Once Upon A Winter (38 page)

Joshua had asked, in the hospital when he had first gone to visit, if Anna was normal.

Freya had brushed a forefinger across the zigzags of shimmering down on her sister’s head. ‘Of course she is. She’s Mum and Dad at their most human. Their most truthful.’

Even Calista had found no ‘magic’ in the baby’s eyes, growing more hazel by the day.

‘But I see magic in them all the time, don’t I?’ whispered Silas now, holding her up until her face was level with his, his large hands wrapped firmly around the shawl and her back and shoulders, his fingers supporting her neck. ‘The same magic I see in your mother.’

She peered at him, as if trying to focus, and then when she seemed to see him clearly, a flutter of a smile crossed her lips. Wind, everyone said. Silas was certain it wasn’t.

He glanced up, over to the lych-gate, where the bride and bridesmaids were posing for photographs. There was still a little time. He crossed to his mother’s grave, and gazed down at the yellow rose they’d laid there earlier.

There were nights when Nell lay sleeping, and the baby would stir and grizzle, not wanting a feed, but companionship. Silas would kiss Nell’s brow and watch as she murmured in her sleep and turned over, and then he would climb out of bed and gather up the baby from the cradle. He would cross to the window, draw back the curtains a fraction and gaze up through the trees at the stars.

Anna would settle in his arms again, blinking in the silvery light. And in hushed, velvet tones he would tell her stories. Not of castles or kingdoms, or ogres and magicians, but of children who were lost and alone, and then brought home safe to their mothers. Of soldiers who had once walked tall, and the wild plants that now grew where they had fallen. And young women who were unhappy, and in need of a prince.

His favourite, he began to recite now, at his mother’s grave, with Anna wide awake in his arms.

‘
Once upon a time, in a village hidden among the hills, there lived a lonely wallflower, named Ellena
. . .’

THE END

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Also available
by the author:

THE TROUBLE WITH KNIGHTS IN SHINING ARMOUR

MaryAnn Laurey doesn’t see herself as a contemporary ‘damsel in distress’, even with her dubious track record with men. Together with her silent little daughter Beth, she escapes to her beloved Wychewood – a wild, rambling country estate in North Wales. But nothing about the old house now is exactly as it appears, and MaryAnn soon discovers she isn’t the only one with a hidden agenda.
What is the mystery surrounding Wychewood? And is the enigmatic Gawain – who seems to come with the house like a fixture and fitting – as much of a white knight as MaryAnn would like him to be? Then there’s the distant relative claiming Welsh ancestry, who wants the estate for himself. 
MaryAnn’s future is at risk if she doesn’t face up to the extraordinary truth unravelling in front of her. But doing so will force her to confront the implications and heartache behind an old family tragedy… 
Before another tragedy overtakes them all.

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COMING MID-NOVEMBER 2013:

THE LITTLE BOOK OF LOST HEARTS

Christmas in Fools Castle hasn’t always been this magical…
Nothing much happens around here, but that suits Antoinette Ellis perfectly. She wants the cocoon the village provides. Fate has taken too many of her loved ones, and all she has left is her brother, and their late sister’s daughter, Tabitha. Antoinette gave up her future to look after her young niece, but her sacrifice hasn’t gone unnoticed.
When a stranger called Rufus moves into the grim little house opposite her cottage, odd things start to happen in Fools Castle. He admits he’s not the person he appears to be, but he won’t reveal who he really is. And what secrets lie within the tatty old book of his that no one is allowed to look inside?
A miracle is long overdue, but the season for miracles is just around the corner.
THE LITTLE BOOK OF LOST HEARTS is a standalone contemporary novella of approximately 24,000 words. It also introduces the setting for the author’s next novel, out in 2014.

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A new short story by the author – GENIE OF THE ROCK – can be found in the BELINDA JONES TRAVEL CLUB ‘SUNLOUNGER’ anthology, released summer 2013.*

Once Upon A Winter

Copyright © 2012 by Valerie-Anne Baglietto

The right of Valerie-Anne Baglietto to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photography, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission from the Author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the Author’s imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.