Chapter Text
Charlotte Heywood turned the page of the book of fairytales that she had been reading for the past few minutes, taking a brief break from the daily tasks that went with running her little bookshop in the village of Willingden; the village that she had called home all her life.
From childhood, Charlotte had loved fairytales, and, although as an adult she mostly understood that fairytales were fictional and often far removed from reality, still it was fun sometimes, to indulge in the fantasy of going on an adventure just like the princesses in her favourite stories, in a world full of magic, where she could ride on a horse through an enchanted forest; have her wishes granted by a fairy godmother; dance at a ball; experience a true love's kiss…
Charlotte was suddenly distracted from her book-and her daydream of experiencing her own fairytale-when she realised that she was not alone in the bookshop. As she brushed a stray curl away from her face, she glanced over her shoulder to see that Sidney Parker had entered the bookshop at some point while she'd been distracted by her reading, and he was now standing near the back of the bookshop.
Sidney was dressed in dark clothes, looking as mysterious as ever, and he even carried a pair of sunglasses in his shirt pocket, even though it was quite a cold and cloudy Thursday afternoon. He looked for all intents and purposes to be reading one of the latest editions of Pride and Prejudice that Charlotte had recently put out on display on one of the bookshelves, although his body language, and the way his eyes flickered around the room and in the direction of the shop window every few seconds, suggested that he was not really paying attention to the book and perhaps had other things on his mind.
Charlotte resisted the temptation to roll her eyes in exasperation at Sidney's unexpected presence in the bookshop. As usual, there was an arrogant air about him that suggested he considered the shop, and the village as a whole, to be beneath him.
Charlotte had already encountered Sidney Parker a few times over the past year, ever since he had started paying regular visits to Willingden, although Charlotte was unsure why he visited the village so often, not to mention that the residents of the village-the women especially-talked about him so often that Charlotte had also ended up hearing several stories about him from others.
And yet, Charlotte still did not feel that she knew Sidney at all, in spite of hearing so much about him. He was an enigma; the subject of gossip and rumours, rather than anything she knew to be a verified fact. She only really knew what she herself had observed…
Charlotte knew that it was not unusual for Sidney to be watched by giggling women as he walked around the main part of the village, and she knew that they all considered him to be very handsome.
Last year, Charlotte had seen Sidney a couple of times walking through the village hand-in-hand with an attractive, well-dressed blonde woman, but she had not accompanied Sidney on his more recent visits.
Charlotte had also seen Sidney Parker flirting with pretty barmaids at the village pub once or twice, and she had heard through village gossip that Sidney and a couple of his friends had been involved in a fight in the village once-outside the local pub after closing time, apparently-although Charlotte had never found out what the fight had been about.
Whenever Charlotte saw Sidney in the village, he was usually talking quietly on his phone, or into what looked like a walkie talkie, sometimes, although Charlotte was unsure why he carried a walkie talkie in the first place, and he always looked moody and like he wanted to be left alone. Charlotte had even heard him make the occasional sarcastic comment about the village as he talked on his phone, much to Charlotte's irritation. Willingden had its faults, of course, like anywhere else, but it was the place where Charlotte had grown up, and she had always felt rather protective of the village.
Sidney also frequently wore sunglasses and sat alone outside the local teashop or inside the village pub, seeming to observe what was going on around him as though from a great distance, looking like he was involved in some sort of secret mission-although this idea may or may not have been a product of Charlotte's overactive imagination-or like he had important business to take care of.
Charlotte tried not to wonder too much about what Sidney Parker actually did for a living, even though deep down she was a little curious, but she always told herself that she had much more important matters to focus on whenever she started to think about him too much, such as running her own business.
And so Sidney remained a mystery-to Charlotte, anyway.
Sidney had visited the bookshop several times since Charlotte had first officially opened the shop, and Charlotte often sensed that he only entered the bookshop to escape the people outside who were so fascinated by him-he definitely didn't seem to be a people person, but he also didn't seem to be much of a fan of the bookshop, either...
