Fate Ticks Away

By Patricia Rose

A sudden, unexpected letter from an old friend turns Bella’s life upside down. The consequences are far reaching and life changing as she reconnects with a close friend from the past.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley
• Release date: May 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463121009

Patricia Rose

Patricia has a medical background having been a practicing nurse for many years. Her love of the countryside gives her many opportunities to photograph landscapes and animals by using one of her hobbies. Patricia is also a keen lover of musical theatre.

Book preview

Patricia has a medical background having been a practicing nurse for many years.

Her love of the countryside gives her many opportunities to photograph landscapes and animals by using one of her hobbies.

Patricia is also a keen lover of musical theatre.

Other Books by the Author

Double Love

I want to SING without CRYING

The GIRL on the STAIRS

To You I Give

Nursing a Reputation

This book is in commemoration of Stirling Maguire.

1938 – 2017

The front cover was designed by Stirling Maguire.

The bell has been re-named Stirling’s Bell in recognition of his work to replace it in market square clock tower.

It was completed in time for the 4th August 2014; the 100 anniversary of the beginning of the First World War in recognition of the local veterans who died for their country.

Stirling’s Bell rang after each name was read out.

He succeeded.

R.I.P.

Patricia Rose

Fate Ticks Away

Copyright © Patricia Rose (2018)

The right of Patricia Rose to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781788481977 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781788481984 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781788481991 (E-Book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2018)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd. ™

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Acknowledgements

Thank you Trevor, for the art for the front cover from a selection of real photographs.

Chapter One

It was a mid-February morning as Bella pulled back her bedroom curtains to reveal a thick white frost everywhere. The sun was just rising above the horizon which gave the whole scene a magical sparkle and as the strengthening rays shone, she watched as it melted some of the frost but leaving the parts in the shadow a deep coldness. The small patch of grass in her garden was taking on two sides, melted and frosty. Goose pimples began to rise and a shudder came over her, so she put on her dressing gown slid her feet into her soft furry slippers which were much too big for her but she found them very warm and comfy, and went into the kitchen to make a big pot of tea and decided she fancied toast too.

As she munched her crunchy toast with plenty of butter with a slither of Manuka honey, she contemplated her day. As quite an organised person, she knew what she needed to do. As it was a Saturday, there was no pressure from her clients as she always kept the weekends free as much as possible. Her private work of healing was really about listening a lot and talking very little with the aid of soothing hypnotic music in the background to encourage the healing of the body and the mind.

Bella sat back on her chair and sipped the piping hot tea and slowly brushed back her long, wavy chestnut hair from her shoulders to reveal her curvaceous body she was very proud of, as she had always tried to keep herself fit and toned and together with her Celtic hereditary; she felt it a solid foundation she could rely upon. Her full name was Annahbella. It was an unusual way to spell it and she always joked that the registrar made a mistake as he could not spell!

Having decided her routine for the day Bella finished loading the dishwasher and as she set the programme, she heard her letter box snap. She was not expecting any mail, so drying her hands she walked to the front door and saw a letter on the mat. As she bent down to pick it up, she wondered who had written to her. Her address was not visible and as she turned it over she instantly recognised the handwriting. It was from her long-time friend Diana.

Bella and Diana had been friends since school days, and they had regularly written about the ups and downs of life and released the frustrations and traumas in their letter which helped quite a bit to overcome them. They had discovered very early on that they had a lot in common. Diana chatted to her after a school choir rehearsal. As Bella had joined the school mid-term and was slightly older than most of the other pupils, she felt very much on her own but music had drawn them together.

She recalled her friend Diana who was petite with an attractive mop of honey-blond hair. She had a cheeky sense of humour and it wasn’t long before Bella realised that her new found friend was very attractive to the boys who went to school in the adjoining building. They used to wait for her after school, just to talk to her. Bella had found herself watching from a distance admiring her confidence with them. Having been born in a small town, Diana had known them all for several years. Bella felt at a disadvantage as she had already had a nomadic life style due to her parents moving many times, so that her father would always have work in the aircraft industry. Now all she could do was to watch from the side lines, and learn!

Bella opened the letter and was very surprised to read what Diana had written. She sat down at the kitchen table to reread the handwritten letter several times before the information finally sank in.

Diana had read in her local newspaper that Bella’s first serious boyfriend was in the newspaper, and what was even more fascinating was he was still living in the town. Diana had always said that she and Ennis should have been together as the spark they made between each other was almost electric. The letter continued to be positive and strongly encouraged Bella to get in touch with Ennis again, and she even suggested ways of doing it by subtly and carefully, perhaps writing a letter to him and carefully giving details of where she was and leave it up to Ennis to get in contact if he wanted to. Diana finished by saying she would try and get his address and would let her know if she had been successful, and the final words from her friend were ‘This is going to work out. I feel happy already and nothing has really happened yet’. Bella smiled to herself as she easily recalled Ennis, who was a tall, slim, dark-haired young man with the most wonderful smile and diamond-sparkling eyes, all attached to the longest pair of legs on the planet. He had the cheekiest sense of humour but he was also gentle and sensitive and would not even hurt a fly, unless it got up his nose! Then, heaven help anyone or that unsuspecting fly!! It was this side of his personality that was usually not noticeable as there was a core of inner strength which Bella had recognised and admired all those years ago.

