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 Yvonne Labuschagne inherited it from her cousin, the last
remaining Clerembeax, she undertook the task of modernizing the Palace and
opening a Hotel and Spa, offering fitness classes, gym, rock sauna, infra-red
sauna, aroma steam room, ice fountain, drench showers, Jacuzzi, a Romanesque
pool, Reflexology, Raki, facials, scalp massage, hand massage, Manicure and
Pedicure, while also providing accommodation, meeting and function rooms, a
superior restaurant and whatever temptation might attract potential visitors.
She was by profession
a masseuse and had worked for many years along with her late husband at the
Dancingdean Spa Hotel in Childean.
Staffing the Hotel and
Spa was crucial, and Yvonne used her contacts in the Spa world to find the
right specialist people in her field of expertise’s and employed Hannah Morgan
to fill the remainder of the roles, on the understanding that she employ from
the village populous where possible, and that was how the Ward girls came to
work at the Palace.
The Ward family had a
small holding on the North side of the village, parents Jack and Olive, and
daughters Donna, Felicity, Josephine, and Maxine.
It was a profitable
concern and gave them all a modest living but when the Palace opened it gave
them a chance to supplement their incomes without having to travel to
Abbeyvale.
They were all hard-working
girls and didn’t care what work they did so Hannah Morgan didn’t hesitate to
offer them all housekeeping jobs.
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.
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, and they had a great shopping expedition which culminated in
a tender kiss.
There were many more
dates and many more kisses between then and Christmas Day, but he had to work
that day as the Hotel restaurant was fully booked for Christmas lunches, so
they didn’t get together until 4 o’clock at his cottage.
Which was when they
sat down with a large sherry and opened their presents.
Felicity had never
done Christmas presents with a boyfriend before and she was very excited
indeed, almost as excited as she was with the shopping trip when he kissed her
in the Phoenix Shopping Centre.
She was quickly on her
hands and knees under the tree as Stephen looked on
“Open this one first” she
said excitedly and handed up a little gift bag to him.
“Ok” he said laughing
and he took the package and inside the gift bag was a little bundle wrapped in
tissue paper, and inside that was a little square gold embossed jewellers box,
and when he opened the hinged box he found a pair of platinum cufflinks bearing
a crown motif, and his initials, the crown being symbolic of his name.
“They’re beautiful” he
said and then he joined Felicity on the floor and kissed her.
“Your turn” he said
and reached under the tree and brought out a small parcel.
“I’ve never had a
Christmas present from a boyfriend before” she said
“Well you have one now,
open it” he urged “Open it”
“I want to enjoy every
second of it” Felicity said
When she had carefully
removed the paper, she put it on the floor and opened the gift box and inside
she found a gold charm bracelet, bearing five charms, a shamrock and a
horseshoe (denoting luck), a heart inscribed with her name (for love), a
Christmas tree (to mark the season), and a crucifix.
“Wow” she exclaimed
“it’s beautiful”
“You can add to it as
a record of our life together” Stephen added
“What forever?” she
asked
“For ever” he
confirmed before adding “I love you”
“And I love you too”
she responded, and they embraced, and the nature of that embrace led to them
opening the rest of the presents much later on Christmas Day.
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