Belle Book and Christmas Candle

  Belle, Book

  &

  Christmas Candle

  Sharon Booth

  Published in Great Britain in 2018 by:

  Green Ginger Publishing

  Yorkshire, England

  Copyright © 2018 Sharon Booth.

  Cover design by Berni Stevens. www.bernistevensdesign.com

  The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  For Alex and Julie,

  my magical friends,

  because without your support and encouragement

  none of this would have happened.

  xxxx

  Chapter One

  The man sitting next to me didn't even look up from his newspaper as the announcer informed us that, in a few minutes, our train would reach the market town of Castle Clair, and that passengers might be interested to know that they would be crossing the famous viaduct, affording them spectacular views of the River Hrafn.

  Honestly! The announcer might at least have learned how to pronounce the name of the sodding river, since he was so keen to get people to look at it. Huh-raff-en, my arse!

  'I'm guessing he's not a local.'

  It speaks! I glanced at my neighbour, who still had his eyes firmly fixed on the The Daily Spitefest, or whatever it was he was so glued to. 'I'm sorry?'

  'The announcer. It's not pronounced huh-raff-en. It's Rar-ven.'

  'I know.' If he was going to talk to me, the least he could do was have the decency to look at me. 'I take it you are, then? Local, I mean.'

  'I like to get things right. You?'

  'Same.' Ooh, Sky, you big fat liar!

  He looked surprised, like he knew I was fibbing, but didn't reply. Evidently, he'd used up his quota of words for the day. Instead, he folded the newspaper and dropped it onto the table, then turned to look out the window. Almost without thinking, I followed his gaze, battling a mixture of emotions as I viewed the scene from our vantage point, high up over the river: the pretty little cottages, cafés and shops by the water's edge, and the walkway that would be heaving with tourists in the warmer months but now, in early December, was practically empty.

  When I left Castle Clair, over three years ago, it had been July, and the rowing boats for hire had been bobbing merrily on the water. They were gone now, locked away in a boathouse for the winter.

  Dragging my gaze away from the river, I drew in a sharp breath as I caught sight of Clair Castle, still imposing even in its ruined state, and dominating the skyline from its position on the gorge opposite the viaduct.

  The town was beautiful, I couldn't deny it. Even beyond the waterside there was so much to enjoy, with the picturesque market place, cobbled medieval streets and quaint old shops and houses. I wished that its beauty was the only reason it drew so many tourists but, sadly, there was far more to Castle Clair than first met the eye.

  'I'm getting off here.' The man sounded as happy about arriving in the town as I felt. 'Can I get by please? Unless you're getting off here, too?'

  'This is my stop,' I confirmed. The end of the line, at least for me. How I envied those people who were continuing to York. How lovely it must be to simply admire the view of Castle Clair before heading on to somewhere — well, normal. I got to my feet and reached up to the luggage rack for my coat. My neighbour hadn't even taken off his coat. He'd kept it fully-fastened for the whole journey, almost as if he were keeping a barrier between himself and anyone foolish enough to sit next to him.

  Well, believe me, I wouldn't have sat next to him if I'd had a choice, but the train had been almost full when I'd got on, with just seconds to spare, harassed and breathless after running to make my connection. Embarrassed as everyone stared at me as I staggered on board, I'd dumped my case and sat in the nearest vacant seat, which just happened to be the one beside him. True, within a few stops many of the passengers had left, but it had felt rude, somehow, to move seats. It would look as if I didn't want to sit next to him and, even though I didn't, I just couldn't bring myself to get up. So, there I'd remained, stuck with a man who clearly didn't want me near him, while surrounded by empty seats that only reminded me that I was a complete wimp.

  The announcer informed us that we were now approaching the station and warned us to make sure we didn't leave any luggage behind. The train jolted as it slowed. Other passengers reached for coats, scarves, bags. Several of them were already waiting by the door, clearly keen to disembark.

