Page 84 of The Village Inn of Secret Dream

‘So what will you do with your groundhog day?’ she asked.

‘We’ll do it better,’ said Aunty Angie. ‘And do it right, for once.’

Uncle Mick nodded in agreement. ‘And you can do the same, love,’ he told Belle.

Belle was still mulling over her uncle’s words when there was a tap on the door.

Molly’s friendly face peered around the corner, closely followed by Amber and Lucy.

‘Pete said you were up here,’ said Molly.

‘We just wanted to make sure that you were okay,’ said Amber, as they all sat on the bed with her.

Belle gave a shrug of her shoulders. ‘I don’t know how I feel really,’ she said. ‘So I’ll just keep going until I do.’

‘Is this all going spare?’ asked Amber, looking at the rolls of cloth in the corner.

Belle shook her head. ‘All reserved for Grandma Tilly’s quilts,’ she said. ‘Although I don’t think she’s got enough for the Christmas fete yet.’

‘We can help,’ said Lucy.

So they spent an hour cutting up the spare cloth into squares until Belle declared that she really had to get back to work.

‘I still can’t believe you didn’t tell us that you were this good at sewing,’ said Molly, looking at one of the unfinished quilts.

‘And that you were meeting Grandma Tilly in secret,’ added Amber in a pointed tone.

‘A girl’s got to have some secrets,’ said Lucy with a smile.

‘It’s just that I always thought we were honest with each other,’ went on Amber.

Belle shrugged her shoulders but stayed silent.

‘It is good to talk about yourself sometimes,’ added Molly in a soft tone.

Belle went to shrug her shoulders again and managed to stop herself. Perhaps she was a bit like Pete in that regard. And maybe she needed to open up too.

‘It’s only sewing,’ she finally said. ‘I didn’t think it was that important.’

‘But it’s important to you and that’s what matters,’ said Lucy.

‘And it’s not just sewing,’ said Amber, taking the quilt from Molly. ‘I mean, look at your stitches. They’re so tiny and perfect.’

Belle looked away, feeling her cheeks blush. She wasn’t used to compliments.

‘You do know how amazing you are, don’t you?’ said Lucy.

But Belle found she was shaking her head. ‘Look, I’ll be blunt,’ she began.

‘How will we tell the difference?’ murmured Lucy.

‘Shut up,’ said Amber. ‘Go on, Belle.’

‘I know you all think I’m super strong, but it’s all a lie. I’m afraid of everything. Because without Cranbridge I don’t think I’d have anything, or anyone, in my life. I don’t even want to bring any attention to myself when it’s just us. I’ve always preferred the attention on everyone else but me.’

‘Of course you have,’ said Amber. ‘You were a target for your parents when you were growing up and that must have been terrible.’

‘But that was twenty years ago,’ said Belle, hanging her head.