Dr. Fuchs Kunst- und Kulturreiseveranstalter GmbH & Co. KG
Charlotte had hoped that Sidney would leave Sanditon together with his friends, but that hope was not to be fulfilled. Once he learned Mrs Griffiths' version of the cliff adventure, he announced that he would stay at least another week and that he was not going to tolerate Gigi's careless behaviour any longer.
There was one plus side: Every morning after breakfast he vanished with his laptop, his phone and his earplugs into one of the empty function rooms on the first floor to do whatever he did for a living – something with finances, as Gigi told Charlotte: advising rich people about how to get even richer, and cutting a fine fee for himself in the process.
There was also a minus side: Whenever he was not working, Charlotte bumped into him. There was no way to escape him: he was leaving Gigi when she arrived to pick up her new friend for another walk, he was in the gym, mistreating the punching ball when she walked in to show Fred Robinson the leaking washbasin in the toilet, he drove up the road from the town in the Aston Martin when she drove down in the van to shuttle guests to the station.
And even when he was not there, Tom Parker would wring his hands and say: "I'll discuss this with Sidney," and Arthur would make her taste his new interpretation of chocolate eclairs and say: "I wonder whether Sidney will like them," and when she stood in to collect the girls from school on Wednesday afternoon, even Jenny and Alicia said: "You promised to go to the beach with us and Uncle Sidney, Charlotte."
"I know," Charlotte said. "We'll find a day."
"Tomorrow?"
"Umm, maybe on the weekend?"
"Friday!" Jenny determined.
"Friday," she agreed with a sigh. At least that put an end to the discussion. So many things could happen until Friday. After she had handed the children over to their mother, she collected the cleaning lists from Housekeeping and rushed back to the office and back to work. That would keep her mind off Sidney Parker and his confounding behaviour.
x
It seemed to Sidney that the only place where he was not constantly hunted down by one of his siblings and pestered about apartment sales, chocolate eclairs and leaking washbasins was, in fact, Tom's office. At least when Charlotte Heywood was out shuttling guests or picking up his nieces from school or having a lunch break with James Stringer. Tom himself seemed to be everywhere but in his office these days, always busy on the phone and in Regency Row, leaving the administration to his trainee.
So when Sidney settled down behind the desk with a copy of the Financial Times, resting his feet on the table and immersing himself in the safe world of stock market figures, he did not expect Charlotte Heywood to rush in after two minutes, call "Mr Parker!" and then drop whatever she had been carrying when he lowered his paper. "Oh! I had thought to find…"
"The ubiquitous Miss Heywood," he said, ostentatiously rolling his eyes, yet secretly amused. "Can't I even read the news in peace?"
"If you don't wish to be disturbed, you might choose somewhere more secluded," she answered, holding her head high and picking up her papers.
"I tried that." He looked her square into the eyes. "It wasn't entirely successful." She froze. Just as intended, she was thinking of the cove. He could see it from her face. There was a colour rising to her cheeks as she stared back at him.
Well, maybe, it was the moment to come clean about that matter, to apologise (though he wasn't entirely sure what to apologise for), or just to wipe out their history and start behaving with each other like normal people did.
"Charlotte! Sidney!"
Alas, it was not meant to be. Tom strode into the room, grinning from one ear to the other, eyes large and colour high. It was his most dangerous face, the I-have-a-new-scheme-face. Sidney shuddered.
"Splendid! I need you two. And Esther. Esther! Go and call Clara and Mary, and then come to the office."
"Actually," Sidney said, "if this is a hotel matter, you don't need me."
"Really, Sidney? Is it now too much for me to ask for a few moments of my brother's time? – Esther! Where are you?"
Sidney folded the newspaper, removed his feet from the table and started to check his phone, making sure he was looking as disinterested as possible. He did not want to be dragged into one of Tom's foolhardy schemes, especially since usually he was the one who had to drag his brother out of them again.
