week. He knew this was unfair, she had been honest about her cooking qualifications and his father had no idea of the quality needed today and had recommended her in good faith, but what made it worse was that he was banking on these Christmas guests to bring him continued success. They were his first clients from one of the top letting agencies, where heâd only recently been accepted. If their visit were a success the agency would send other rich clients his way, which would solve the problem of keeping Jacaranda safe.
Switzerland was expensive, and now there were so many chalets and hotels to stay in and in cheaper resorts in France and Italy, it was getting increasingly difficult to keep the place filled with the sort of clientele he wanted⦠he needed well-paid adults who loved skiing and were out on the mountains most of the day, expecting only breakfast and dinner and sometimes a cake for tea.
He didnât encourage families with young children, he had nothing against small children, but there were too many hazards around the chalet, and if they were not kept a strict eye on they could wander out on the road, which seemed to have more cars each year, or through the trees and even down to the stream. There were always stories, mostly true, of adults as well as children wandering off in the dusk and getting lost; some were not found before it was too late.
âLawrence, youâre out early,â Aurelia called to him, disturbing his thoughts. She was standing by the entrance to the gondola. One came up from Medran and stopped here. There was another one that took skiers higher up to the top of the mountain. Aurelia was dressed in baby blue with a pink, no doubt cashmere hat pulled over her ears.
He was about to answer when an Adonis of a ski guide carrying her skis joined her.
âHowâs your little cook?â she asked.
âFine thank you,â he said, wanting to be on his way as he had things to do before Theo brought this weekâs guests back to Jacaranda.
âWell you know where to come if she canât cope, let me know if you want anything she canât manage.â There was a touch of mockery in her smile.
âIâm sure weâll be fine, Eloise knows whatâs sheâs doing,â he said, surprising himself by feeling protective towards her. âHave a good day.â He turned and left.
He made his way through the other skiers, some having just come up from the village, hanging around waiting for friends, others coming out of the restaurant, or about to go up again, and a few, like him, skiing down to the bottom. It amused him that
â and heâd had to ask Aurelia to produce some of her wildly expensive meals, which had been a help, but he couldnât afford to splash out so much for long, and though she talked about âmates ratesâ for things she wanted, she wasnât prepared to offer them to her âmatesâ herself. The last two chefs heâd hired were worse than useless, aged chalet girls who thought producing something hot with plenty of ketchup for dinner and bought ice cream with melted chocolate as a pudding was all they needed to do to please the guests, leaving them plenty of time to hit the slopes and the bars.
Faced with having to shell out for yet more of Aureliaâs âTempting Delightsâ (and she put her prices up for Christmas fare), he had taken his fatherâs advice to contact Eloise, his fatherâs goddaughter, who he couldnât remember meeting. She was â according to Desmond â a cordon bleu chef, though in fact she wasnât, but he didnât hold his exaggeration of her skills against his father, he always saw the best in people.
Eloise was doing her best, both dinners sheâd produced so far had been good but not spectacular, and he now worried that her best might not be enough, or sheâd panic and not be able to cope with the Christmas guests coming next week. He knew this was unfair, she had been honest about her cooking qualifications and his father had no idea of the quality needed today and had recommended her in good faith, but what made it worse was that he was banking on these Christmas guests to bring him continued success. They were his first clients from one of the top letting agencies, where heâd only recently been accepted. If their visit were a success the agency would send other rich clients his way, which would solve the problem of keeping Jacaranda safe.
Switzerland was expensive, and now there were so many chalets and hotels to stay in and in cheaper resorts in France and Italy, it was getting increasingly difficult to keep the place filled with the sort of clientele he wanted⦠he needed well-paid adults who loved skiing and were out on the mountains most of the day, expecting only breakfast and dinner and sometimes a cake for tea.
He didnât encourage families with young children, he had nothing against small children, but there were too many hazards around the chalet, and if they were not kept a strict eye on they could wander out on the road, which seemed to have more cars each year, or through the trees and even down to the stream. There were always stories, mostly true, of adults as well as children wandering off in the dusk and getting lost; some were not found before it was too late.
âLawrence, youâre out early,â Aurelia called to him, disturbing his thoughts. She was standing by the entrance to the gondola. One came up from Medran and stopped here. There was another one that took skiers higher up to the top of the mountain. Aurelia was dressed in baby blue with a pink, no doubt cashmere hat pulled over her ears.
He was about to answer when an Adonis of a ski guide carrying her skis joined her.
âHowâs your little cook?â she asked.
âFine thank you,â he said, wanting to be on his way as he had things to do before Theo brought this weekâs guests back to Jacaranda.
âWell you know where to come if she canât cope, let me know if you want anything she canât manage.â There was a touch of mockery in her smile.
âIâm sure weâll be fine, Eloise knows whatâs sheâs doing,â he said, surprising himself by feeling protective towards her. âHave a good day.â He turned and left.
He made his way through the other skiers, some having just come up from the village, hanging around waiting for friends, others coming out of the restaurant, or about to go up again, and a few, like him, skiing down to the bottom. It amused him that
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