Hidden TREASURE

Could Tara save the day and make a lucky find?

- Kath McFadyen

Tara slipped and stumbled along the gravel drive as the sky grew darker and the rain fell more heavily. Despite being drenched by the icy shower, she could feel perspiration trickle down the back of her neck.

‘I’m late!’ she worried, pushing her mane of chestnut curls out of her eyes.

Arriving at the imposing entrance to Ambrose House, she dashed up the stone steps and almost lost her balance as she made a grab for the wrought-iron door handle. ‘If I hurry, I should still be changed and ready in time for the start of the tour…’

She closed the heavy door as quietly as she could behind her, then broke into a sprint across the black-and-white chequered marble of the entrance hall.

Racing along, she glanced down to see her mud-caked ballet flats leaving footprints on the pristine floor.

‘Tara Simpson, what on earth is going on?’ thundered a voice from the shadows beneath the Italianate staircase. ‘What a mess! And have you not heard of health and safety, young lady?’

‘Oh no!’ thought Tara, remembering too late that she was taking over from Audrey Hopkins, senior guide and the most pernickety person at Ambrose House.

‘Sir Henry will be furious if he sees you've turned up for a shift in this state. It really isn’t good enough.’

Tara was about to protest, but bit her lip. ‘Sorry,’ she said as she walked away.

‘I’ll tidy myself up.’

‘Humph!’ was Audrey’s response. ‘You do that,’ she said, marching over to a cupboard to fetch a mop.

Swiftly, Tara swapped her soaking-wet jacket and top for the official polo shirt, before rushing into the staffroom and grabbing a tea towel to dry her hair.

Looking in the tiny cracked mirror, she came to a decision... Today she would search out Sir Henry and make him listen. ‘We simply can’t go on like this,’ she told her reflection. ‘It really is the last-chance saloon for Ambrose House.’