Sidney never seemed to look particularly enthusiastic whenever he walked among the bookshelves, and although he tended to glance more at the classic novels, nothing in particular seemed to catch his eye, and he often looked puzzled by Charlotte's choices of books to read during her breaks from stacking shelves and serving customers, especially the fairytale books.
A few months ago however, Sidney had actually bought a couple of fairytale books himself, much to Charlotte's surprise.
"I didn't think you were much of a fan of fairytales," Charlotte had been unable to resist commenting at the time, as she'd ran his purchases through the till, thinking of the way that Sidney had rolled his eyes on noticing her artistic fairytale display on his previous visit.
"Oh, these are gifts for my nieces and nephew," Sidney had replied curtly, sounding a little distracted. "Although, I will admit that stories such as these had their appeal for me, once upon a time…After all, I was young and naïve, once."
At the time, Charlotte had felt annoyed by his comments; she'd felt he was mocking her, looking down on her, indirectly calling her naïve due to her taste in books-he'd noticed her reading stories about princesses and magic and enchantments often enough, after all, and he must have at least guessed that she liked such stories.
She'd also wondered why he seemed to consider himself so much more mature than her when there was clearly only a few years' age difference between the two of them.
"Can I help you with anything?" Charlotte asked Sidney now, with forced politeness, back in the present moment on seeing his eyes flicker in the direction of the front cover of the book she was reading.
"No," said Sidney, almost sharply. It was clear that something was currently irritating him, and Charlotte wondered if that 'something' was her. "Thank you," he added hurriedly, probably on seeing the offended look on Charlotte's face. His features and his tone of voice softened ever so slightly as he continued speaking: "I simply decided to take refuge among the bookshelves for a little while, in order to avoid…unwanted attention," he explained as he nodded in the direction of the shop window.
Charlotte followed his gaze, and she noticed that a few young women were looking hopefully in Sidney's direction through the bookshop window, all of them looking like fans trying to catch a glimpse of a favourite celebrity.
Charlotte couldn't help it; she rolled her eyes as the women giggled and pointed in Sidney's direction, while Sidney discreetly took a step back, like he was trying to hide behind the nearest bookshelf.
She really couldn't understand why so many of the women in the village were so fascinated by Sidney Parker, as Sidney certainly didn't seem to care for their attention.
Before Charlotte could say anything else, two customers walked into the shop, and, almost reluctantly, Charlotte closed her book of fairytales before she went to speak to the elderly couple who had just walked in, asking them if they needed any help finding anything, and leaving Sidney Parker to his half-hearted turning of the pages of one of the bookshop's most popular novels as he continued to attempt to hide from his admirers.
After Sidney and the elderly couple left the shop, the rest of the day passed by relatively quickly.
Charlotte served a few more customers, offering a few book recommendations when asked, before answering a message on her phone from her sister, Alison in which Alison reminded her about their plans to meet after work, and asking Charlotte if she could try to finish work on time today and not stay too late, as Charlotte so often did.
After that, Charlotte completed a little of the paperwork related to new book orders and the business accounts. Running her own business could be tiring at times-there was always so much to be done, and there was the constant worry that the little bookshop in the countryside would not make enough money to stay open another year, and Charlotte usually spent most of the day on her feet, working hard, and there were sometimes the more awkward customers to deal with, along with the nicer ones, of course, as Charlotte had to keep reminding herself, but Charlotte really did love her job. Books and stories had always been her passion, and she loved the independence that came with running her own business and being her own boss.
She had experience of managing business accounts and keeping up with stock orders from the time she had spent helping her father with his own business during Charlotte's late teens, and she had some experience of working part-time in the local shops in and around the village, and now she finally felt like she was putting all of this experience to good use.
And, although her work had not made her rich by any means, Charlotte still felt like she had achieved success, in her own way, just by keeping the bookshop going from one day to the next, especially when it was located in such a small village, where the shop could certainly be very quiet on some days.
Charlotte took a moment to appreciate her surroundings as she placed a few of the new books on the shelves. The bookshop truly was her pride and joy…
The interior of the shop was in keeping with the old-fashioned style of the other shops in the village, and Charlotte liked to create the impression for customers that they had temporarily stepped back in time when they walked through the bookshop door, or into another world.