"What is it, Tom?" Mary hurried into the office, followed by Clara. Esther positioned herself as far as possible away from the housekeeper, checking her fingernails with a bored look. Charlotte Heywood, ever the nerdy trainee, held a clipboard in her hands and gazed expectantly at Tom.
"My dears," Tom solemnly said, "it is my great pleasure to announce that tomorrow, we will have the honour of welcoming Doktor Maximilian Fuchs to the Sanditon Grand Hotel."
Everyone was staring at Tom with blank faces.
"But who would be that?" Mary asked. Tom was beaming even more.
"Doktor Fuchs, my dear, is the founder, owner and manager of Doktor Fuchs Kunst- und… oh well, it's a very long and German name, but the important fact, my dear, is that he plans to accommodate his groups here with us. The international traveller, interested in culture and history. Twenty rooms, seven nights, Saturday to Saturday, for every week through from mid-June to mid-October. Plus half-board in the evenings, plus lunch packets every day, plus tea-time on the arrival day. Plus whatever they decide to spend extra in the Conservatory or at the bar. What do you say?"
"But isn't that just the kind of guests Lady Denham does not want to see at the hotel?" Charlotte Heywood was actually asking what Sidney had been thinking.
"Ah, Lady Denham… who cares about the old dragon – sorry, Esther, sorry Clara. But you know what I mean. Once the penny rolls in, she won't ask where it comes from. Did I mention that they're paying a ninety per cent advance deposit?" Tom's eyes were growing so large Sidney expected the pound-sign to appear in them any moment. "German reliability, no false promises there," his brother added with a mock German accent.
"That is all very well, Tom, and I'm glad for you," Sidney said, really meaning it. "What do I have to do with it?"
"You're part of the welcome package, of course. Doktor Fuchs will arrive at Heathrow tomorrow at noon. I will meet him there and chauffeur him down to Sanditon. He's not going to buy a pig in a poke, he wants to have a look around before he signs the contract – German thoroughness." Tom gave a slightly hollow laugh. "Now, Esther, Clara: I need our best rooms as showrooms for tomorrow – sea-view, Sanditon-view, landside-view. Make sure they are in tip-top shape. I want no scratches on the wall, no curtains dangling from the rails. Doktor Fuchs is to stay in the Denham Suite…"
"The Denham Suite is occupied by Georgiana Lambe," Esther said.
"Is it? Ah, yes, of course, Sidney's Miss Lambe. Then he'll have one of the upper tower rooms. You take care of that, Esther, I trust in you. Clara: I want a top VIP treatment. Bathrobe, slippers, amenity set, turn down service. You do this swan thing with towels, don't you? I think that would be appropriate. I'll ask Arthur to prepare some sweet culinary delights as a welcome gift… and Charlotte, my dear, you are so good with words: Maybe you can prepare a welcome card? – Tomorrow, I want you all turned out in your Sunday's best and as British and charming as you can be."
"I still don't see where I figure in all this," Sidney said. When everyone in the hotel was running wild about a German tour operator, the safest place to be for him seemed in one of the function rooms, seated in front of his laptop, settling the financial side of his Australian client's divorce. Tom was looking at him, that slightly dangerous gleam in his eyes.
"You will park your car, Sidney. Next to the entrance door. And if Doktor Fuchs happens to show any interest in a vintage Aston Martin, you will invite him for a spin around our beautiful Sussex countryside." Sidney opened his mouth and closed it again before saying anything. Tom clapped his hands.
"Now, all hands on deck, you know what you have to do. Sanditon Grand, ahoy!" Mary, Clara and Esther filed out. Sidney followed them, leaving Charlotte Heywood with his brother.
"Mr Parker, did you pay the invoice I told you about the other day?" he heard her ask.
"Which invoice, my dear?"
"The one from Unesta? The insurance company?"
"Ah! That invoice! Of course. Not to worry, my dear, everything has been taken care of. Just a misunderstanding."
