Aunt Bessie's Holiday Read online

  Aunt Bessie’s Holiday

  An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery

  Diana Xarissa

  Text Copyright © 2015 Diana Xarissa

  Cover Photo Copyright © 2015 Kevin Moughtin

  All Rights Reserved

  For Kevin, for everything he does for us.

  Author’s Note

  It’s hard for me to believe it, but this is the eighth book in the Isle of Man Cozy Mystery series. As ever, it can be read on its own, but I do think the series is best read in order (alphabetically by the last word of the title).

  The first thing to note about this book is that I’ve used the word holiday in the British rather than the American sense. (In US terms, this book is about Aunt Bessie’s Vacation.)

  Otherwise, if you’ve read the other books in the series, you’ll know all about Bessie’s origins (in my romance Island Inheritance) and that I use British spellings and phrases, except where Americanisms sneak in, as I’m living in the US now and tend to talk and think in American English on a daily basis. I hope I’ve managed to find the right balance between the different English languages so that the book is enjoyable on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and anywhere else anyone chooses to read it.

  This is a work of fiction and all of the characters are fictional creations. Any resemblance they may have to any real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  The story is primarily set in a fictional holiday park in the Lake District in England. When we lived on the island we frequently visited holiday parks, and the one in this story is a mix of several different parks with many fictional elements added. (If you want more information about holiday parks in general, please see the notes at the end of the book. As far as I know, there really isn’t anything quite like them in the US.) Torver Castle is also entirely fictional.

  Those of you who have read my romances will have already heard the story of the ghost in Castle Rushen who can help women identify their true love. That story is fictional. To the best of my knowledge, Charlotte de la Tremouille does not haunt the castle.

  As ever, I love hearing from readers. My contact details are at the end of the book.

  Table of Contents

  Author’s Note

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Glossary of Terms

  Other Notes

  Aunt Bessie Invites

  By the Same Author

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  “I didn’t even remember entering the contest,” Doona told Bessie. “So winning was a huge surprise.”

  “I don’t think I know anyone who’s ever won anything like this,” Bessie replied. “A week’s holiday is a wonderful prize.”

  The friends were sitting in the kitchen of Bessie’s small cottage, enjoying tea and biscuits. Doona had rung less than an hour ago to tell Bessie that she had exciting news. At Bessie’s invitation, she’d driven over to the cottage immediately.

  “I know. Now I’m ever so glad I didn’t take any holiday time in the summer,” Doona said. “I can take a week off now and no one can complain.”

  “I’m sure John wouldn’t complain.”

  “He might not, but Anna surely would,” Doona retorted, frowning.

  Bessie nodded, remembering what Doona had told her about the policewoman who had recently joined the staff at the small Laxey branch of the Isle of Man Constabulary. Anna Lambert had been hired from across to assist with the day-to-day operations of the small station. Apparently, this was to allow John Rockwell, who was in charge of policing for Laxey and Lonan, to spend more time in the field and on investigative work. From what Doona had said, Anna’s arrival wasn’t going as smoothly as everyone had hoped.

  “So, which week are you going on your wonderful surprise holiday?” Bessie asked, hoping to distract Doona from complaining about her new boss and ruining her excitement over her unexpected good fortune.

  “I’m supposed to travel on the 18th,” Doona replied.

  “Well, it all sounds wonderful,” Bessie said. “I’ve never been to a holiday park like that, but the brochure looks tempting.” She picked the glossy pamphlet up from the table where Doona had left it and flipped through it for a second time. “There’s certainly a lot to do.”

  “Yeah, most of it for families and small children,” Doona said with a sigh. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to go at all, but on page six there’s a list of activities for adults.”

  Bessie turned to the correct page and read aloud from the brochure. “Here we are, ‘Coming to Lakeview Holiday Park without children? Try your hand at pottery, watercolour painting, or pencil sketching. Our heated, indoor water complex is open all day with special evening hours where selected pools are for adults only. We have aerobics and yoga classes, crazy golf, woodland walks and tours of nearby Torver Castle, one of the most haunted castles in the whole of the British Isles, also available for our adult guests.’”