The bookshelves and tables were made from dark wood, and there were a couple of red rugs on the dark wood floor.
Near the back of the bookshop, a few armchairs had been placed around a wooden table next to the fireplace, and Charlotte had hosted many a book club and children's story telling session in that cosy corner of the bookshop.
Although the bookshelves were usually neat and tidy, Charlotte also liked to make slightly less orderly piles of books on the counter, and on display in the shop window, to try to create a more relaxed, home away from home atmosphere.
Charlotte sold a variety of books in the bookshop. There were the usual classic books for sale, along with the current bestsellers. There were also plenty of children's books, including Charlotte's beloved fairytales.
The fairytale display that Charlotte had recently put together took pride of place in the centre of the bookshop. It consisted of a little wooden table that had been covered in a purple and gold tablecloth, and there were several figurines on the table, along with plastic models of a castle, a forest and a tower that looked a lot like Rapunzel's tower.
Among the figurines were a king, a queen, a prince and a princess, as well as a knight riding on a white horse. Then there was a Little Red Riding Hood figurine, which had been placed close to the little plastic trees, as well as a unicorn, and even a few toy wolves hidden among the trees, to depict that subtle sense of danger that always lurked in the shadows of every fairytale. After all, the protagonists usually had to face a challenge or two, before they found their happy endings.
Charlotte liked to look at the fairytale display, even if Sidney Parker apparently did not.
Then there were the more romantic novels that were displayed at the front of the bookshop, as Charlotte had always enjoyed reading love stories, and she had spent many quiet afternoons daydreaming about finding her own true love; these stories gave her hope that this might be possible, one day; that maybe there really was a perfect person out there for everyone.
There were a few travel guides on display on a table near the main door; a table which Charlotte had decorated with miniature flags representing various countries around the world. There were so many places she dreamed of visiting, although she had had little time to travel lately.
Charlotte also tried to showcase new writers and lesser-known books, often displaying these books as part of her themed window displays, along with a choice of second-hand books, so that customers could have access to books at a more affordable price.
Charlotte had added a few personal touches to the bookshop, with framed photographs on the walls depicting various villages scenes and countryside landscapes, several of which Charlotte had taken with her own old-fashioned camera (which had been a gift from her late grandmother), as photography had been a hobby of hers for several years.
There were also a few pictures that showed famous literary quotes. Charlotte had always been a fan of Shakespeare's works, and she had recently added a picture that she had purchased from the local art shop that depicted the three witches from Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, gathered around a cauldron...
One of the play's famous quotes about meeting in thunder, lighting or rain had been painted in fancy handwriting above the artistic impression of the three witches in the picture. It was one of Charlotte's favourite pictures in the shop.
There was also a little plastic ornament of a sorceress looking into a crystal ball that Charlotte had purchased from Susan's shop just across the road and placed on the shop counter, as the ornament had reminded her somewhat of Macbeth, as well as a couple of her favourite fairytale stories.
Charlotte had recently been re-reading passages of Macbeth during her work breaks, and she'd wondered whether the witches' predictions about the main character's fate had ultimately influenced his actions and caused him to change his behaviour to bring said events about-after all, without the witches' predictions, Macbeth would have gone on happily unaware that his seemingly unlikely future as king had already been foreseen, and he would never have believed it to be possible, before the idea had been put into his head.
She had been thinking that perhaps this was a topic she could bring up for discussion during the next literary debate group that she was going to be hosting at the bookshop in a few weeks' time. She was interested to hear whether her customers believed that our destiny was already planned for us, or whether they believed our fate was in our own hands.
Charlotte enjoyed reading Macbeth, and watching live performances of the play, but her favourite Shakespeare play was Romeo and Juliet. She felt that Romeo and Juliet's love story had a beauty to it, amid the tragedy, which made the play even more fascinating.
An artistic interpretation of a young, beautiful woman standing on her balcony and looking out into the distance, as though her eyes were searching her surroundings for her true love, had also been put up on the wall behind the counter.