  'That's my case, over there. The brown leather one,' the man said, nodding at a fairly battered-looking old suitcase that must've been at least thirty years old. It must be a family heirloom, or bought second hand, as it looked around the same age as him. Come to think of it, the brown leather was almost the same colour as his hair, which flopped, rather untidily, over one eye until he pushed it back with his hand.

  I wondered why he was telling me. Did he expect me to go and fetch it for him, or something? I looked pensively at my own large, black wheeled case. New, functional. It carried most of my life in it. How pathetic.

  'Are you here on holiday?'

  For some reason, he seemed intent on having a conversation with me. Bit rich for someone who'd not said a word to me all that time, so I didn't see why I should make an effort. Even so, I couldn't bring myself to ignore him entirely. 'Er, sort of. I'm visiting family for Christmas.'

  He gave a wry smile. 'You're brave, aren't you? Bet there's bad feeling in your family.'

  My stomach lurched. 'What do you mean by that?'

  He tapped the newspaper I'd brought with me for the journey and had discarded, unread, on the table. 'That's a local paper. Local to Lancashire. Either you're a Lancashire lass visiting Yorkshire, or you're a Yorkshire lass living in Lancashire. Can't be easy. Wars of the Roses and all that.'

  'Oh, right.' Relieved, I was powerless to stop myself as, true to form, I began to gabble. I always talked rubbish when I was nervous. 'Except that wasn't really about Yorkshire and Lancashire, actually. It's a common misconception. It was about the Houses of York and Lancaster and that's a very different thing.'

  His smile dropped. 'Yeah, I know. It was a joke.'

  I pulled on my gloves, almost dropping them in my embarrassment. 'Sorry. I'm a bit nervous.' Oh, for goodness sake, Sky, shut up!

  'Nervous? About seeing your family?'

  'It's been a while and this place —' I shrugged, not wanting to elaborate on what this place made me feel. Not that I could have put it into words anyway. God knows, I'd tried to explain it to myself enough times and never succeeded yet. 'Never mind.'

  The train lurched to a halt and, after a few moments, the doors slid open. I rushed over to the luggage compartment and took hold of the handle of my suitcase. A minute ago, I'd dreaded leaving the train. Now I couldn't wait to get off.

  'I'm not sure where you're heading,' the man's voice sounded loud in my ear, causing me to flinch, 'but if you're going in my direction, we could share a taxi? I'm —'

  'No need,' I said quickly. 'My sister's picking me up from the station. Thank you, anyway.'

  He reached for his suitcase and lifted it easily, as if there was very little inside it. 'No problem. As long as you're sorted.'
br />   I bumped my suitcase down the step and onto the platform, looking around hopefully for any sign of my sister, but couldn't see anyone. The station was small and unmanned, but there was a little café at the end of the platform next to the ticket machines, and I decided that, if Star wasn't yet here, I might as well get myself a cup of coffee or something while I waited. It was cold. The bitter December air wrapped itself around me like a cape, a cruel shock after the warmth of the train. I realised I was shivering.

  'Have a pleasant stay.' The man nodded at me as he strode off, suitcase in hand.

  Evidently, I'd made my reluctance to talk to him all too obvious. I felt a pang of guilt. It wasn't his fault that I was a bag of nerves, after all. 'Merry Christmas!'

  He stopped, paused for a moment, then turned his head to look at me.

  Boy, did I feel daft. 'If I don't see you around, I mean. I hope you have a lovely Christmas.'

  I saw the look in his eyes and my forced smile dropped. There was such sadness in those green depths that I honestly wished I'd never said anything.

  'And to you,' he murmured. He nodded, then turned and made his way towards the platform gate. I saw him turn right towards the exit and he was gone from my sight. I stood, feeling uncertain. As if returning to this place wasn't uncomfortable enough, now I had this total stranger to worry about. I tutted to myself. Whatever was on his mind it wasn't my concern and, lord knows, I had enough of my own problems to deal with — the first of which was the little matter of it being freezing cold and there was no sign of Star. Thank God for the café. Even if it did have the most off-putting name.

