Page 2 of The Village Inn of Secret Dream

Exhibit number one on the disastrous marriage front, thought Belle with a heavy sigh.

She had moved in with her aunt and uncle at the age of twelve and the arguments had grown worse and worse between husband and wife every day since then. She had always been grateful for them giving her a loving home. But although they treated their niece with huge amounts of love and kindness, Mick and Angie’s love for each other ran hot and cold, with the emphasis on cold. Almost freezing, in fact.

Very occasionally, and with the help of a large drink, or three, Mick and Angie would share a soft smile and there would be a break in the hostilities, but mostly it was an ongoing war with no hope of a peaceful outcome any time soon.

Most successful inns had a landlord and landlady providing a top-quality service and smiles all round. Despite their best efforts, her aunt and uncle provided neither. Most of the time, any customers actually venturing inside the shabby Black Swan inn were shocked by the continuous arguments that invariably broke out. Coupled with the run-down state of the place, the customers never returned, other than the regulars from the village. Although this was only because there was no other inn within walking distance.

Belle looked back across the inn at the crowd of people. Amber and Josh were still surrounded by well-wishers. She knew that she ought to go and congratulate her friend. She had hesitated too long. The last thing she wanted to do was upset Amber. She cared too much about her.

Amber had only arrived in the village a year ago, but she had quickly become close to both Belle and Molly, who had lived in Cranbridge her whole life. When Lucy arrived in late spring, they had swiftly become a tight-knit group of four. Belle had never had such close friends and was grateful for their friendship and support. Which is why she would support her friend now, even if she didn’t think marriage was a good idea.

As Belle headed around the side of the bar, she found Amber coming the other way to see her. Her friend’s long blonde hair was all messed up from numerous hugs and she had a bright pink lipstick kiss mark on her face, presumably from Aunty Angie.

‘So what do you think?’ asked Amber, looking nervous at Belle’s expected negative reaction. All of her friends knew Belle’s feelings on love and romance.

Belle forced a wide smile onto her face as she stepped forward to hug her friend. ‘I think it’s brilliant,’ she said as she broke away from their embrace. ‘Congratulations. I’m so happy for you both.’

‘Thank you,’ said Amber, breaking into a huge grin once more in relief. ‘Did you know?’

Belle shook her head. ‘Nope. He kept it very secret.’

‘I still can’t believe it,’ said Amber, giving a little giggle of excitement as her parents headed over to offer their congratulations and sweep her into yet more hugs.

Belle stepped back, with the excuse of bringing out all the glasses that they would need for the champagne.

‘You’re going to have a long and happy marriage,’ she heard Cathy, Josh’s mum, say as he too was swept into a hug nearby.

‘Thanks, Mum,’ said Josh, giving Belle a wink of solidarity over her shoulder as he was almost smothered in his mum’s embrace.

Cathy knew all about happy marriages, of course. She and her late husband, Todd, had celebrated their silver wedding anniversary in the inn around five years ago.

Perhaps there was hope after all, Belle tried to remind herself. Perhaps there were long and happy marriages out there and Amber and Josh would be fine. She really, truly hoped so.

But her own experience with marriages didn’t bring her much optimism.

If living with Uncle Mick and Aunt Angie had shown her wedded misery, that was nothing compared to her own parents’ relationship. They were most definitely Exhibit number two in the case for avoiding marriage.

Growing up, the arguments and tension had been a daily source of wretchedness for Belle. An unwanted only child from day one, she had been the focus and reason for much of the tension. So she had developed a hard outer shell to prevent any more hurt from touching her and rarely trusted anyone with her innermost thoughts.

Her parents had waited until Belle had reached twelve years old and was due to head to secondary school before, to everyone’s relief, they had finally brought to an end a most unhappy marriage. With the divorce being spectacularly acrimonious, Belle had been packed off to stay temporarily with her aunt and uncle in Cranbridge. And she had been there ever since.

Belle had fallen in love with Cranbridge, the pretty little village in the heart of the English countryside, by the end of the first day. Best of all, the freedom of being away from her parents had brought her a kind of peace that she had never known until that time. Her aunt and uncle showered her with the love and affection that she had been so desperately starved of in her early years.

But she still kept herself to herself at the local secondary school, always struggling to make new friends after her parents had pretty much destroyed any confidence that she may have had. Her dry wit was misunderstood as aloofness and so Belle retreated further into her own company.

Never having much of a career plan, she had abandoned further education and had become a barmaid instead, eager to stay within the protective walls of the inn. The Black Swan was her safe place, her happy place even with her aunt and uncle’s constant bickering. Besides, she enjoyed working in the cosy, historic inn with its small stream of regulars to chat with each evening and the community spirit of the village as a whole.

Meanwhile, once her parents’ divorce was finally settled, her mother had headed straight off to the Far East and was currently dating a llama farmer, last time Belle had heard. Her mum was ‘living my best life’, according to the infrequent texts Belle received.

As for her dad, he had decided to play the field and was currently on wife number four, who was a whole five years younger than Belle. Thankfully they hadn’t bothered to invite her to the ceremony.

Uncle Mick reappeared holding the champagne and began to pour out the drinks, trying to ignore his wife, who was still glaring at him.

Finally, when everyone had been given a drink, they all raised a glass.

‘To Amber and Josh!’ announced Mick.

‘To Amber and Josh!’ said Belle as they all joined in with the toast.