All too soon we were almost at the end of our Windsor adventure, and we started taking bookings from the next week onwards for the original setting of the rooms, meaning to change it back two days before the owner arrived back. But before we could do anything of that, the owner arrived out of the blue, frightening us into speechless surprise! I think her son, a miserable, longfaced little wannabe Goth had phoned her after coming to fetch some of his books, and saw what we did, because we heard him peep into all the rooms upstairs! I know that we had no permission to change the rooms, but as we had taken more than twice the amount we would have made with the original way, we thought that she would have been very glad with the extra money! And anyway, we had done all the work, we bemoaned our situation when she at long last stopped her nagging and went to her room, that was mercifully not booked up for the night! Sometimes the gods play along, because if she had no room for herself I think she would have murdered us both.
After a while the owner came back, oh so stiff lipped, and told us that the rooms had to be changed back immediately! We were in uproar, as everything was booked up for the next few days, and I had already phoned the tourist office to cancel the booking for the owner's room, and that was sorted out, as they had another place for them. I was aghast, as we had three very cultured and gentle German ladies in the three-bed, and I begged her to let them stay out their time, but she was like a bally silent rock, just stared me out of countenance, then told me to do it pronto!
I knew it was useless to reason with this person, so, with her breathing in my neck, standing behind me scowling and mumbling loudly, I told the ladies that they would have to leave! Their English not very good, they were horrified, as they thought that they had to leave because the owner thought they were lesbian! 'No, no! No lesbian! No lesbian!', they desperately tried to make us see reason, and my heart went out to them. The owner was unmoved and with the mischief done, she then left us, a satanic bally smile on her face, and I had the job to try and console the women, and promised to get them other accomodation, but I had my work cut out to convince them that we were overbooked, as the real reason was so silly, and that their having to leave had nothing to do with being lesbian.
I phoned the tourist office, but they had nothing on their books, so, with Anna staying with the ladies to see that the mad owner did not throw them out onto the street, I ran the streets of Windsor. It was hot, and the streets were steep, and after a long time, and begging countless guest houses to try and help the ladies, I found them a room, actually not far from us in Princess street, just around the corner and up about four blocks. By now I was really tired, but felt happy and looking forward to tell my three worried ladies that I found them an even better room!
As it was not to far, Anna and myself took it upon us to take the luggage to the new place, but I must say, after the running earlier, my legs felt like two jelly sticks, shivering and aching by the time we had lugged the heavy cases up the road.
The ladies were ecsatic, as the new room was twice as big as the other one, and beautifully decorated! As I still had the money we made in my possesion, I paid the deposit for the new room out of that, and to heck with the mad owner, who said that we had to pay it out of our pockets!