Skeletons by Jane Fallon

with a shop in the Cotswolds somewhere, and he came down every four weeks or so to trawl through the markets and car-boot sales around the seamier parts of London, in search of treasure. Jen remembered one of the
chambermaids telling her he had a life-sized mannequin in his room once, and that he’d left it lying on the bed, under the covers, as a joke.
    He was one of her favourites, actually. He always took the time to chat to the staff – something a lot of the guests clearly thought was beneath them – and he had a sarcastic tone that always made her laugh. It didn’t hurt that he was
attractive either. Not in an obvious way. He was in his early forties, she would guess, maybe forty-five. Dark hair that he wore short on the sides and swept back on top, with a few specks of grey appearing around his hairline. Bluey-grey eyes. He was nice enough looking, nothing special.
But when he said something funny – or when he
laughed at something someone else said – his face really came to life. His eyes positively twinkled, the raft of little lines around them giving away that he laughed often.
    Not that Jen was interested. That had never been her style. She had never in her twenty-two years with Jason gone beyond a teasing playful flirtation with any other man. It had simply never occurred to her that she might. But having Sean around
definitely made the days pass more quickly.
    ‘Mr Hoskins. Nice to see you again. And apologies. Again.’
    ‘Shall I go away and come back later?’
    Jen knew he was joking. Neil, on the other hand, completely missed the point. He was one of those people who didn’t always quite get when others were being flippant. He took everything at face value. Jen had long ago learned that using
sarcasm was pointless where Neil was concerned.
    ‘I can book you in, Mr Hoskins,’ he said, as if Jen might really be about to take him up on his offer to go away so she could have a snooze.
    ‘It’s fine, Neil,’ she said. ‘It’s all under control. Well, actually, it’s not. I’m afraid the internet’s down, so I can’t check you in officially. I’m afraid it means I have no idea
which room you’ve been allocated either.’
    She was relieved that Sean laughed. Some guests would – understandably – be furious if they’d had a long journey and then the hotel couldn’t even offer them anything other than a seat at the bar. Especially when they’d had to
stand at reception being ignored before finding that out.
    ‘Just give me any old key and I’ll go and make myself at
home. You might have to warn the other guests they could find a strange man asleep in their bed, though.’
    ‘I am so sorry.’
    ‘Do you remember the days when we used to write stuff down? What were we thinking?’
    Jen smiled. ‘If you’d like to wait in the bar, you can have a drink on us and then I’ll come and get you as soon as we can sort this out.’
    ‘What if it’s not fixed till tomorrow? Will you bring me in a duvet?’
    ‘Of course. I hear the floor’s quite comfy in there. It’s sprung, apparently.’
    ‘Oh, I’m sure it’ll be working soon,’ Neil piped up. He shot Jen a look. ‘If not, we’ll help you find another hotel, obviously.’
    ‘Oh God, no,’ Sean said. ‘This is why I love this place, there’s never a dull moment.’
    ‘Nice bloke,’ Neil said when Sean had moved off towards the bar. ‘My wife loves all that vintage stuff he deals in. I’m not so sure myself.’
    Bingo! thought Jen. Five mentions, not a bad morning’s work.
    By the time lunchtime came round, she was desperate to get out and get some fresh air. She hadn’t seen Charles since the weekend, and she thought it might be fun to catch up and to tell him in depth about Emily’s first experiences
away at uni (her current favourite topic; she could bore for England, and frequently did – it was a shame, really, that she had missed the meeting where they chose the new disciplines for the next Olympics), and so she