Out on the corridor, Sidney smiled and shook his head. Charlotte Heywood was too nerdy, too outspoken, too ubiquitous and too short and too big at the same time, and altogether truly not his type.
Yet, in the long history of management trainees at the Sanditon Grand Hotel, she was the first one who had understood that it was not only the hotel that needed managing but his brother as well.
x
Tom Parker spent a full Thursday morning creating havoc among his staff and checking the online arrival board of Heathrow airport for any delays on flights from Frankfurt. When he finally left in the freshly washed and hoovered hotel van, Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief. He would be gone for a good three hours at least, and she would use that time as efficiently as possible.
There were more open invoices that needed following up: one for a hen party that had never been paid because the hen had fallen for another cock, and another one for a christening party of a little Sanditonian that had turned out to be a cuckoo child – both matters Tom Parker evidently found too delicate to discuss with the debtors.
Charlotte also answered a call from Lydia Hillier, the social media advisor who, after nearly a week, had stumbled across the fact that someone had reset the passwords of all online accounts.
"You present me a social media concept for the hotel, and if it's feasible, I'll give you the new passwords," Charlotte said.
"What?" Lydia asked.
"A concept," Charlotte repeated. "Mr Parker is paying you five hundred pounds every month for your work, so I believe the least you can do is explain to him how you intend to do that work."
"But…"
"How about one week? Next Thursday? You can email it to assistant .uk."
"Does Mr Parker know about this?" Lydia sounded quite excited, and not in a happy sense.
"Mr Parker has entrusted me with the supervision of all social media channels, so he'll be looking forward to reading your concept. Just as I am." Charlotte looked up and saw Sidney Parker standing in the doorframe, his arms crossed, staring at her. Was he checking on her work now? Oh, Lord. "Bye now, Lydia," she chirped and rung off.
"Who was that?" he asked. He was looking very dapper for Doktor Fuchs's welcome, clean-shaven and combed, dressed in a tight-cut black suit – but no tie – and a crisp white shirt. Charlotte kept her answer short. The less she said, the less he could reproach her for.
"Lydia Hillier. The hotel's social media advisor."
"The hotel has a social media advisor?"
"That was the topic of the conversation."
"Did I hear you mention the figure of five hundred pounds a month?"
"There seems to be nothing wrong with your hearing, Mr Parker."
Sidney shook his head. "Anyway. – Mary sent me to tell you that Tom and Doktor Fuchs are on their way. We are all to gather in front of the entrance."
"Thank you," Charlotte said. She expected him to leave while she shut down the computer and locked the door behind her, but he waited for her and accompanied her to the lobby.
"How did that ghastly seagull end up on your desk?" he asked.
"Oh, Esther. Esther – the real Esther – dumped her into the bin, but I thought she might regret it one day, so I saved her."
"Is that your mission? To save things? And people? Like Esther?"
"If you're going to accuse me of meddling again…"
"I'm not. Just asking." There was, in fact, no sign of anger in his face. Only curiosity. And, if one cared to look him in the eye, an unexpected gentleness.
Charlotte opened her mouth to tell him that she assumed Esther – the real Esther – was much fonder of Babington than she admitted. But then she remembered how it had ended the last time she made assumptions in front of him, and she simply said: "I want them both to be happy."
They had reached the hotel entrance where Mary and Diana were already lined up, joined by Arthur in full pâtissier's gear, and Esther, appearing haughtier than ever with her hair dramatically done up, and Clara, looking like a chambermaid from a movie set in a country estate during the Nineteen-Twenties. All innocence – and all lies, as Charlotte well knew after stumbling across Clara and Edward again this week, this time in a cleaning cupboard on the third floor.
Charlotte and Sidney joined the group, and soon enough, a honking horn announced the imminent arrival of the special guest. Mr Parker jumped out on the driver's side, rushed around the van and opened the passenger's door to reveal a slightly stout, balding, sandy-haired man in his sixties wearing old-fashioned nickel glasses. He inhaled deeply before he climbed out of his seat. "Ah! The air! Fresh sea air!"
