The Other Tongue

* Lots of thanks to Dawnj for editing! *

Spring

Jill stood in the front room, looking out over the small parking place she had for visitors. Ever since her marriage had run aground she had been trying to fend for herself -- it hardly made a difference anyway, she thought -- and over the last four years or so the bed & breakfast she'd begun had turned out to be a solid source of income. It was hard work, next to the secretarial part time job she had, but it made just that little extra that she needed for the things that were really important.

Jill was a little over forty. She had brown, slightly curly hair that she wore halfway down her shoulder blades, brown eyes, and a nice smile that hardly anyone ever saw. She usually wore trousers and a sweater, and she would have been genuinely surprised if she'd known she was considered a beauty by quite a few men. She'd have shaken off the idea of men because her marriage had put her defences up. The thought of it made her shudder still.

A car was about to park in the empty parking place, a small red one that looked rather old-fashioned to her. But she didn't know; sometimes those things seemed to be quite expensive. It was driven by a young woman who seemed to Jill to be all she was not. She had impossibly long legs, blonde hair to her waist, and big breasts, and the single traveller that had just left that morning had positively gawked at her. She had heard the girl invite herself to dinner the night before, and they had left together. They had returned together as well, and when she had seen to the rooms that morning, she found the bed in the girl's room had not been slept in.

Oh well, each in her own way. But somehow it felt wrong and discourteous to use her house as a place of ill repute, and just like plain bad behaviour of both parties, although she couldn't never say so to them. The young woman stepped out of her car as if she were getting out of a limousine, all those long legs first. She walked up to the front door. Jill went and let her in, and the young woman looked at her with something like disdain. She did greet Jill more or less civilly, though, before she climbed the stairs to the room Jill had put her in.

It was a quiet Friday. There was just the one girl for guests. Jill went back to her living room and sat down with the book she was reading. She'd almost finished it, and she was keen to know the ending. Reading had been one of the things that had helped her survive her marriage; it helped her cope with the spare time she often had on her hands. Reading, and music. The problem was, though, that music had a tendency to leave her feeling all sad and wrung out -- and longing for she didn't quite know what.

Reading was safer, but occasionally it might get at her, too. Still... She got immersed into the story, and she was so busy reading that she missed the bell first time round. Then she heard and went to the door. There was another single traveller standing in front of her. He seemed to look at her appraisingly, and she gave him a noncommittal look.

"Good afternoon," he said. "I am afraid I have not reserved, but could I stay here for a couple of nights?"

Jill rather liked his face. He seemed a soft spoken kind of person, and she did have room enough.

"I think so," she said. "I am Jill Maddox."

"Ben Greene. Pleased to meet you."

He took her hand and shook it.

"Would three nights be alright?"

"By all means," she said. "Shall I show you your room?"

She walked up the stairs before him, and she took him to the single bedroom at the back, the only single room she had. It was the room she would prefer, and she opened the door and stood aside to let him enter. She hoped he would like it a little.

Ben entered the room and looked around. It was a cosy room, with a low table and an easy chair. There was a small bookcase with what seemed to be an interesting selection of novels, and there was a bed that looked alright. From the window he had a wide view across a vista of fields, and in between two hills in the distance he thought he could see a small triangle of blue.

"Oh, lovely," he said. "Is that the sea in the distance?"

Jill nodded. "It is. I love the view."

"Yes. It is beautiful. Thank you very much; I'll be happy to stay here."

"Alright. The bathroom is the next door on the right. Breakfast is between seven and nine."

"Good. I'll be on the early side, I think." He smiled at her. It was a nice smile, she thought.

"Is there a place where I can have dinner nearby?"

"There are a few reasonable places. What do you have in mind?"

"Just warm and good food, really. Nothing fancy."

"Okay. There are two places I can recommend."

She told him and he listened carefully to the directions she gave to the first option she'd mentioned.

"Okay. Thank you," he said. "Mmm, I think I'd better go now. This looks like a very nice room indeed. I will get my suitcase from the car when I come back."

They walked down the stairs and Ben went out through the hall.

