A Precious Jewel

By Catherine Carson

Ruby Jewell escapes to a small town in Northumbria in North East England to aid her recovery from a violent relationship with her former fiancé.
Thinking she will be working in the home of an elderly lady she has to come to terms with her feelings when the real owner of the house, Riley Balfour, arrives home unexpectedly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781326382193

Book preview

A Precious Jewel

A Precious Jewel

By Catherine Carson

Standard Copyright © Catherine Carson 2015

ISBN 978-1-326-38213-1 Paperback

ISBN 978-1-326-38219-3 eBook

About the author

Born in Scotland I now live with my husband in the North West of England.  We have three children who, between them, have given us six wonderful grandchildren.

During the years I became something of a letter writer as friends and family lived in many parts of the country.  Often friends and family would tell me…..‘You could write a book’ to which I always replied…..‘But would anyone read it’. 

When my granddaughter asked if I would write a book especially for her I told my good friend Lisa Schmidt and she told me to go for it.  That book became the first of many stories which had been lurking in my imagination for a good number of years.

Once started I found the stories simply kept coming and often an overheard conversation or a glimpse from the passenger seat of the car would trigger a likely scenario which my imagination would then elaborate and weave into a story.

My hope is that my writing brings a little pleasure into the reader’s life and allows them to leave the mundane world behind for a few hours as they meet the characters I adore creating.

A young me - Copy.jpg

www.facebook.com/catherinecarsonbooks.uk

www.catherinerenacarson.jimdo.com

Dedication

To anyone who has suffered violence at the hands of another and survived to tell the tale.

The characters in this book are completely fictional and bear no resemblance to any living person.

Other books by this author

The Mouse in the Library

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Family Ties

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Tapestry of Love (Book 1)        

Twins Exchanged (Book 2) 

Highland Feud (Book 3)         

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Overall Construction

Wounded Wolf

Coffee and Cakes

Memories Rekindled

Wholesale Love

Hope’s Conflict

Estates of the Heart

Sibling Rivalry

Fighting for Custody

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Soil, Seed & Betrayal (Book 1)

Desert Prince, Exiled Princess (Book 2

Body Language (Book 3)

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White Knight Black Knight

Through the Garden Gate or the Girl Next Door

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An Open Book (Book 1)

Afraid to Love (Book 2)

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A Second Chance (Book 1)

Taming the Playboy (Book 2)

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Love Lost and Found

Alphabet Bachelors

A Dreamer’s Tale

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Estranged Husband & Father (Book 1)

Identical Mistake (Book 2)

Chapter 1

After leaving Newbridge railway station Ruby Jewell made enquiries about transport to her destination only to be informed the only taxi in the village was in the garage being repaired. 

Pulling the handle up on her case she tipped it and trudged up the steep hill leading from the small Northumbrian town of Newbridge towards the dark imposing house which sat at the summit.

The house was built in the gothic style which was popular with the wealthy mill owners at the end of the nineteenth century.  Ruby had to keep reminding herself that this was the twenty-first century and the days of child labour and touching forelocks was long gone, but with every step she took the years seemed to be sliding away.

The dark thunderclouds which descended the moment she left the railway station were not exactly helping to dispel the illusion of being transported back in time.  At any moment she expected to see a pony and trap come trotting along the road or perhaps it would be a high curricle being pulled by a matched pair of grey geldings with the local lord of the manor at the reins in his brightly coloured tail coat, white breeches and tall beaver hat.

Apart from the noise of the plastic wheels of her case on the tarmac of the country lane, the only other sound was the occasional cry of the crows which circled overhead.

A car horn suddenly blared loudly behind her causing her to drop the handle of her case and almost fall into the hedgerow as she was rudely jolted from her flight of fancy.

‘You should be walking on the other side of the road young lady.  Has no-one ever told you the rules when walking on a country lane without a footpath?’  A disdainful voice yelled at her from the open-topped blue sports car before the driver engaged gear and shot off leaving Ruby staring at the rapidly disappearing vehicle.

Stunned and a little unsure if she had not imagined the whole incident Ruby retrieved her case and continued on her trudge up the hill.

Reaching the driveway she stopped to look at the house but even close-up it still looked dark and imposing, but what caught her attention was the open-topped blue sports car which she had encountered half-way up the hill.

‘Well, well, well I shall have something to say to the driver of that vehicle about their driving skills.’

If walking up the hill was taxing, pulling her case along the gravel driveway was not exactly a piece of cake.  By the time she reached the front door her arm muscle could feel the strain and her ankle ached.  It would probably be swollen and bruised for weeks from the constant bumping of the case as she traversed the loose pebbles beneath her feet.

Large bay windows sat either side of the front door of the house which was made of jointed oak panels, its dark heavy iron studs portraying a strong austere face to visitors.  A lion head knocker sat firmly in the centre panel but it was the doorbell set in the stone pillar of the door casing which Ruby pulled hard expecting to hear a loud bell proclaiming her presence.