  ****

  The Perfect Potion Café was warm and cosy, at least, as far as station cafés went, but I decided to forego the special offer of a pumpkin latte with half-price "cauldron cupcake" and settle, instead, for a simple filter coffee. I paid for the drink and took a seat at the table nearest the window, watching the comings and goings and making up stories in my head about where each passer-by was going, or where they'd just come back from. Anything to distract myself from what lay ahead.

  I wondered, for the thousandth time, why Castle Clair had such a negative effect on me. Clearly, I was the only one in my family who didn't adore the place — unless you counted my father and none of us counted him, since he'd disappeared from our lives when I was very young and hadn't been heard of since.

  My mother had done a lot of travelling during the last few years, but she always made her way back to the town and considered it her home, and my two sisters would never leave. As for my brother — I knew his destiny was in Castle Clair. He may be living in Ireland at the moment, but the day would come when he returned. Anything else would be unthinkable.

  The coffee was exactly what I needed to warm me up. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes for a moment, suddenly aware of how tired I felt after almost three and a half hours of travelling. Not to mention the little matter of having no sleep for the last week. Well, given what had happened to me recently there was no wonder. It had been a rubbish November and, to be honest, December wasn't looking too promising either. I didn't even want to think about what the new year would bring.

  'Sky, darling! There you are!'

  My eyes flew open at the sound of my sister's voice. I'd know it anywhere. You could tell she was beautiful just by hearing those melodious tones. Honestly, my siblings got the best genes in the pool. Me? I seemed to have got whatever was left floating in a nearby muddy puddle.

  Star pulled out the chair opposite mine and grabbed hold of my hand. 'It's so good to see you. I've missed you! I'm sorry I was late, but I couldn't get rid of a customer. She would insist that she needed bistort for purification and, as I kept trying to explain to her, she'd be better off with white sage or bay or rosemary, but she simply wouldn't have it. Said she was trying to cleanse her wand, not make dinner! I ask you.' She shook her head, her blonde hair tumbling around her shoulders. 'What can you do? You simply can't help some people. A waste of time, anyway. She was clearly a non-starter.'

  I sighed inwardly, not wanting to hear all this rubbish again, but not wanting to upset Star so soon. I'd only just arrived, after all. Besides, I was going to have to get used to it. I was going to be hearing an awful lot of this mumbo-jumbo over the next few weeks.

  She squeezed my hand. 'I'm so thrilled you said yes. It really wouldn't have been the same if you'd refused, what with Mother off in Morocco, or wherever she is right now, and there being absolutely no sign of Sirius returning home which, frankly, I think is a disgrace. He's been gone far too long and should be here with us. Ireland's all very well and good, but Castle Lodge is just sitting there, all forlorn. Poor Castor's rattling around the place, making sure it's secure and maintained and seeing to the garden, but his heart's not in it, poor thing. With everyone away it's not the same, is it? And Yule's such an important time of year. I simply had to ask you to share it with us. It's been horrible the last few years without you here.' She paused a moment, as if she'd only just noticed that I hadn't spoken a word. 'Golly, I do talk a lot,' she acknowledged. 'How are you, Sky? You're looking — well.'

  I felt my stomach tighten. Well? I looked well? Wow, what a glowing compliment. Well wasn't how I'd have described my sister. If asked, I'd have had to say, stunning, flawless, perfect. She was all those things and more — tall, slim, blonde, blue-eyed, graceful ... if she was anyone else, I'd have hated her. But she wasn't anyone else. She was Star, and the truth was, she was as beautiful inside as out. She'd never been anything but kind, generous and supportive for as long as I could remember, so I knew she was genuinely trying to be nice and there was nothing nasty in her meaning.

