Sophie stepped in. Which was a mistake, because she then seemed to take the brunt of their anger.
‘Did you know about this?’ Suzanne asked.
‘About “what?”’ Sophie said. ‘If you mean, did I know that you were – acquainted – then absolutely not. I saw you had similar surnames, but “Smith” is a very common one. I mean, it’s not unusual,’ she added in case her words were misconstrued.
‘We’re not “acquainted”,’ Amber said haughtily.
Suzanne groaned. ‘It’s worse than that. We’re related.’
‘Related?’ Sophie repeated.
‘We’re sisters,’ Amber explained. ‘Half-sisters, to be accurate.’
‘If we’re being accurate,’ Amber said smoothly, ‘we’re only related because my father decided to have an affair with Suzanne’s mother. It was years ago obviously, but we’ve only recently found out that he had another family. It seems he was doing more than working on the oil rigs while he was up in Scotland.’
‘To be fair, we’d no ideayoueven existed,’ Suzanne shot back. ‘And it wasn’t an affair, becausemymum didn’t even know he had another family.’
‘Mymum was actually married to him,’ Amber retorted sharply.
‘Um, would you both like to talk about this somewhere more private?’ Sophie suggested, aware that the other guests were gripped by the drama unfolding in front of them.
Suzanne glanced around her, shame-faced, as if she’d only just realised they had an audience. ‘I think it’s better if we don’t talk about it all. I apologise for the trouble,’ she said spikily.
Amber folded her arms. ‘I think I’ll go back up to my room and have my tapas there. If you don’t mind,’ she directed this at Sophie. ‘I’m sorry for causing a scene too, but of course I’d never have dreamed of coming if I’d known Suzanne was going to be here. I came here toavoidany family drama.’ She walked off and thumped up the stairs.
Suzanne shrugged apologetically as Amber left.
‘Why don’t you come into the office and we’ll have a chatabout how to – er – manage the situation,’ Sophie said, although she was at a loss as to what she could possibly do, now that the two warring siblings were stuck under the same roof.
Suzanne nodded. ‘Thank you. I’ll just pop to my room and then I’ll be straight back,’ she said, emphasising the last few words as if to show she wouldn’t be petty enough to flounce off upstairs.
‘I’ll be in the office whenever you want to talk.’
As Suzanne also went upstairs, Sophie finally turned her attention to the watching audience.
Nico lounged in a chair, one leg crossed over the other as if he owned the place. ‘Should I fetch some popcorn?’ he said.
Una giggled. Hugo smirked.
Agatha wagged her finger at him. ‘Nico Lombardi. You are a very,verywicked man.’
While Suzanne was upstairs, Sophie collapsed into her office chair to compose herself. There was nothing she could – or should – do about her guests’ personal lives, unless their behaviour impacted on the comfort of the other visitors, who were clearly intrigued and entertained, but she wouldn’t allow a full-on war to break out.
Amber was out of the way – for now – and maybe Sophie could find out a little more information about the situation from Suzanne; maybe enough insight to keep the peace until morning. If either or both of them wanted to leave, that was their decision.
It was a mystery to her how the two sisters had both ended up at Sunnyside … perhaps they had more in common than they liked to admit, because they’d chosen the same guest house for a getaway. Hopefully, once they’d calmed down, they’d feel better tomorrow and wouldn’t want to leave, but if they did, she couldn’t stop them. One thing was for sure: the drama unfolding at Sunnyside had taken her mind off what might be going on at Felltop Farm.
A few minutes later Suzanne poked her head around the office door, with a slightly sheepish expression that might have been embarrassment.
‘Erm, sorry to bother you, but I’ve just heard someone at the door,’ she said.
Sophie nodded. Counselling Suzanne would have to wait for a while, and the little scene in the guest lounge had made her forget that the entertainment was due to arrive.
‘Thanks for letting me know. It’s probably the flamenco troupe. I’m so glad they could make it, though I suspect we’re going to have to put them up for the night. Can we talk a bit later? I want to do what I can to make your stay as comfortable as possible.’
‘Maybe tomorrow. I’m sure you’ve enough to worry about now. I’m going back to the lounge. Now that I’m here, I don’t intend to miss out on the fun, so it’s best to put it to one side for the time being—’
‘If you’re sure,’ Sophie said, wondering what Suzanne would have to say to the others.