Mr Parker beamed at him. "As I said, Doktor Fuchs. A fresh breeze for two-hundred years."
"And what a beautiful building your hotel is!" Doktor Fuchs looked around himself quite happily and with evident approval.
"Yes." Mr Parker actually took a bow. "Welcome to Sanditon, Doktor Fuchs. – As I told you, we are a family-run hotel, so may I present my wife…"
"Oh! What a pleasure. Mrs Parker!" He raised Mary's hand and breathed a kiss on it. Charlotte wondered for a second whether such was still the custom in Germany but then decided that it was not and that Doktor Fuchs just mirrored his host's bow. Mary seemed to be taken aback and delighted at the same time.
"And this is my sister, Diana, in charge of our gym and wellness area… and my youngest brother Arthur, our world-class pâtissier, who with his delightful creations will make sure that you need an hour in the gym in the first place."
"Wonderful," Doktor Fuchs said. His healthy cheek colour and well-rounded figure gave away a certain love for the good things in life.
"Here is my brother Sidney, who is not active in the hotel business, but, as you can see, always happy to join his family – and this young lady is my personal assistant, Charlotte Heywood. Any trouble you have, our Charlotte will fix it for you." Charlotte, who had not expected such an accolade, felt her cheeks turn red.
"This is Esther Denham, our head receptionist, who with her dedicated team, will always take that extra mile to guarantee your guests are feeling at home – far away from home." Mr Parker was talking catalogue speech again, but Doktor Fuchs did not seem to mind and said "Wonderful" once more. But then again, Charlotte thought, he had no idea that Esther's dedicated team was mostly dedicated to their phones and their social media profiles.
"And finally, Clara Brereton, the good soul of our housekeeping department." Clara gave a sweet smile and made a nice little curtsey as if these were, in fact, the Nineteen-Twenties.
"Wonderful," Doktor Fuchs said for the third time. "Mr Parker, you have not promised too much. This is indeed an enchanted place. I can't wait to see more of it."
"It will be my pleasure," Mr Parker said and ushered him inside. "I will show you to your room. I believe one of Arthur's little snacks is waiting for you there, and when you have settled in, I suggest we take a tour of the house and then meet for a tea-time in the Conservatory to discuss all your questions."
"Excellent, Mr Parker. Thank you for your hospitality."
"And here's the elevator. My great-great-great-great-grandfather, Henry Parker, had it installed in 1868. We were one of the first hotels in Britain to offer such a commodity. - Sidney, would you be kind enough to take care of Doktor Fuchs's luggage?" – and when the elevator's doors closed behind Mr Parker and his guest of honour, Charlotte had the pleasure of seeing a reluctant Sidney act as a luggage porter. She wondered whether he would be tipped.
Half an hour later, she joined Mr Parker and his guest for the tour of the house, having a clipboard ready to take notes. Doktor Fuchs quickly declared himself completely under the spell of Sanditon and delighted in everything: the room with sea-view, the room with Sanditon-view, the room with landside-view. The rooms' maritime colour scheme of blue and white, the headboards that were made to look like driftwood, the bedside lights inspired by hurricane lamps, the little metal anchors serving as coat hooks. He said "wonderful" so many times that Charlotte lost count, and every time he did, Mr Parker's smile grew wider.
On their way down the staircase, Doktor Fuchs stopped in front of the painting of the first Mr Parker. "An ancestor of yours?" he asked.
"The first Thomas Parker," his great-great-great-great-great-grand-son proudly said. "The great visionary to whom we owe everything."
"Ah." Doktor Fuchs looked from the portrait to his host and back. "I believe I detect a certain family resemblance." – and Charlotte had no doubt that from this moment onwards, Doktor Fuchs was Mr Parker's new best friend.
