The
Finchbottom Vale was once a great wetland that centuries earlier stretched from
Mornington in the East to Childean in the west and from Shallowfield in the
south to Purplemere in the north.
But
over the many centuries the vast majority of it had been drained for
agriculture, a feat achieved largely by the efforts of famous Mornington Mills,
of which only three had survived to the present day and even those were no
longer functional and were in various states of repair.
There
were only three small bodies of water left in the Vale now one in Mornington,
one in Childean and third was Purplemere.
The
village of Brocklington was on the River Brooke about six miles downstream from
Sharping St Mary in the Finchbottom Vale which was nestled comfortably between
the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills
in the north, those who are lucky enough to live there think of it as the rose
between two thorns.
Sophie
Welby was the head teacher at St Cuthbert’s School and was a much respected
figure in the village who had dedicated her life to educating the children of
Brocklington, but she had done it at some personal cost, namely the love of her
life Paul Barrington.
Paul
was a journalist and had been offered a job at the Washington Post shortly
after she was offered the Headship at St Cuthbert’s, he wanted her to go with
him and he assured her that she could get a job in any school she chose, but
she was scared, fearful of the unknown and the uncertainty, and was unsure
about her love for him.
In
the ten years that followed she realized that she loved him more than life
itself, but that ship had sailed so she soldiered on as a loveless educator and
stalwart of the village.
One
of the high points of her year was the Christmas bazaar which was busy and
exciting event that took a lot of organizing but brought a lot of joy, with all
the usual attractions as well as Santa’s grotto.
But
on Saturday afternoon at the height of the event as she strolled amongst the
throng she caught sight of an attraction she hadn’t expected to see, Paul
Barrington, and he beamed a smile in her direction the moment they made eye
contact and her legs instantly turned to jelly.
He
hadn’t changed a bit in her eyes, although his hair was a little greyer and his
waist a little thicker, but he was still the man she loved, loves.
“Sophie!”
he said “You haven’t changed a bit”
“Paul?”
“You
look great” he said
“What
are you doing here?” she asked, although that wasn’t the question she wanted to
ask, she wanted to know everything else, was he married? Was he back? Was he
hers?
“I’ve
transferred to the London office” he replied
“Are
your family moving with you?” she asked
“No
only me” he replied “There is only me”
“So
when did you get back?” she asked encouraged by his previous answer
“Last
night” he replied and she dared to hope, after all he had wasted no time in
getting to Brocklington, but before she could build on the glimmer of hope she
was called away from him to avert a crisis
“It’s
good to see you” she said as she was led away.
The
moment the problem had been resolved she set off in search of Paul to continue
her interrogation of him, but after a thorough search and three circuits of the
School there was no sign of him and very soon the visitors started to drift
away and the doors were closed for another year and as the team of helpers
began to pack away Sophie sought out a quiet corner in which to reflect on a
missed opportunity and she took sanctuary in the grotto.
The
grotto was decorated with red and gold velvet drapes, adorned with tinsel and
coloured lights, with a huge throne in the furthest corner surrounded by
Christmas parcels and leading to the throne was a snow covered path and on one
side of it was a festive tableau of snowmen and reindeer and on the other side
Santa’s sleigh was parked.
She
walked slowly down the snow covered path and sat on Santa’s throne and put her
head in her hands and sighed and remained there for an indeterminate amount of
time until she was brought back to the moment.
“So
this is where you’re hiding”
“You’re
still here” she exclaimed
“You
sound disappointed” Paul pointed out
“No,
no I didn’t mean that” she corrected him a little too forcefully
“It’s
just that when I couldn’t find you anywhere I thought you must have gone”
“You
were looking for me?” he asked
“Erm
well we hadn’t finished catching up” she explained
“That’s
good but I didn’t travel three and a half thousand miles just to catch up” he
said
“What
did you come for then?” she asked
“I
came here to pick up” Paul said
“What?”
she exclaimed
“From where we left off” he added and kissed her and it was liked they’d never been apart.
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