Time Flies By in Upper Bamton: Upper Bamton, #4

By Beth Rain

Nell Fernsby is very good at waiting… but she's finally had enough.

It's time for a change…
It's time to take control…
It's time for an adventure before it's too late!

Unrequited love might make people swoon in the movies, but as far as she's concerned, it wears pretty thin after a while.

Nell's got a plan to make the man of her dreams finally sit up and take notice. All she needs is the help of her rather dashing next door neighbour Bill – who also just happens to be a pilot.

As Nell discovers what it's like to tingle from head to toe again, she plans the trip of a lifetime for the biggest stick-in-the-mud Upper Bamton has ever seen. The question is – will Arthur Merryfield succumb to her charms – or will he run for the hills of the vineyard when he finds out what she's got in store?

Get your flying-goggles on and head to Upper Bamton to share Nell's long-awaited happy ever after. One thing's for sure, there will be plenty of wine, wool and worry along the way!

A cosy story full of friendship, fun and laughter! For fans of Holly Martin, Polly Babbington and Heidi Swain.

Time Flies By in Upper Bamton is the fourth standalone novella in the Upper Bamton series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Beth Rain
• Release date: Feb 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9798224449644

Book preview

3 WEEKS AND 4 DAYS BEFORE THE STORY STARTS… (BUT WHO’S COUNTING?!)

Nell dashed over to the kitchen sink, filled herself a glass of water straight from the tap and gulped it down thirstily. Blimey, it was warm out there today – unseasonably so, considering it was only late March. She fanned her face and squinted as the afternoon sunshine flooded in through the kitchen windows, filling her little cottage with its golden warmth.

Nell knew she shouldn’t complain. It was lovely to be able to walk back from the vineyard after a long day at the desk she now shared with Alice in the newly renovated Visitors’ Centre. She’d had to take a break on her way home, pausing on Lower Bridge to strip off her jacket - closely followed by her cardigan!

‘Whew!’ she breathed, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead and brushing away a few errant strands of hair that were sticking to her face. She reached for the tap again and refilled her glass, taking a slightly more leisurely sip this time.

Well… Nell had to admit this wasn’t quite what she’d had in mind when she planned to grab a drink this evening. It was Friday, and she’d been hoping to talk Arthur into joining her for a quick trip over to the pub in Little Bamton.

As usual, the moment Arthur caught wind of the fact there was a chance he might have to be sociable, he’d disappeared off to some far-flung corner of the vineyard. The man had a finely tuned antenna for things like that and was gone before she’d even managed to ask him properly.

Like the lovelorn idiot she was, Nell had waited around for ages, hoping that he might reappear. In the end, she’d been forced to give up, admit defeat and make her way home instead.

Nell sighed and took another sip of water. She adored her new job up at the vineyard. It might only be a day here and there to cover for Alice whenever she fancied a break - but she definitely wasn’t complaining. The pay was good, she loved chatting with all the vineyard’s clients and visitors, and it gave her the chance to actually use her brain for a change.

Of course – the biggest perk of the job as far as she was concerned was spending more time with Arthur Merryfield. Nell and Arthur had been friends ever since Alice was little… and she’d loved him for a very, very long time. Not that she’d ever admitted it to a living soul – especially not Arthur.

To begin with, it just wouldn’t have been right. Arthur had lost his wife when Alice was tiny - and his grief had hit him hard. Nell had always been there for him – offering a friendly ear when he needed to talk, and a helping hand whenever little Alice got a bit too much for him to handle.

Nell had always hoped their time would come if she waited long enough, and their friendship would naturally blossom into something deeper. Unfortunately, Arthur had always been so wrapped up in running the vineyard and keeping the memory of his late wife alive, that he’d never noticed her there – waiting with all the love she’d saved just for him. So the years passed – and Nell remained hopelessly in love.

It really would have been a nice evening to go out for a drink, though. She stared out of the kitchen window at the sunny garden beyond, wishing she’d been brave enough to say something. Unrequited love might be the thing that made people swoon in movies, but as far as she was concerned, it wore pretty thin after this many years.