A notice board had been hung up on the wall near the shop door, with notices pinned up about various upcoming events in the village. Among the other notices, there was a leaflet advertising an upcoming performance of another of Shakespeare's famous plays, A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was going to be performed outdoors by a local theatre group in a couple of weeks, in the fields surrounding the village. The people who lived in Willingden usually enjoyed performances such as these, and Charlotte hoped that she could go and watch the play with Alison and her parents. Charlotte enjoyed the sense of community spirit in the village, and she liked to play her part by keeping her customers informed about events in Willingden.
Charlotte smiled to herself as she finished stacking shelves before she glanced up again at the picture of Juliet. She really did enjoy working at the bookshop. It was perhaps not what she had imagined herself doing during her teenage years, when her dreams and wishes had been on a much grander scale, and much more similar to the lives of the protagonists in the romance novels and the epic fantasy stories she'd always enjoyed reading, but Charlotte appreciated her work all the same.
And yet, Charlotte felt like a part of her would always be standing on a balcony like Juliet, looking out onto the horizon for something more.
At five o'clock sharp, Charlotte started to close the bookshop. She and her sister had arranged to go for a walk and maybe visit some of the local shops this evening, as several of the shops in Willingden stayed open late on Thursday evenings, before going to the local pub for food and drinks.
She did not want to keep Alison waiting, as she knew that Alison was concerned that Charlotte had been working too many hours lately, and she really did want to spend as much time with her sister as possible-Alison had recently attended trials to play for the England women's football team, after years of training and playing for local teams, and whether these trials were successful or not, Charlotte knew deep down that it wouldn't be long before Alison left the village for good to pursue her dreams, and then Charlotte would no longer be able to spend as much time with her younger sister as she usually did.
As she placed the 'Closed' sign on the front door and completed a few final checks, Charlotte couldn't help glancing longingly at a photograph that she had pinned up on the wooden notice board on the wall...
It was a picture of the ball that had taken place at the manor house almost six months ago; a grand house which was located just outside the village. A ball was thrown twice a year at the manor house, and attendance was by invite only; it was usually mostly wealthy, well-connected or upper-class ladies and gentlemen who attended, all of whom had connections to Lady Denham, the wealthy elderly lady who owned the manor and lived there for most of the year.
Many of the villagers had therefore never had the opportunity to attend the ball, but still, the photograph that had appeared in the local newspaper a few months ago of the couples who had attended, dancing together in the manor house ballroom while wearing their fancy ballgowns and suits, had made the ball look so beautiful that Charlotte hadn't been able to resist cutting it out of the newspaper and putting it up on the notice board.
Charlotte knew that looking at photos of the guests at the ball was likely the closest she would ever get to attending the event itself, as much as this thought saddened her.
Lady Denham was going to be throwing another ball at her home this weekend, and as much as Charlotte was looking forward to seeing all the new photographs of the event after it had taken place, she couldn't help feeling a little envious of the people who had received an invitation to attend.
She shook her head as though to clear it of these thoughts and tried not to dwell too much on not attending the upcoming ball. She had other things to do at the moment, after all.
Finally, Charlotte was ready to leave work for the day. She breathed in the fresh air as she left the shop and walked the short distance to the village square, taking in the sights and sounds of the village along the way…
Willingden truly was beautiful, with its two rows of old-fashioned shops at its centre, all of which lined a narrow, cobble-stoned street on either side. The little shops looked like something from a picture postcard, with their old-fashioned exteriors, and their large glass windows showing displays of the latest products on sale.
Charlotte had spent many a happy hour wandering through this central part of the village, going to the bakery to buy fresh bread; buying unusual dresses, jewellery and gifts from Susan's shop; buying honey and lavender and various other products from the organic food shop; treating herself to delicious old-fashioned sweets and chocolates from the traditional sweet shop where sweets were still displayed in glass jars on the shelves, and the shop counter looked like something out of an antique shop.
And there was the teashop, with its wooden tables and chairs, and brightly coloured cushions and delicate tablecloths. Charlotte enjoyed visiting the teashop with Alison and her group of friends on quieter Saturday afternoons, choosing between a selection of herbal teas and cakes on offer.
The sisters also enjoyed visiting the local, old-fashioned pub, which was located at the end of the row of shops, close to the village square. The pub was livelier than the teashop, although it seemed as though the décor hadn't changed for over a century.