It took quite a while for Bella to decide how to reply to her friend and decided to send an immediate reply by return of post and say how wonderful it was that Diana would find out a few things about Ennis. Her pen flowed easily over the paper when suddenly she felt a rush of emotion creep over her whole body, so she put down her pen and finding her friends telephone number dialled it out. As the rhythmic tone rang out, she so hoped Diana would be at home and then it would be her turn to be surprised as it was not their usual mode of communication. The tone stopped and a familiar voice with an enquiring inflection in her voice,

Hello?

Hello, it’s Bella here.

Oh hello, how good to hear from you. Am I to assume you have read my letter to you?

Yes I have. I was going to write but my excitement got the better of me, so I thought I’d give you a call and ask you lots of questions.

Well m’ dear, I’m not surprised that it has stirred up old memories. You were a wonderful pair.

Thank you Diana. What a lovely thing to say.

But before she could start to ask any questions her friend began to lay out plans for getting his details so she could pass them on. She would start by looking in the phone directory and work from there.

I haven’t started my detective work yet as I wanted to make sure you agree before I get any information. Sorry I can’t talk more as I was just on my way out. I’ll call you when I have hopefully found what I need. Isn’t this exciting? I’ll send you a copy of the newspaper when I can. Bye for now. Bella put the phone down, sat back in her chair, and let out a very deep sigh. Her mind was in a whirl, and so hoped she would hear from Diana very soon, although she had made no mention as to when she may have time to find out the information she wanted. She could feel the excitement rising in her at just the thought of Ennis, her true friend she somehow had lost contact with so many years ago and quite how that happened she really could not recall. Then a feeling of almost despair came over her. What if Diana could not find him for her, would she have the courage to do her own investigations now that she knew he was in the same town? They had not discussed as to why Ennis was in the paper, perhaps he had done something bad, but somehow that thought did not seem sensible and her mind went on a wild goose chase as what he may have done. She felt confident that Diana would have mentioned something if the news was bad.

Even as she showered and dressed, Bella could not get the contents of her friend’s letter out of her mind and wondered when she would hear any news at all. Then her phone rang out so loudly it made her jump. It was Valerie, a good friend of several years, whom she had met soon after she moved into the area. It seemed that Bella sounded different as Valerie asked if she was all right and before she could answer Valerie asked if she was going to call in and have a natter, as they had not made a firm time since they last met. Hearing her friend’s voice, she immediately replied she would be round very soon and had some news that she wanted to share and get her honest opinion. Valerie sounded intrigued and happily said she would see her soon.

Bella put on her scarf and coat checking in her handbag, she had enough money for the shopping that she would do after visiting Valerie. By this time, all other superficial plans she had earlier in the morning had vanished like the frost on her lawn.

A warm welcome greeted Bella as she entered her friend’s house, through the side door, knocking and calling out as she went in straight into the farmhouse kitchen. There was Valerie standing at the sink and it was obvious she was getting clean water for her dogs who started to bark softly but as soon as they saw Bella, they came bounding over to greet her. She had to brace herself as they were quite young and were very strong in their desire to make her welcome in their lovely doggy way. She could smell their wet fur as she stroked and petted them and chatted to them, telling them what wonderful dogs they were, and guessed they had been out in the thick frost earlier to investigate their territory.

In Valerie’s kitchen was a big open fire with an inglenook on the opposite side to the wood burning Aga. The floor was solid large flag stone of deep terracotta red. In the centre was a sturdy wooden table with marks on the surface that indicated it had been well used and well-loved too. Bella had often watched Valerie as she pummelled and pulled the dough for her mouth-watering loaves of bread. She thought she could smell some cooking but Valerie indicated to her to sit down where there was already a wine glass full of pink cloudy fluid.

What’s this? It looks very interesting.

It’s diluted pure juice from the blackcurrants and the raspberries we grew last summer, you remember you helped me pick some. It also contains a few drops of flower remedies as I know how hard you work for other people. There are a few drops of Century and Oak mixed in for good measure. Bella always smiled at Valerie serving a ‘potion’ in a wine glass. She certainly had style and was a very holistic person and extremely intuitive, so they had a lot in common right from the start. Pouring herself a glass of home squeezed lemon juice they sat down together.

Now then, what’s going on Bella? I could tell by your voice and now by the way you look that something important has happened. Would you like to tell me now that you are here?

She was bursting to tell Valerie what had happened a couple of hours ago, she was still feeling somehow vulnerable and although with a kind and understanding friend, she hesitated as to where to start. That alone was unusual in her normal approach to situations but this was a truly deep emotion that she never expected to ever feel again, and it had come totally out of the blue and without any doubt had thrown her emotions all over the place, like someone playing ping-pong with her heart.

Valerie could see that Bella was struggling but waited patiently until her face showed that she was ready to talk. The dogs had settled down on the rug in front of the fire and were apparently dozing, although with those two you almost felt they were pretending but listening