  'I'm all right,' I said cautiously. 'It's been a rotten few weeks, but things will get better. They always do.' And now who wasn't being genuine? Things had a habit of going from bad to worse in my experience, but there was no need to lay it on with a trowel. I always felt like Eeyore sitting next to Tigger whenever I was with my sister, anyway. I was determined that, today at least, I would be optimistic.

  'They do,' she said, smiling that megawatt smile of hers. 'It's going to be lovely having you back home. Celeste is so excited. She can't wait to see you. And Mother sends you her love. I'm sure Sirius will Skype or something.'

  'Or something,' I said. 'I must say, your call came at exactly the right moment. How odd that you rang me the very day my flatmate told me to leave.' What a grim day that had been. She'd given me just two weeks' notice, the rotten cow. Talk about kicking someone when they're down. As if being made redundant wasn't bad enough, to then be told that I'd have to make room for her new best friend, who naturally happened to have a well-paid and secure job — well, that had just about taken the biscuit.

  Star fiddled with the button on her coat. 'Isn't it? Marvellous coincidence. Must be sibling telepathy.'

  'Must be,' I agreed. 'It's weird, because Celeste called me, too, a few weeks ago — the very day I found out Jack had dumped me.'

  Star flicked her hair over her shoulder. 'Oh, Jack!' Her tone was dismissive. 'What an idiot he was. And how appallingly he treated you. Who breaks up with their girlfriend by email?'

  'The same man who moves in with another woman the day before you were supposed to be going on holiday together, I guess.'

  He really had! I still couldn't believe it. What a mug I'd been, and what a total swine Jack Dexter had turned out to be. Kelly Mold was welcome to him. Who needed a man in their lives who'd cheat on you with a Zumba instructor? My Zumba instructor! And Jack's idea of exercise was lifting the remote control to point at his 52-inch smart television. No doubt he was burning off a few extra calories now I thought bitterly. I wouldn't care, but it had all apparently been my fault. I'd forced him into having sex with Kelly because I was so dull and dreary.

  'You're no fun, Sky,' Jack had told me, sounding defensive. As well he might, given that I'd caught him in flagrante, having rushed round to his flat to demand an explanation for his brutal email. Not my wisest decisio
n, as it turned out. 'You've got no ambition, no drive and no sparkle. Kelly's so different. She knows who she is, and what she wants, and she goes all out to enjoy life. With you, I always felt as if I had to apologise for enjoying myself. You need to work out who you are and what you want and go for it, if you ask me, or you're going to end up living a miserable life.'

  I mean, of all the cheek! I'd been perfectly happy until I'd caught him cheating, on top of hearing that my job had gone tits up. What did he expect? And then he had the nerve to take Kelly to Benidorm, instead of me!

  Oh, sod him! Who cared? Jack Dexter was history, as was the job I'd been doing for the last three years at the Pennine Bank Call Centre. It was no loss. Three years waiting for promotion and I was still stuck in a little cubicle, dealing with customer complaints — and boy, customers could really complain. No, I wouldn't miss it. Nor would I really miss Jack. Come to think of it, I wouldn't miss living in the Lancashire town of Connlea, just over the border from Yorkshire either.

  What had I been doing for the last three years? Not enjoying myself, that much was certain.

  I wondered, with some apprehension, if I was ever going to find somewhere that I felt comfortable and contented. Castle Clair wasn't the place, even if I did love my family to bits.

  'You deserve so much better,' Star assured me. 'Anyway, enough of this. Have you finished that coffee yet? I'm dying to get you home. I've cleaned your room and it looks lovely, and the fire's lit and I've even baked you a cake to welcome you back.'

  I raised an eyebrow. 'You baked a cake?'

  She flushed a little and giggled. 'All right. Celeste baked you a cake. But I did sprinkle the hundreds and thousands on top,' she added. 'And I made a good job of it, if I say so myself.'

  I laughed. 'That sounds about right,' I said. 'Okay, I'm done with the coffee so let's go.'

  No point in putting it off any longer. I couldn't sit in the station forever. I got to my feet and Star grabbed the handle of my case before I'd even thought of it.