There were several cottages scattered around the village, all built in the same style as the local shops, many with thatched roofs. Most of the villagers lived in these cottages, Charlotte's parents included, although some lived in flats above the shops, like Charlotte.
There was also a supermarket just outside the village, although it was much smaller than the typical supermarkets located in towns and cities, along with a few other shops and local businesses.
A stream ran through one end of the village, and Charlotte liked to spend time on the wooden bridge over-looking the stream on the days when she needed a little peace and quiet in order to gather her thoughts.
There was a church at the other end of the village, just past the village square, where Reverend Hankins gave his sermons, and beyond the church, Lady Denham's manor house was visible, along with the beautiful grounds that surrounded it.
As beautiful as the village was however, lately, Charlotte had been wondering if she would benefit from a bit of a change of scenery, a new adventure. Of course, there was something heart-warming about most of the locals knowing her personally and greeting her like an old friend whenever she walked into their shops, asking how everything was going at the bookshop and asking after her family, but everything was starting to feel a little bit repetitive in Willingden now.
The familiarity was reassuring at times however-her surroundings were generally safe and peaceful after all-but this year especially, it had felt as though each day were the same as the one before, and Charlotte knew that this was likely because not much had happened in the village lately, and not much had changed over the years. She also knew that she was much too young, in her twenties, to be feeling as though each day were the same as the last.
On the other hand, she tried to reason with herself as she got closer to the village square…she had commitments here in Willingden, with her family, and the bookshop, and her father had had some health troubles over the past few years; he might need some extra help with his business in the near future. Besides, Charlotte had not been presented with many opportunities recently to take some time away from the village. She couldn't even remember the last time she had taken a holiday.
As she took her last steps towards the village square, Charlotte overheard several enthusiastic conversations about the upcoming ball. Even though it was so rare to receive an invitation to attend, this didn't seem to have dampened anyone's enthusiasm about the big event, as the people around her speculated about who would attend, and the dresses the ladies would wear, and how the ballroom would be decorated, as well as the possible photographs that would appear online and in the local press.
Charlotte sighed to herself as she listened to all the gossip and speculation. She couldn't help it; she wished that she was going to the ball; it was something she'd dreamed of for what felt like years; she would love to have the opportunity to dance in the ballroom with a handsome man, even just once.
There was always the possibility that she could receive an invitation, one day, if she was very lucky, or if some sort of miracle occurred. Some people in the village were invited to attend, sometimes, usually as a reward for various charity work they had undertaken, or various positive contributions they had made to the village, but this had happened less often over the past couple of years. Most people who attended the annual ball were rich like Lady Denham, and they usually lived in London, or other big cities. It just didn't seem very likely that Charlotte would ever receive an invitation.
A few minutes later, Charlotte was waiting for Alison in the village square. The grey clouds in the sky threatened rain, although the sun also seemed to be trying its best to make an appearance.
While she waited, she glanced at the manor house in the distance. Charlotte had visited the manor house several times-a few times with her parents during her childhood, and most recently when Lady Denham had been feeling unwell, and Charlotte had taken flowers there as a get-well-soon gift for her.
Surprisingly, she had been invited inside to visit Lady Denham by a few members of staff who worked at the manor, and then she had been asked back to visit a couple of times after that. The visits had almost been fun, with Lady Denham offering Charlotte tea and cake and teaching her card games, with the two women sharing a bit of gossip about life in the village as they drank their tea. On the third visit, Lady Denham had even given Charlotte a tour of the manor's grounds, and Charlotte had enjoyed walking in the gardens.
Lady Denham was a bit intimidating, and she was often in a bad mood, but there was a kinder side to her, too, as Charlotte had seen during her visits, and she had interesting stories to tell, along with some rather amusing jokes.
Charlotte couldn't help wondering if Lady Denham had been lonely during her illness; there had definitely been a sense that something was missing in her life when Charlotte had visited, in spite of her wealth and her status and her beautiful home and her designer gowns, and perhaps Charlotte had provided her with much-needed company during a difficult time. Charlotte hoped that this was the case; she hoped that she had been helpful, in some way.