They continued their tour to the gym and wellness area and the now-empty ballroom – "A replica of the original Regency Assembly Rooms. We hold our traditions dear here in Sanditon."
Charlotte looked up to the balcony and thought of the tongue lashing she had received there. Today, it seemed as if Sidney Parker was looking for a reconciliation, but thinking of the conversation on the balcony again, she wondered how long such a reconciliation would last.
"Charlotte?" Mr Parker asked. "No doubt dreaming about the next ball," he added with a smile for his guest. "It's the Midsummer Ball at the end of June. – Shall we continue with the tour of the grounds? Or would you like some tea first?"
"Tea," Doktor Fuchs decided. They proceeded to the Conservatory to meet Mary, and, as Charlotte had not foreseen, Sidney as well. Mr Parker was delighted to see his brother joining them, and they sat down at a window table with a perfect view over the sea and the hills rolling down towards Sanditon. Within minutes, an ample supply of tea, sandwich corners, Strawberry Secrets, muffins, scones, jam and clotted cream arrived, and Doktor Fuchs declared to have found paradise right here on the Sussex coast.
He then explained about his tour company: his clients were mainly very cultivated senior travellers with a deep interest in culture and history.
"No-one is going to mark a deck chair by the pool with their towel at five in the morning," he added with a wink. "Sanditon will serve as our base to explore the history of this corner of England. We have an excursion to 1066 country, and to Canterbury and Sissinghurst, and, of course, the highlights, Petworth and Highclere Castle. My favourite though is the hike on the South Downs Way when we walk the beautiful stretch from Eastbourne to Alfriston."
"That sounds lovely," Mary said, and Charlotte could only agree. Surely those cultivated senior travellers would see more of this part of England than she ever had. Doktor Fuchs nodded.
"It is a very popular tour, and I endeavour to accompany every group myself."
"Splendid!" Mr Parker cried. "So you'll be staying with us for the whole summer."
"I believe I will," Doktor Fuchs said and, with a happy smile, took another bite out of his Strawberry Secret.
"Allow me to ask, Doktor Fuchs," Sidney Parker said, "If these tours are so very popular, and if they start mid-June, why are you looking for accommodation only now, in mid-May? Isn't that very late?"
"That's a perfectly legitimate question, Mr Parker," Doktor Fuchs agreed. "I have been cooperating with the Brighton Sands Hotel for five years. You may have heard that they suffered major damage after a boiler explosion and that they had to close down for business until further notice. They were very helpful and would have taken our groups to a partner hotel in Brighton at the same conditions, but… I have had my eyes on Sanditon for some time, and I believed this was the one opportunity I had to seize."
"Excellent. Excellent!" Mr Parker raised his teacup. "Better than Brighton, as I always say. To opportunities seized!" Everyone joined in, even Sidney Parker, so Charlotte gathered that he was satisfied with the answer he had received.
Mr Parker and Doktor Fuchs agreed to a breakfast meeting in the next morning for a discussion of all those little details a group contract would contain. Then Mr Parker turned around to ask the waiter for a bottle of champagne to mark the occasion with something more substantial than tea. But the waiter, who had been explicitly told to remain on standby, was not in view.
Later Charlotte thought that the poor man had recognised the danger and gone into hiding, for in barged Lady Denham, fuming like the dragon she was believed to be and looking more than ever like something that had been around since 1066.
"Mr Parker!"
"Lady Denham," Mr Parker said, either too ignorant or too surprised to say anything else – and probably both. "What a pleasant surprise. May I present Doktor Fuchs? Doktor Fuchs has come to us from Wiesbaden to…"
"I know who this man is! I have been informed!" Charlotte wondered who that informant might have been. Sleazy Edward? Two-faced Clara?
Her Ladyship continued her fuming. "Did I not explicitly say no groups, and no foreigners trampling my gardens?" Slowly, it seemed to dawn on Mr Parker that the situation was serious.