What she needed was a plan – some way to get Arthur on his own for more than five minutes. Preferably somewhere away from the vineyard and all the memories it held and jobs that lurked around every corner. Maybe then he might actually notice her – and not just as part of the comfortable furniture of his life!

In the meantime, it looked like she was in for another evening on her own chatting to the geese. Scanning the garden for her irritable companions, Nell finally spotted Fred and Hazel.

‘Clever birds!’ she laughed.

The geese were settled comfortably on the lawn in the wide band of shade cast by next door’s rather unruly hedge. By the look of things, they were both fast asleep!

Perhaps she should take a leaf out of their book. The garden looked incredibly inviting this afternoon, and the idea of setting up one of her deckchairs under the shade of the old apple tree and having a bit of a nap was very appealing.

But no… maybe not.

Every time she’d ventured into the garden over the past week, Nell had felt like she was being watched. It was quite a peculiar feeling, and she wasn’t sure she liked it very much. It was all because of that car that had appeared outside. Perhaps she’d quickly go and check if it was still there.

Glass in hand, she wandered through to her sitting room and peeped through the window towards the neighbouring cottage. Sure enough, there was the beaten-up old banger on next door’s driveway. It had turned up out of the blue around a week ago… and it had her more than a little bit puzzled.

It wasn’t that there was anything strange about the car per se, but as a rule, there wasn’t usually anyone at home next door. At least, not very often - and certainly not for an entire week at a time. In fact, Nell could probably count the number of times there had been a car there over the past year on the fingers of one hand… and that car had been a lot snazzier than this rusty heap.

Other than the rare sightings of the expensive car, Nell had seen few other signs of life coming from next door in the ten or so years since old Mrs Jones had sold the place. Very occasionally the curtains would be drawn, or she’d spy a light on in an upstairs window. Once she’d spotted a pair of boots left out on the front doorstep. But once in ten years didn’t really count, did it?

It hadn’t been long before Nell had just accepted the fact that the cottage must have been bought as a holiday home… that was barely ever used. Even when it was, it was either by the quietest family in existence… or maybe a ghost who had a thing for posh cars.

If she was honest, Nell wasn’t sure what she thought about second homes. Arthur hated the idea with a passion – to his mind, having perfectly good houses lying empty for months at a time was to blame for killing off small, rural communities. Nell did her best not to get him onto the topic too often, because it could result in quite a passionate rant. Not that she minded it when Arthur got passionate about things – but it could take some doing to calm him down again.

In the case of the cottage next door, Nell soon found that she didn’t mind the set-up one bit. As much as she’d love a nice neighbour to share the odd cuppa with while they had a natter with over the fence – the quiet ghost as she’d named next door’s invisible inhabitant, was probably the least problematic neighbour she’d ever had. Apart from when it came to the garden, of course.

Nell took her now-empty glass back through to the kitchen and popped it on the draining board. Then she looked over at the patch of hedge currently shading the still-snoozing geese.

What a mess!

Her side was neatly trimmed of course – at least as far up as she could reach. The top of the hedge was another matter entirely – a rowdy tangle of old brambles, dead cleavers and convolvulus. Of course, even though she couldn’t see much beyond the hedge from down here, she knew next door’s garden was a complete jungle.

In the summer, Nell was forever having to wage war with her secateurs, hacking at the long, trailing strands of bramble that encroached on her side. Several times, she’d come very close to letting herself in and tidying things up a bit – after all, it rather spoiled the view from the back bedroom window! She’d never actually done it, of course… it wasn’t the done thing, was it? Just letting yourself into-

Nell froze mid-thought.

A movement on the other side of the hedge had just caught her eye. Was there someone there?

Yes! There was! She was absolutely convinced she’d just seen someone through the gap in the hedge!

Instinctively, Nell drew away from the window. She knew that whoever it was would have no chance of being able to see anything through the tangle that lay between them – but still, she didn’t want to get caught snooping did she? Besides… she’d be able