In spite of her previous visits, Charlotte couldn't help but wonder how the interior of the manor house would look on the night of the ball, as she was sure it would look different to how it looked day to day. She knew that it would look beautiful-even more beautiful than it already looked.
Again, Charlotte couldn't help feeling a sense of longing as she imagined what it would be like to walk around the manor house on the night of the ball and see first-hand how it had been decorated for the event, while perhaps also catching the eye of a man who looked like a fairytale prince.
Alison greeted Charlotte happily when she arrived in the village square, distracting Charlotte from her thoughts about the ball.
"Have you heard anything yet?" Charlotte asked her sister eagerly, in the same way that she had been asking her for days.
"Not yet," said Alison with a sigh, apparently understanding right away that Charlotte was asking her about her recent England football team trial.
Charlotte felt a tug of sympathy at Alison's obvious look of disappointment at not hearing any news about the outcome of the football trial yet, as Alison seemed to have convinced herself that the more time passed, the less likely it would be that she would hear good news, but then Alison seemed to quickly regain her composure…
"I'm determined to remain optimistic, Charlotte," she insisted, with a firmness in her tone that suggested that Charlotte should also remain optimistic on her behalf. "Who knows what the process is for making these decisions. Besides, even if I am not successful this time, it will only renew my determination to try out again next time. No matter what happens, I won't be defeated."
Charlotte smiled at her sister. She had always admired her ability to meet challenges head on, and to always keep trying, even in the face of defeat. Charlotte wished that she had more of Alison's resilience.
The two sisters strolled back through the village for a little while, enjoying the fresh air after a day spent indoors.
Charlotte had only been walking next to her sister for a few minutes when she noticed Sidney Parker walking a few feet ahead, talking on his phone.
The village was quite busy now as more people had finished work and headed outside, and there were a few people standing in between Charlotte and Sidney, but still Charlotte could overhear parts of his conversation…
"Oh yes," he was saying, his tone of voice full of sarcasm, "there is truly nothing else I would rather be doing on a Saturday evening. After all, what could be more enjoyable than spending an evening at a ball where I am despised by half the guests, and where the other half will only indulge in shallow, dull conversations for the entirety of the evening…"
Charlotte rolled her eyes and then shook her head in disapproval as she glared at Sidney's retreating back. She felt that his sarcastic comments about attending the ball-a ball that many people in Willingden were desperate to attend but were never invited-were terribly ungrateful. After all, it was such a privilege to receive an invitation in the first place, and very few people in the village ever got the opportunity, and yet, Sidney seemed to think that it was such a burden, to be asked to attend.
Charlotte hadn't even known that he was going to the ball. Clearly, he had no idea how lucky he was to have been invited in the first place.
As though to annoy Charlotte further, a few giggling young women passed Sidney just before he turned a corner and disappeared from view, all of them craning their necks to get a better view of him as he walked away.
"I wish he would ask me to the ball!" Charlotte heard one of the women say in a loud whisper to her friends, before they all burst into giggles.
"Honestly, I don't know what all these women see in him!" Charlotte said in a loud whisper of her own, her tone of voice full of irritation as she turned to look at Alison with another roll of her eyes.
"Oh, Charlotte, come on," said Alison with a smirk, "aren't you at least a little bit curious about solving the mystery that is Sidney Parker?"
"Certainly not!" Charlotte replied quickly, looking at Alison in shock, and wondering why she was fighting off a blush at the very thought of it. "Okay, he is handsome, I'll give you that...and well-dressed," she conceded after a few more moments of careful thought, as she had heard Alison say these things about Sidney Parker several times before, and she could see that her sister was reacting to her initial response with a raised eyebrow and a sceptical expression, as though she did not believe a word of Charlotte's protests. "But he is not the type of man I could see myself ending up with…"
Charlotte was careful not to admit out loud that the type of man she often imagined herself ending up with usually looked like one of the typical fairytale princes from a story book.
"After all," Charlotte continued, on seeing the look of disbelief on her sister's face, "Sidney Parker comes across as being so…arrogant, so distant and aloof. He never looks happy to be here, in the village, and he clearly thinks he is superior to all of us, in some way or another. Do you seriously think he would make good boyfriend material?"