Jill looked at his back as he went out into the open and she just heard the young woman accost him.

"Hello," she said. "I wonder if you..."

She missed the rest because Ben had pulled the door closed. Somehow it irked her immensely. What kind of a man eater was this young girl that she should go and pick up this man? But she was a looker alright and Jill thought she herself was a nonentity in that field. She wouldn't wonder if he fell for her, too. When she returned to her book in the living room, she had to make a real effort to get into the story again.

Ben listened to the girl with a growing feeling of irritation. He didn't know her and he did not want to have anything to do with her. He was tired, he disliked being seen as easy prey, she was far too young and not his type at all. He certainly didn't' think her make-up looked sexy... What felt worse was the disdainful way in which she dismissed the establishment they stayed at and the snide remarks about his hostess. He liked what he'd seen, and he thought this creature was nothing like her.

When she had finished her proposal, he said he was sorry but he had no inclination to come along.

He immediately rejoiced in having done so; she gave him a foul look and turned around without a further word.

He shrugged. He didn't like the type. Then he noticed the small red car and grinned. Ernie, a good friend of his, was into classic MGs. He ran a magazine about them, and this was a wonderfully well-kept specimen. He got his cell phone from his pocket and took a series of pictures to send to him when he was home.

He had a good look at the car, and the pictures he had taken were quite satisfactory, he thought. Nice! Then he walked to the restaurant Jill has told him about. It was small and cosy, the service was friendly and he sat down to a good vegetarian meal with cashews and raisins and salad and some nice cheese.

It took him about ninety minutes in all, and he was back at the B&B well before nine thirty. He walked to the parking place to get his suitcase from the car. The MG was not there, to his regret. He walked to the front door and rang the bell.

Jill let him in. He gave her a smile that made her feel warm and told her the restaurant had been a great success.

There was no sign of the girl; maybe she'd come later, Jill thought. But then it was none of her business, fortunately.

"Have you read the books in my room?" Ben asked.

Jill smiled. It seemed most people hardly noticed them, and no one had commented on them as yet.

"I have. Do you think you'd want to read one of them?"

"I think so. I don't know for sure but I am afraid I forgot to bring my book. I will browse a little anyway." He smiled and nodded. "I think I will go and lie down with a book. This day's been long enough."

"Can you find your room?"

"Certainly. Thank you very much, and good night!"

He looked at her, and she wished him goodnight and smiled, a little distantly, but still. Ben liked her smile, and her face, and he went upstairs thinking how much nicer Jill looked than the girl that had accosted him that afternoon. She had beautiful hair, too.

He checked his suitcase. No book, so he knelt down in front of the bookcase. It was a nice collection, he thought. No Mills and Boons, but a few classics, some good thrillers and modern novels and even a few collections of poetry. He felt like poetry, and took Robert Graves from the shelf.

He read a few old favourites first, before preparing himself for the night, and then he sat down in the bed with his back against the headboard going through a couple of poems. After about thirty minutes he decided to call it a day.

Jill sat in the living room reading. She looked at her watch now and then. The girl in the red car wasn't in yet, and she didn't feel like going downstairs in her night dress to open the door for her. Her visitors were supposed to be in by ten thirty, and it was eleven now.

At eleven thirty, having finished her book, Jill went to bed. She wondered if her other visitor had perhaps been let in by the new man, and if they were spending the night together now. It didn't seem very likely, but you never knew; after all, men were not to be trusted. Oh well, she would see about things the next morning.

She slept fitfully, and she was up early to prepare breakfast. At a quarter past seven Ben walked into the breakfast room and wished her good morning.

"Good morning," Jill said, a little stiffly. "Er -- have you got any idea if that girl arrived here last night?"

"No? Didn't she have to ring the bell to come in then?"

"You didn't have dinner with her?"

Ben made a face. "Not I. She did try to invite herself to dinner alright, but I don't like that kind."

"Oh no! I think she may have left without paying -- and I have no name or address. She did introduce herself, but she mumbled and I missed it. You don't have any idea?"

