Page 1 of Spellbinding Spirit

Prologue

21stMay 1915

My Dearest Sally,

How are you, my love? I got your letter. I’m sat here in this wretched trench and all I can do is grin like a fool because I have your letter. When I close my eyes it’s you I see. You’re my escape from all this madness, my safe place. I shut my eyes and I’m back on our hill looking down at Fellside, listening to your laugh in the sunshine. God above, how I miss your laugh.

Keep telling me the stories from Greenview Manor. Has Mr Bryant’s horse come round, or is he still being a stubbornold thing? Tell me everything, Sally—every little thing that’s happening back home.

I treasure all my memories of you, of us. Our Valentine’s secret. The way you looked at me that night. But also the way you smiled when I brought you buttered toast in the morning. It’s the small bits of normal life that keep me going out here. I can’t get enough of it.

And tell me, my love, do you miss me as much as I miss you? I reckon you do but I’ll tell you this—I miss you with every breath I take, every hour of every day. I’ve never been one for regrets, always thought things happened as they should, but I regret not making you my wife before I left. I had it all planned, didn’t I? But then this bloody war came along and tore it all to pieces. I hate the lot of them, those fancy rulers sitting safe and sound in their grand castles, pushing us about like pawns in a game. They don’t give a damn about us, Sally. It’s all power and pride to them. But it’s us who pay the price. It’s us who bleed for it.

You remember Stephen, who I met when shipping out? The one with the two little nippers back home? He didn’t make it. The Huns are using gas more and more, Sally. It’s a nightmare like nothing I’ve ever seen. It rolls in like a thick, yellow fog, choking everything in its path. If you don’t move quick you’re done for. I keep a rag soaked in water handy but it’s not always enough. I crawled through the mud, blind and choking, somehow making it far enough to breathe. I don’t know how, but I did. Stephen wasn’t so lucky. His face is stuck in my mind now, along with so many others. I can’t shake it.

This battle’s been dragging on for what feels like forever—weeks that feel like years. Sometimes I feel I’m stuck in hell itself, like there’s no way out. But it’s you, Sally. It’s the thought of you that keeps me going. You’re my light in all this dark, my reason to fight on. The moment I get back to Fellside, I’m making you my wife, no more waiting about. You’re my reason, love. My reason for everything.

I miss you so much it hurts. Truly hurts. Every minute, every second. I can’t wait to hold you again, to feel your arms around me. Your letters—oh, Sally, they’re everything to me here. They’re my tether to the world outside this nightmare.

I have to go now—more of this hell to face. But I swear to you, Sally, I’ll come back. Wait for me, love. Please, wait for me.

I love you more than words can ever say.

Forever yours,

George

Chapter 1

Sebastian

Adoor falls shutsomewhere in the building and the noise echoes down the corridor as I descend the staircase towards reception.

“But I have a reservation,” the angry voice of a middle-aged woman greets me as I make it back to the desk where Harry, one of my night porters, is frantically typing on the keyboard. He’s giving his best customer service smile but the fact thathe’s continuously typing is a dead giveaway. He’s buying himself time because when we came on shift this evening, the day staff confirmed that we were fully booked and were not expecting anymore arrivals.

It doesn’t happen often that some of our team mess up a booking but it does happen, and if we are then fully booked it can be a costly mistake, because we have to book them into one of our competitors. Especially as there aren’t many other hotels of our standards around, and so we usually end up paying for their full stay and add some kind of bonus like a free meal or a spa treatment to it.

“Good evening, madam,” I say as I step behind the desk. Harry breathes a sigh of relief; he knows with me back from my rounds, I can take over and he won’t have to deal with any possible overbooking.

“Mrs Brown has booked a double room for two nights.” His voice is calm and matter of fact—we train our staff to deal with situations like this by not causing more alarm to guests—but I know him well enough to detect a slight panic in it. I guess he hasn’t found her booking by some kind of miracle.

“Yes, andheis saying you don’t have a reservation. I booked it myself, I know I did. You even charged my card,” Mrs Brown snaps at me whilst tapping angrily on the counter with her acrylic fingernails.

“Let me have a look. Can I please see your confirmation email?”

“My confirmation?” she scoffs.

“Yes. The number on it will help me locate your booking,” I explain. She’s staring at me angrily almost like she’s waiting for me to back down, but even if I wanted to, I can’t. We don’t have rooms, so at this stage I need to find out if one of our staff has cocked up, in which case we are responsible to find her an alternative room, or if she made a mistake. We will still help her, but we definitely won’t pay.

“Let me see,” she finally mumbles when I don’t give in to her stares. Whilst she’s scrolling on her phone to find the email I write on a piece of paper out of her eyeline:Call Morely Hotel.The Morely is not far from us and has nice rooms and helpful staff. Harry gives me a nod and disappears into the back office. Let’s hope the Morley is not full as well.

“Aha, see, I told you. I booked a double room with jacuzzi. Here.” She holds out her phone to me.Jacuzzi?The only rooms we have with a jacuzzi are suites, certainly not double rooms.

I scan the confirmation on the screen. The price looks odd as well. One hundred and fifty pounds? None of our rooms start on less than three fifty. I scroll back up on the screen. It definitely says Greenview… wait—

“Madam, this is a reservation for the Greenview House Hotel in Newbury. We are called Greenview Manor Hotel.” I point at the address on the screen.

“What?” she snaps and rips the phone from my grasp. A gentleman sitting on one of the sofas behind her barks out a laugh. “But we wanted to stay here,” she says angrily like I made the booking for her.

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