Alison simply shrugged, looking like she was fighting off an amused-looking smile at Charlotte's reaction. She didn't look convinced by Charlotte's words, but she didn't push the matter any further.
Alison had just changed the subject, talking to Charlotte about a few mutual friends who lived in Cheltenham and occasionally came to visit the sisters in the village, when she suddenly seemed to tense up.
"Don't look now, Charlotte," she said in a low voice, looking over Charlotte's shoulder at something, or someone.
Of course, Charlotte just had to look…she glanced over her shoulder to see none other than her ex-boyfriend, James Stringer, who was leaving a shop further down the road hand-in-hand with his new girlfriend. The new couple leaned against the wall of the outside of the shop for a couple of minutes, their faces close together as they talked to each other with smiles on their faces, apparently oblivious to the fact that they were being observed by Charlotte and Alison.
"Charlotte, I'm sorry…" said Alison, not for the first time since the breakup.
"Alison, it's fine," Charlotte said quickly. "It's not like James and I are avoiding each other. We are both adults, and we can be civil. After all, our breakup was amicable, and he and I were friends once…I'm sure we can be friends again, one day…I'm happy for him, Alison," she added in a firm tone of voice, on seeing the doubtful look on her sister's face. She meant it, she really did.
Charlotte and James had dated for several months, until they had broken up a couple of months ago. James had moved on by getting into a new relationship rather quickly. Charlotte knew that her friends and family expected that she would be devastated by this, as she had always been a romantic at heart, looking for true love and feeling fearful of getting her heart broken, but Charlotte had found that she was nowhere near as upset by the breakup as others had thought she would be.
Truthfully, although Charlotte and James had been good friends before they had started going out with each other, and Charlotte had enjoyed the initial flirtation and going on first dates with James, the whole time they had been together, Charlotte had never really felt much of a romantic 'spark' between the two of them, and by the end of their relationship, they had seemed more like the best of friends than lovers.
There were not many young people in the village, and secretly, guiltily, there were times when Charlotte had wondered if she and James would even have dated in the first place, if they had had other romantic options and possibilities, or if they had lived in a bigger town or city.
Charlotte had also felt the added pressure of a lot of people in the village being invested in her relationship with James, rooting for the two of them to be together, which had definitely influenced Charlotte's decision to go on a first date with James in the first place, and maybe to stay in a relationship with him for a little longer than she should have.
Going forward, Charlotte was determined not to let those around her have any influence on her decisions again-her decisions regarding romance especially. If she was going to date again in the near future, then it would be entirely on her own terms, with someone she felt a deep romantic connection with.
Charlotte might not have been heartbroken over James Stringer, but still she couldn't help feeling a little glum as she let Alison lead her away from the main hub of the village and in the direction of the bridge and the stream. Seeing James with his new girlfriend had only served to remind Charlotte that she was all alone.
It seemed that James had found a new romance very quickly, but that hadn't happened for Charlotte yet, and for the first time in a while, she felt a bit lonely-she missed the companionship that being in a relationship brought, and she was starting to wonder if she would ever find a fulfilling, passionate romance like the romances in her favourite stories; if she would ever find that special someone like James seemed to have done.
Not for the first time, Charlotte wondered if living in the village was limiting her romantic prospects.
A few minutes later, Charlotte leaned against the little wooden bridge overlooking the stream of water that flowed through the outskirts of the village. As she watched the water running by, she thought again about the upcoming ball at Lady Denham's manor, and the discovery that Sidney Parker had somehow been given the opportunity to attend, and the idea that James Stringer looked so happy in his new relationship.
As though the sky could somehow mirror Charlotte's mood, it started to rain.
Charlotte tried not to let her troubled thoughts show in her facial expression as she put up her umbrella, but Alison must have picked up on something, because she suddenly said, "Charlotte! I know what we can do to cheer ourselves up…let's go and visit Susan's shop! I feel like we are both at a crossroads in our lives, and I'm sure that Susan will provide us both with the advice and guidance we need to take the next step."