The Clerembeax Palace Hotel and Spa – The Second Sunday of Advent Matinée

 

The beautiful Downshire village of Clerembeax St Giles was situated to the west of Abbeyvale located between Grace Hill and Bushy Down and on the outskirts was the Clerembeax Palace Hotel and Spa and when staffing the Hotel, they wanted to employ from the village populous where possible, and that was how the Ward girls came to work at the Palace.

Felicity was the second oldest at twenty-three and the tallest at 5ft 8, but she was also the least confident, and was oblivious to how attractive she was, with her willowy figure and long brown hair.

Unlike her siblings she was painfully shy, and was a quiet studious girl, who never went out, preferring to immerse herself in books, in fact she only ever left the farm for work and church, and she hadn’t left the village since she left school.

but the one thing that she shared with her sisters was her work ethic.

Life changed for her however at the beginning of November when Stephen Shepherd arrived as Hospitality Manager.

He was in his mid-twenties, tall, with a military bearing, blonde hair, blue eyes and a smile that melted Felicity’s heart the first time she saw him.

In fact, she liked him so much that she volunteered to help him with the linens and it soon became clear to everyone that there was more to their relationship than Hospitality Manager and Housekeeping girl, but it didn’t become evident to the two of them until the Second Sunday of Advent.

 

The Ward Family had always been churchgoers and not out of a sense of duty, the whole family had very strong faiths, and they only missed in exceptional circumstances, and the same was true of Olive Ward’s family Sunday Lunch.

But after Stephen offered to take Felicity Christmas shopping in Abbottsford that afternoon, Olive excused her.

 

Stephen and Felicity sat together during the service and then afterwards Stephen walked back to his Cottage to pick up his car while Felicity returned to the farm with the rest of the family, where she hurriedly changed so she was ready when Stephen arrived to pick her up.

 

It had been a long, long time since Felicity had been out of the village, and she normally did all her Christmas shopping on line.

But this time she would be shopping for real, not that she had to buy presents for many people, just her family, and now an additional gift for someone special.

Stephen drove her to the Phoenix Shopping Centre in Abbottsford which had been dressed for Christmas in tinsel and foil and twinkling lights almost since the beginning of October.

“My Goodness” Felicity said “It’s enormous, much bigger than I remember”

“It is rather” Stephen agreed “When was the last time you were here?”

“Ten years”

“That is a long time” he said

 

Before they got started he took her to the food court and bought her the promised lunch.

“So, have a good look around and remember where you are, and we will meet back here in an hour and a half” Stephen said

“Can’t we go around together?” Felicity asked, sounding very small

“Well not really” he said “as I need to buy for someone special, and it’s supposed to be a surprise”

“Oh yes I see what you mean” she said “me too”

Which was when he took hold of her hand, gave it a squeeze and kissed her, just a simple kiss, to reassure, which gave her strength.

“Ok then back here at 3 o’clock” he said, and they went their separate ways.

 

Stephen knew exactly where he was going first, he knew exactly what special present to get for her, he’d been planning it for weeks, so that wasn’t a problem, it was the little extras, the stocking fillers that took the time, those little things that made Christmas morning extra special.

 

For Felicity it was a little more difficult firstly because it was unexpected, hoped for, but unexpected, she thought it was just another ordinary Sunday when she got up that morning, but instead she was on a date, and that was a new experience.

She was determined to enjoy it, and she did, she embraced everything that was new, fresh and wonderful.

So, having never done Christmas shopping before, buying presents and treats for real rather than on line was totally alien to her and she didn’t know where to start, until she passed a dazzling shop window that held her entranced.

“That’s absolutely perfect” she said, and her eyes fixed on the prize.

 

They were to meet back where they had started at 3 o’clock, Stephen was there first, and Felicity trotted up about five minutes later.

“I thought I’d lost you” he said

“Sorry, I lost track of time” she said, “It’s very exciting isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is” he replied and smiled at the lovely girl loaded with bags.

“Once I got started I didn’t know how to stop” she said and giggled

“You’re really lovely” Stephen said and kissed her, but this time there was nothing simple about it.