Chapter 1
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Alice
The scent of seafood wafted over to Alice Dipple as she stood outside Seaview B&B, gazing up at her business. The large chalky white building needed some Christmas spirit. It was late November, and she still hadn’t decorated for the season. She didn’t have any guests booked in for the big day, but she had a few now, and there were some due for New Year’s Eve, so even if she wasn’t in the mood to celebrate, it would be nice for them to see a tree covered in tinsel, at the very least.
Peering over the road at the dark sea, she wondered if it was just the heavy salty air that made her think of cockles and mussels. That or someone nearby was having some for a late breakfast. Not something she’d ever considered before lunch, even living by the harbour all her life.
She sighed, then glanced at the stained-glass window of a boat at the top of the wide arched front door. That could do with a wipe. She really needed to get some motivation. It was her first Christmas in her new business, only having bought it fromMabel in the summer. Perhaps if the elderly woman hadn’t died soon after, life at the B&B would feel happier.
For years, Alice had dreamed of owning her own B&B along the harbour in Port Berry. She had grown up just around the corner and helped Mabel out at the B&B since she was in her teens. Never in a million years did she expect Mabel to retire and offer her first refusal of the place. It was more than a dream come true — it was everything. And Mabel had been so pleased her family home was being passed down to someone who cared so much about it and wanted to keep the premises as a B&B.
Looking at the building now, Alice wondered how something so old still stood so strong. At the age of only thirty-one, Alice often felt more like a hundred, especially when her fibromyalgia flared up.
Bell of Blood. She laughed to herself, trying to visualize when her new home was a tavern with that name. She could just see the pirates of Penzance popping in to sup some ale and cause havoc. ‘If only you could talk, eh?’
She wondered what Mabel’s ancestors would now think about her at the helm. So far, no ghost had tapped her on the shoulder or kept her awake throughout the night, so she figured if one was floating around, they seemed to be okay about the exchange.
‘Morning, Alice,’ came a voice, breaking her from the trance she appeared to be in with the sea-facing balconies.
She turned to see a local fisherman walking by. ‘Morning, Jed. I thought you’d still be out there.’ She pointed over Harbour End Road at the calm sea.
‘I caught what was needed for the shop first thing. Now I’m off on a walk for a bit of exercise for the old knees.’ He scuffed back his salt-and-pepper hair as he grinned at his legs. ‘Your grandmother was supposed to join me, but reckons shewas needed by your mum in the newsagents.’ His slate-blue eyes twinkled. ‘I think we both know that was an excuse.’
Alice laughed. ‘Yes, well, Nan isn’t known for wanting to exercise. Anyway, with you both being seventy-one now, isn’t it time to relax?’
‘Pfft. While there’s life in you, use it. I’m fitter than your Benny, and he’s, what? How old is that nephew of yours now? I can’t keep up.’
‘He turned fifteen this year.’
Jed rubbed his wiry grey beard. ‘Soon goes, doesn’t it? Only feels like yesterday he was knee-high to a grasshopper.’
Alice smiled. ‘He’s not that tall now. I’m thinking he’ll have a growth spurt soon or stay on the shorter side like his mum.’
‘Aw, bless your Lisa.’ Jed gestured at the cold-blue sky. ‘It’s tough this time of year when they’re not with us, eh, my girl?’
Following his gaze, she agreed. ‘My sister has been gone eight years now. Sometimes it seems like yesterday.’
‘I know the feeling. Not a day goes by I don’t think of my wife and son.’
Alice reached for his hand. ‘I feel sadder this year, Jed.’
‘Because of this place? And Mabel?’
She nodded. ‘Yep. Doesn’t feel right. I know we have to get on with life, but sometimes it feels tainted.’
‘Yeah, I know what you mean.’
‘Mabel still had so much life in her. She was all set for the next phase and just like that, she dies.’
‘And that is exactly why we live our best life in the time we have, because we just don’t know how long that will be.’
Alice leaned into his shoulder. ‘Blimming heck, Jed. What do we sound like? Not the cheeriest of conversations.’
‘All part of life, Alice. The ups, downs, we can’t avoid it or pretend these things don’t exist. It’s okay to talk about such matters. Best not to dwell though.’
