I came back from my days off feeling on top of the world, having decided that if somebody offered me another job I would take it, as I was not enjoying my work so much anymore. I was grown-up enough to realize that Lorna was just hitting on me because I was  the employee that was in her service the longest, and that was only two months. Her husband was quite lazy, and did not really contributed any energy to the running of the hotel. On the one hand I felt sorry for her, as she worked extremely hard, but also felt for the little cowboy, who had to listen to her ranting him down all day.
The problem was that in order to stay in her good books,the little cowboy joined her in her relentness persecution of the person of the moment, and I could see him sometimes talking to her, and looking my way from time to time, just as they did with the little kitchen porter, and Russel and John. I am definitely not a neorotic person at all, but this was so obvious that I just could not miss it, and knowing the phsycology behind it all scared me a wee bit, so I kept my ears open in case one of the other hotels needed a cook.
Of course Richard must have seen all this the previous year, so he stayed out of Lorna's way as much as possible, sucking up to her something terrible. I couldn't blame him, for Lorna could turn on him quite easily if she realized that all her jibes didn't upset me in the least. It did upset me, but when she says some funny things to me, I started to look her straight in the eye, and give her a sweet smile. She didn't know how to handle this, and my nervous system was suffering badly, but until I had another job I would play my little game.
One evening when Richard and self was on alone, I had already started clearing up when he came into the kitchen and asked me whether I saw my way open to quickly do dinner for two German tourists who had gotten there too late, and as all the other hotels also close at the same time as us, I said that it was okay with me.
The tourists was in no hurry, and ordered a starter, a main meal and a pud, and it was about forty five minutes after my usual time when the last plates came back. I was still okay, but then of course Lorna must have been watching through the window, and seeing me still busy, she rushed into the kitchen, grabbed the heap of order slips, and counted them, a look of utter discontent on her face. When she finished her counting, she threw the order slips down scattering it all over the table and on the floor, and shouted at me: 'Seventeen slips, Christine, PLEASE!' I tried to explain why I was still busy, but she was so enraged at me doing only seventeen orders, and still working, that she wouldn't listen, and that night I got so mad at people only guarding their own interests that I almost clobbered Richard, who stood there, knowing that Lorna might listen to him, but too much of a coward to come to my rescue! Actually, I knew that the couple wanted to stay on after September, but haven't told Lorna yet, and was always talking about my lovely room. They had lodgings in a small cottage only till the end of August when the owners would be back, and desperately needed other living quarters, and I think they hoped that I would leave, leaving my room for their occupation.
So I just kept my calm, smiled sweetly at Lorna and went on with unloading the dishwasher! But that was the end of any friendly feelings I had for Richard.
As during the mornings I was all alone, Lorna and Mary doing the rooms, I could take the stupid abuse that came my way, but my nerves were beginning to fray a wee bit!
However, my adventures during my days off were so fantastic, and I so loved it in Scotland, that I tried to shut myself off when I see the lot of them conversing together, talking softly so that I couldn't hear what was said, and I was now quite cool towards Richard and Katka.