Chapter 37

Summer drifted into Autumn. Early September was one to remember with crisp, slightly misty early mornings and warm, sunny days. The Jays were able to keep their Sunday barbecues going. Harry Bosworth was a regular visitor coming to check the beer consumption to ensure that the Jays had not been selling anything other than Venture's beer. They had not. It was not worth the effort or the economy to buy in good but cheaper beer for outside events where it might not be sold. They had picked up a number of these: the National Canine Defence League's Open Day, the Atheldiston Fete, a local National Trust Open Day and one military tattoo. The latter brought in more trade subsequently.

The Jays were very happy with their second year results when James did his review at the end of September. Their accountant was full of smiles too. They had beaten their £23,000 estimate by £9,000. It was more than their five year target. It was not that surprising. They were taking bookings only for Friday and Saturday nights and there were Thursday evenings when they had to turn people away who were not prepared to wait for a second sitting. The pensioners' lunch, known as the Age Before Beauty lunch, was very popular and was far from being confined to the village. The elderly were coming in from the Winterbournes and the Drill Valley and they even had some coming from Pitsbury. The warmth of the welcome was a major contributory factor as well as the quality of the food. Jenny was a natural and, because she had such confidence in Gavin to keep things going, would go and sit at a table to hear the older peoples' stories. Many of them were fascinating and often very moving. She shared a number of them with James as they were clearing up at night. He would pick up on some of them as he circulated the tables. They were genuine as well as being very good at their job and their customers recognised it.

One Tuesday lunchtime in October Dick Williams dropped in. Jenny was delighted to see him.

"Coo!" she teased him. "A director come to see us. 'Ave we done sumfink wrong?

"No," smiled Dick. "You two could never do wrong in my book but I must admit that I'm here on business as well as pleasure."

Jenny's heart sank. Her fears about Venture selling the place resurfaced. She rallied though and did not let it show.

"So which of the superior Venture bitters would you like?" she asked.

"That one," replied Dick pointing to one of the taps.

"With a handle, if I remember rightly."

"You do, my dear. Thanks. I'll choose something to eat in a minute but, when James is free, could the three of us have a chat."

Jenny's heart lurched again. "Of course," she said cheerfully. "I'll warn him off when I take your order."

Dick went and studied the menu.

"Well, there's no doubt about that," he said. "The prawn, apple and bacon baguette, please. I love each of them and I'm intrigued to see what they're like together."

"Delicious," smiled Jenny. "It's a new invention and I had one for lunch yesterday. Yum!"

She gave the order to James and voiced her fear to him.

"OK, darling," he said, despite his own immediate worry. "Don't fear the worst. He's not going to sell us down the drain if he can help it."

"I know but he may not be able to help it. Oh James, darling, give me a hug."

He did and she smiled at him thankfully. "That makes me feel better," she said. "For the moment anyway."

Dick sensed that Jenny was upset and did not stay at the bar. He sat at a table and read the paper. Jenny brought him his food and he smiled gratefully at her.

"Could I have another half?" he asked holding up his mug. "You serve your beer excellently. What's the secret?"

Jenny shrugged. "The still-room temperature varies a couple of degrees all year round. We keep the pipes clean even if it does mean some wastage and we seldom serve the first pint we pull. That's all."

"Well, it certainly works, my dear."

In due course James emerged and Jenny closed up. "Please, Mrs Hoddinot," he asked, "I'm off duty now. Am I allowed a beer?"

Jenny could not help herself. She smiled gratefully at him. "Yes, Mr Hoddinot, seeing it's a special occasion."

The three of them sat at Dick's table.

"I won't beat about the bush," he said. "We have suffered badly from our Icelandic investment and have got to sell off some of our pubs. They obviously can't all be losers and we're going to have to let some of our good ones go too. At this stage we're not pushing anybody but would you like to buy the freehold of this place?"

"You bet," said James, "but it obviously all depends on the price."

"Of course. Have you any idea what you would be prepared to pay?"

James grinned. "No, you old wheeler-dealer. You quote a price and I'll respond. All I will say is that the last time I talked to the bank they were talking about a two thirds mortgage. Our deposit would be pretty limited so we're unlikely to be able to afford this place now that we've built it up again. We've been waiting for this ever since you warned us a year ago of the way things might go. We don't want to go. We're very happy here. We're proud of what we've achieved and would be sad, not to mention hurt, if we were forced out. On the other hand, to be fair, you've got your problems and I understand where you're coming from."

"Damn you, James," Dick smiled. "I expected that response but not so gently and understandingly given. Don't let's pursue it any further at the moment. We've still got to test other tenants' reactions. There may be enough who are willing to buy to leave you safe. I certainly hope so."

"So do we!" said the Jays together.

Dick stood up. "I won't prolong this," he said, "and I can't tell you how sorry I am to put you in this position."

As soon as he had gone Jenny clutched James. "Please God, let us stay here," she whimpered.

James was at a complete loss to know how to comfort her. He was desolate also. All their hard work, all the atmosphere they had created, all the friends they had made, all the success, all the pleasure from what they had achieved, all the plans for the future, all were in jeopardy. He hugged Jenny tightly as he fought to retain his own composure.

"How long 'til we know?"

"I don't know, my darling. Three or four weeks?"

"Oh, God!"

"I know, my darling, I know, I know, I know but we've got to keep going and we've got to maintain appearances."

"All very well!"

"Yes, my sweet, but we've got to try. Please, darling. Don't give in. It may all turn out all right."

"I'll try, my darling. I'll try but ... Oh, James, my darling. I don't want to go. I thought we'd made it and I love this place and the people so much."

"So do I but there's nothing we can do at the moment except hope. Do that, darling. Hope and pray. That's all we can do."

She took a deep breath and shook herself. "Yes," she said resolutely. "I'll do that with your help."

"You'll have it, my darling, all that I can give but I'm going to need yours too."

She pulled his head down and kissed him hard. "I promise."

They held each other close without speaking for several minutes. They both felt comforted if still unhappy.

James avoided talking to Jenny about the subject as he knew it would upset her. He did his sums though. The two of them could probably raise £60,000 which would mean the bank would provide £120,000: nowhere near enough. He reckoned he would need at least another £90,000. He rang Richard from his mobile phone while walking the dogs. Richard could only offer £40,000 odd. The security operation for Annette had hit his savings hard. While Bill appeared to be doing well Richard was pretty sure he had not got that sort of money. He did not mention the money Deborah had made on the sale of her house. That was in trust for Annette.