"None whatsoever. Maybe you'd better go and check. After all, she may simply be asleep."

Jill sighed. "I hope so. Breakfast for you, first," she said. "Tea or coffee?"

When she had sorted out Ben's breakfast she disappeared for a moment.

She came back all flustered, and she felt so upset that she just had to talk. "I've been had alright," she said. "She's gone. It's not even the money so much..."

"No, I understand. It will be a lot of hassle to get it, even if you can find out who she is. You don't know anything about her?"

"Nothing," Jill said. "All I know is that she drives a small red car."

"Really? The MG is hers? I saw it wasn't there when I came back."

"It may not be her car. Maybe it's stolen."

"It is a starting point, though. I took pictures of it for a friend of mine, so we have the registration number. The police must be able to find out about it. Anyway, you'd better take down your guests' particulars from now on. This must be bad for your blood pressure."

He took his driving licence from his wallet. "You can start with mine," he said.

"Thank you," she said absentmindedly. "I er -- I will call the police first. Would you mind staying until they arrive?"

"Not at all."

"Okay." Jill went to the office to call the police, and entered Ben's particulars in the ledger she used for pre-bookings. The driver number was most important, she expected. She noticed he was almost the same age as she. Ben Greene. No nonsense there at least, she thought. Good.

She came back and handed back his licence.

"Thank you. Won't you sit down and have some coffee with me?"

Jill smiled a little nervously. At least Ben seemed to be down to earth and nice. She hoped the police would be able to do something with the photographs; the girl had been staying with her for over a week, and she owed her over two hundred pounds. She got herself some coffee and sat down facing Ben. When he addressed himself to his meal she had a good opportunity to look at him. He had deep-lying, grey eyes and slightly bushy eyebrows, and the glasses he wore somehow suited him well.

He looked up after a short while and said, "I do hope your problem will be sorted out. Do you often have trouble with guests?"

Jill shook her head. This had been the first time. "They may be a bit blunt sometimes, but that's about it. One is always wise after the event, apparently," she said. "I think she slept with the man who left yesterday. I suppose he was married; he did wear a ring. It didn't make any alarm bells ring for me, though."

"I hope for him he didn't get robbed. Did he pay when he left?"

"No, he had booked and paid in advance. So I really wouldn't know about that."

Ben nodded. "Mmm," he said. "It might be difficult to explain things for him if he was."

Then he had some more breakfast. "Oh, nice," he said. "This is very good."

"Thank you. Some more coffee?"

As she poured it for him the bell rang, and Jill went to the door to find two plainclothes policemen on her doorstep.

She took them to her office to explain things. They listened without interrupting, and then asked about her administration, and they shook their heads when she told them she hadn't taken down any information at all. Could she give a description of her visitor?

Yes she could. She gave a clear description, and the two men looked at each other and nodded.

"This girl seems to have pulled this off quite a couple of times," one of them said. "It's always at establishments that are lax in writing things down. You really should be more careful. Are you certain there isn't any information we could use?"

"Well," Jill said, "I have a guest who has taken photographs of the car she drives, so there are pictures of her registration plate. But if that is of any use I don't know."

"Oh yes it is. We will be very happy to have those pictures. Can you ask him to step this way, please?"

Ben went with her to the office. He greeted the police officers and waited what they had to say.

They first asked him to describe the girl. Jill wondered what he would tell them. To her surprise he didn't stress her beauty but gave information about height and hair colour. She had long legs, he said, and she could look very dissatisfied. If looks could kill...

Had she looked at him like that then?

He told the police about their short contact in the parking lot. The older officer grinned. "It seems one of her tricks," he said. "We had two people report having been robbed by the lady."

Ben nodded and looked at Jill. "So I wasn't too far off the mark with my guess," he said.

The policeman raised his eyebrows.

"I wondered if robbing people might be her game," Ben said. "She had a very nice car, though."

"A red one as far as we know."

"Yes. An MG MGA 1600 Roadster with spoke wheels."

"Okay? Are you into classic cars?"