"Lady Denham, Doktor Fuchs's guests are very cultivated people, largely interested in our rich culture…"
"So you say. And what do you say once they've scared away the deer, invaded the sunken garden, plucked my roses and knocked on the drawing room's window to see whether someone's at home? Am I to suffer another German invasion?" – as if it were the Germans and not the Normans that had landed on the Sussex shores in 1066.
"But Lady Denham…" Mr Parker began.
"Enough of it! Wealthy golf players, that's what I told you to look for. Not this… this…" She looked poor Doktor Fuchs up and down, searching for the most suitable insult. "… this Ersatz-Kaiser with his troops of Pickelhauben! Are we to become another Fawlty Towers?"
"Lady Denham!" Mary Parker cried.
Doktor Fuchs, who had lost his colour, his speech and his merriness, was staring at the apparition.
"I'm very displeased – very displeased indeed," Lady Denham continued. "I'm actually in a mood to withdraw my investment."
"That would be most unfortunate, Lady Denham." Mr Parker looked as if he was about to have a heart attack. "And very unwise, given the fact that we are about to enter the most successful summer season Sanditon has ever seen."
"How many summers have you promised me that, I wonder? Do come up with a reasonable scheme, Mr Parker, and I will reconsider. And remember: wealthy golf players, capable of reading English keep-out-signs." She barged out again. The waiter reappeared from behind a flower stand. Mr Parker turned to his guest of honour and gave a nervous laugh.
"There you have it, Doktor Fuchs: an eccentric English aristocrat. Is that not a real treat for your guests?"
But Doktor Fuchs slowly and with a sad expression shook his head. "Thank you, Mr Parker. You and your family have been very kind to me. But I feel my customers will not be entirely welcome here in Sanditon. Maybe we are better accommodated in Brighton." He rose from his seat. "Please, can I implore on you to arrange for a taxi for me?"
"But Doktor Fuchs…" Again, Mr Parker looked as if he was going to have a heart attack. It was an unhealthy lifestyle Charlotte could not support a single second longer. She jumped up from her chair.
"Doktor Fuchs, I fully agree with you. Lady Denham has treated you abominably, and I believe I speak for everyone here when I ask you to accept our sincere apologies for her horrible words."
The doctor cast her a benevolent look. "My dear Fräulein Charlotte, it is not you who has to apologise here."
"But it is my wish to do so, Doktor Fuchs. I think the excursions you have planned for your customers are simply wonderful, and I would so like to help make them fall in love with Sanditon just as I did… and I believe as you did." The Doktor flushed a little.
"You are right, my dear. I did fall for your hotel. Until this… this… Valkyrie appeared."
"Yes. And I truly understand your doubts. I just believe… I believe if we respond to bullies by caving in… by retreating and giving up what we really want, we grant them a victory they don't deserve. Don't you think we should stand up to bigotry and blackmail?"
"You are making your point very eloquently, Fräulein Charlotte."
"So will you stay? Oh, you simply have to find out what it is like to wake up to the first rays of sunlight falling into your room, and to open the curtain and walk into a red and blue morning of sea and sky, and to be invigorated by that fresh, salty air before the day has even started. – You have to spend at least the night, Doktor Fuchs, before you make a decision."
"Alright," the Doktor said, taking his seat again. "One night. Then I will decide tomorrow morning."
"Excellent." Mr Parker exhaled. "Excellent! Charlotte has actually been taking the words out of my mouth – you will not regret to stay the night here, Doktor Fuchs."
Charlotte sat down again as well. She was vaguely aware of Sidney Parker staring at her, and she wondered what he would accuse her of now. She did not really care, though: She had just saved Tom Parker's most valuable summer deal, and Mr Sidney Parker was not going to spoil that victory for her.
Notes:
In the next chapter, our two main protagonists are going to have some "Substantial Conversations". It's a very happy chapter, by the way.