A Daughter's Christmas Wish: An utterly irresistible and breathtaking Cornish WW1 romance about learning to love again by Victoria Cornwall

Author:Victoria Cornwall [Cornwall, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Choc Lit Historical Romance: A Joffe Books Company
Published: 2024-02-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Tuesday, 16th December, 1919

Nicholas parked his car at the station, bought a ticket and headed for the platform. Despite being early, an assortment of travellers were already waiting for the train to arrive. Nicholas quietly joined them, although inwardly he was impatient and eager to be gone. He turned up his collar against the early morning chill and watched his fellow travellers to help pass the time. A young family stood at the far end, clustered together in their excitement for the journey ahead and carrying Christmas gifts in their hands. An elderly couple and a few solitary men remained aloof and quiet, whilst a guard walked along the platform, with purpose in his stride and a sprig of mistletoe in his buttonhole. Each one, thought Nicholas, had their own tale to tell. If only they knew his and where he was going.

The ride was uneventful. Nicholas marked the journey by the vacant seats around him as they filled and emptied at each stop. Only one traveller, a gentleman, attempted a conversation, but Nicholas’s one-worded responses did not encourage him to persist and he soon gave up. Nicholas suspected the man was as thankful as he was when his journey came to an end and he could leave Nicholas to his solitary mood. Nicholas’s next travelling companion was a young man, who greeted him with a half-hearted nod. He was rather pale, despite the feverish shine on his head, and preferred to sleep most of the time. This suited Nicholas and he soon became lost in his own thoughts on how the day would unfold. Several hours later, the train finally arrived at Bristol station and they both got out and followed the tide of departing passengers. At some point they parted company, never to see one another again, and Nicholas was finally outside in the streets.

He withdrew a letter from his pocket to remind him of the address he had been sent many months before. It was his first time in Bristol and although he had planned to eat something before searching for the address, the knot in his stomach ensured he had no appetite to carry his plan out. The visit he was about to make was long overdue, and perhaps should never be undertaken at all. It was a conundrum that he had yet to work out and decide upon, but he was here now and he would not turn back.

He found the address — a mid-terrace house, small and suitable for a railway labourer who travelled the country laying down tracks. He knocked on the door, inclining his head slightly as he listened to the voices and footsteps inside. The door eventually opened and a man’s face appeared in the crack. He recognised Nicholas instantly and grew wary, his eyes lifting nervously to look behind him.

‘I’m alone,’ reassured Nicholas. ‘I needed to see you.’ Their eyes locked, both weighing up the sanity of the meeting, before the man holding the door gave a curt nod and allowed him to step inside.

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