Silence followed and she was about to lift the heavy knocker on the door when it suddenly opened and a young woman dressed in a black T-shirt and skin tight jeans stood glaring at her.  ‘We don’t need anything so you can be on your way.’ The thick Northumbrian accent was at first difficult for Ruby to understand but when the young woman began to close the door her brain finally unscrambled the words.

‘I am not attempting to sell you anything; I do believe I am expected by Miss Emmeline Balfour, perhaps you would be good enough to inform her the new cook and housekeeper has arrived to take up her duties.’

Telling her to come in, the girl closed the front door and left her in the hallway as she walked towards a green baize door. 

The space Ruby now stood in was lit by a large half circle stained glass leaded transom window set above the front door.  The wide central dark wood staircase had beautiful carved spindles and a broad handrail running down both sides. A galleried landing ran to both right and left which Ruby presumed would lead to bedrooms and possibly a family bathroom, she turned her attention back to the hallway.  Noting there were four doors on either side of the central staircase.

She was later to discover that the front facing rooms were a drawing room containing two large dark leather Chesterfield sofas sitting either side of a marbled fireplace with a high mantelshelf.  Ladder backed chairs sat either side of the large bay windows with a narrow high table between them.  A cumbersome bureau or chiffonier sat on the opposite wall and the whole ambience of the room was sombre.  The parquet flooring was dull and scuffed; with no rugs or soft furnishings to break the forbidding unfriendliness of the room. 

The room on the other side of the hallway was a total contrast.  It was an informal family room and although the same parquet flooring was in evidence, the sofa and chairs were a soft plush material covered in throws to protect them.  Scatter cushions abounded and the rug in front of the wooden fire surround held a cheerful red pattern, on which sat a long low table with various magazines in the rack by the tiled hearth.  There was a large flat screen television mounted on one wall and altogether the room had a homely lived in feeling.

The remaining rooms were a formal dining room complete with a large mahogany table and eight chairs with a large carver at each end.  A sideboard which doubled as a serving table with various tureens sat along one wall and the large silver centrepiece on the polished table really needed some tender loving care to bring it back to life.  There was a modern electric hostess trolley sitting in one corner which looked totally out of place, but Ruby thought was probably the ideal piece of equipment for aiding any dinner party being held in this beautiful room.  The window of this room looked out over a lawn

Opposite was a study, where a leather topped desk sat in front of the window with a modern leather swivel chair sitting behind it.  A couple of winged leather chairs looked as if they had been purchased when the house was first built and  one wall was simply a floor to ceiling bookcase with a  beautiful librarian’s step-ladder sat in the corner ready for use. A large window looked over a rose garden which reflected the general appearance of the house in that it needed bringing back to its former glory.

The walls of the hallway were clad in dark wooden panels and the floor covered in black and white marble tiles.  Unfortunately the tiles had lost their natural shine and Ruby wondered how long it had been since anyone had actually cleaned them. There was a door in the panelling at the rear of the staircase and this, she thought, was the entrance to the cellar.

Looking up there was a large chandelier in the centre of the ceiling which would require lowering to divest it of the cobwebs and dust it was shrouded in.  The whole character was not exactly welcoming and Ruby hoped the cupboards would contain some labour saving devices which would aid the cleaning of this unkempt home.

‘If you follow me, Miss Em will see you now.’ The young woman had returned to the hallway and was now waiting for her to do as she asked.

Again that feeling of being in a bygone age filled Ruby as she followed the young woman through the green baize door.

‘Come in young lady and sit down.  I must say I was expecting you an hour ago, but I suppose we should be grateful you finally made it.’ 

Ruby stared at the woman who was chastising her for her tardiness. Somehow this woman did not fit the preconceived idea Ruby had about the occupant of the house she had come to cook and clean for. She was a tall woman in her late sixties or early seventies and was elegantly clad in a deep purple trouser suit with a pale lavender cowl neck silk blouse visible under her fitted jacket.  Her white hair was coiffured in a style which softened the sharp features of her face.   Unable to resist the retort which was hovering on her lips Ruby faced her squarely.

‘I do beg your pardon but the only taxi in the village is apparently out of commission.  I might point out that if you had refrained from berating me for walking on the wrong side of the road and offered me a lift instead, I would have arrived much sooner and with fewer aches and pains.’

Emmeline Balfour looked at the young woman standing in the centre of the kitchen and laughed heartily.

If Ruby was surprised by her new employer; likewise she did not fit Emmeline Balfour’s preconceived vision of what the new cook/housekeeper would look like.

Standing in the middle of the kitchen was a young woman of twenty-two years of age who looked as if she would be blown away by the strong Northumbrian wind as it blew in from the North Sea.

Her dark brown hair was short cropped and framed a heart shaped face with brown eyes sitting above a button nose and cupids bow mouth.  Although her eyes were at present shining with resentment Emmeline had a feeling that they were hiding something deep within her psyche and over the time she would be working in the house, she determined to find out exactly what that secret was.

‘Well I can see we are going to get on famously, I like a woman who is not afraid to tell it as it is.  Welcome to the Balfour household young lady.  The young girl who let you in is Sharleen Wilson.  She lives in the village and kindly