Ben shook his head and grinned broadly. "I'm not, though I like the look of them. But a friend of mine is, and he never fails to tell me all about them, with bells on. I took some pictures for him for his fan magazine -- all about MGs."

"We would love to see them," the officer said. "You did photograph the license plate?"

Ben nodded and produced his phone. He opened his pictures and handed the set to the officers who looked at them with interest.

"She is a beauty alright. My, what a lovely car. Oh look. Good. Yes, that must put us on her track -- she seems to have had the same car for the nearly two years that she's been known to us. Could you text them to us?"

"My pleasure. I hope you'll be able to stop her being a nuisance."

"So do we, have no fear." The officer told Ben his number and he texted the pictures as required.

"I will keep them in my phone until she's been apprehended," he said.

The officer nodded. "Well," he said, "let us hope this works out. We will be happy to stop her, too."

The two men took their leave, and Jill accompanied them to the door.

Then she went back to the breakfast room. "Well," she said. "I hope you don't mind too much. This cannot have been what you came here for."

Ben smiled at her. "Don't worry," he said. "I only hope that they can do something with those photographs and you will get your money in the end."

"Thank you. Didn't you think she was beautiful?"

"Beautiful? Not really. Well-proportioned, perhaps -- but I don't really think so. More like a Barbie doll. I don't like too long legs. She had an unpleasant, dissatisfied face, and bad manners." He shook his head. "Not beautiful in my books, no."

Jill sat down. "I feel a bit shaky, somehow. I think I'll have some more coffee. Would you like some more? And oh dear, your food must have gone cold."

"That's all right, don't you worry about that. Here, let me pour you some."

Jill was too busy thinking about all that had happened to object, something she would otherwise definitely have done. It was her job, and besides, she had never left anything to a man since she had had her divorce. When she realised, she wondered for a moment what had come over her. But then, Ben wasn't like John at all. John would have told her to look sharp and step on it...

Ben picked up the thermos and filled their cups. Then he chuckled. "Life is stranger than you could think up, isn't it? It felt cold on my back when I heard that girl really robbed people. I suppose I'd better keep my big mouth shut in the future."

He ate the remainder of his bacon and eggs. They had gone cold alright, but he didn't mind. When he had finished his meal he sighed. "Okay," he said. "That was nice. It'll be even better tomorrow, I think."

He smiled at Jill, and she felt quite relieved somehow. He apparently really didn't hold all the to do against her.

"Right. So perhaps I'd better go to town now. You will be alright?"

Jill nodded. The question didn't seem strange. "I will," she said. "I will clean the front bedroom. Hopefully she hasn't caused any damage, or taken things, but I don't think so, actually. Have a nice day!"

"Same to you. See you this evening, then."

"Yes. Will you be in late?"

"No, about the same time as yesterday. A full day on the town is tiring." He made a funny face and went to get his things. Jill saw him walk to his car some time later. He saw her look at him and waved.

When he'd gone round the corner into the road she went and did her chores. The front bedroom smelled of stale perfume, and the girl had apparently smoked in there, which Jill hated. She had duly put up no smoking signs... She opened the window wide. But there was no visible damage, and she didn't find anything wrong. Good. That, at least, was okay.

The back bedroom window stood ajar on the hook. The duvet had been folded back, and she saw Ben had folded his pyjamas and put them on top of his pillow. Robert Graves lay on the bedside table. She smiled. She liked Graves, and it was nice to see someone else did so, too.

She quickly hoovered the room; it was very tidy and there was nothing else she could do about it. She wondered why he visited the area. Most people came for walking, and not for visiting the town. It was quite a nice town, though, so it didn't seem out of place that anyone would want to visit it. Maybe he would tell her. He was not too reserved; and he was certainly not stuck up.

She spent the early morning doing some shopping, and then she started in a new book,May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sonsby Elisabeth Bumiller. She read until it was time to do the cooking. She made a vegetable quiche with beans and a small salad. She disliked cooking meat just for herself, and since she'd got divorced she didn't have visitors too often, apart from the ones that came to her B&B.

Ben came home at about nine. "Hello," he said. "Had a good day, after that bad start?"