  “And there are a bunch of restaurants,” Doona added. “Look on page eight.”

  Bessie turned the page. “Chinese, Italian, French and American,” she read down the list. “With an Indian takeaway, pizza delivery and a grocery store on-site, you certainly won’t starve.”

  Doona laughed. “I’m sure I’ll come back at least ten pounds heavier,” she remarked. “I’m ignoring the exercise classes. But did you see the French-style patisserie?”

  Bessie looked at the photograph of éclairs and profiteroles piled on top of one another and dripping with chocolate sauce. “Maybe fifteen pounds,” she murmured as her mouth watered.

  “And it’s all included in my prize,” Doona added. “Anything and everything that I want to do and all the food. It’s the greatest prize ever. It’s almost too good to be true.”

  “It all sounds wonderful,” Bessie said with genuine enthusiasm. “And I think you could really do with a break as well. I’ll miss you, but I’m sure you’ll have a lovely time.”

  Doona nodded. “But I was thinking,” she said to Bessie. “Maybe you’d like to come along?”

  Bessie sat back in her chair, feeling surprised. “But this is your special holiday,” she said after a moment.

  “And it will be much more fun with a friend along,” Doona replied.

  The pair were unlikely friends. Doona, with her highlighted brown hair and bright green eyes, courtesy of coloured-contact lenses, was twice divorced and in her forties. She worked at the front desk of the Laxey Constabulary. After having grown up in the south of the island, she’d only moved to Laxey two years earlier when she’d been in the middle of a very difficult divorce. At the time she’d hoped the change of scenery and the new job would help her get over her broken heart.

  Bessie was probably twice her age. She’d lived in Laxey, in her small cottage right on the beach, for all of her adult life after a childhood spent in America. Over the years, Bessie had come to love her short grey hair, which matched her eyes. While Doona was comfortably plump, Bessie had always been slender and that hadn’t changed with age. Bessie had never married and never held down a paying job. She kept busy acting as an honourary aunt to just about every child in Laxey and doing research at the Manx Museum into the history of the island she called home and loved immensely.

 
They’d met in a Manx language class just days after Doona had moved into her new home in the village. Their friendship was forged over shared struggles with the difficult Celtic language. Bessie provided Doona with the support she needed as she worked her way through the breakup of her marriage. Now the pair spent as much time together as their busy schedules allowed, with Doona being the one offering support to Bessie as the older woman found herself caught up in multiple murder investigations recently.

  “As I said, everything is paid for,” Doona reminded her. “I’m allowed to bring up to three guests. Our accommodation is in one of their lakeside cabins and we’ll have two bedrooms and two bathrooms, so we won’t have to share. I thought you might like a chance to get away for a week and just relax. Of course, you can also do as many of the activities as you like.”

  Bessie flipped through the brochure again, looking at all the glossy photos of families appearing to be having a wonderful time. She was very tempted.

  “You can try rock climbing and inline skating if you want,” Doona teased. “Or you can tour that haunted castle and try some pencil sketching. We can do things together or just meet up for the occasional meal and do our own thing, whichever you prefer.”

  “It’s your holiday,” Bessie argued. “You should do what you want to do.”

  “I intend to,” Doona replied. “I’ll make my list of activities and then you can decide which ones you’d like to do as well, if any. I don’t plan to try rock climbing, but if you decide to try it, I want to be there to watch.”

  Bessie laughed. “I think watercolours and sketching are a bit more my sort of thing,” she told her friend. “And I wouldn’t mind touring a haunted castle, either.”

  “So you’ll come?” Doona asked.

  “If you’re sure you want me to,” Bessie replied.

  “Hurrah!” Doona shouted. She gave Bessie a hug. “I didn’t want to say this before, but I really, really don’t want to go on my own,” she confided to her friend. “I’m sure the whole place will be filled with happy families. I’m afraid I’d be quite lonely.”

  Bessie smiled and patted Doona’s hand. “If you’d told me that in the beginning, I wouldn’t have hesitated for an instant. I’m sure we’ll have a good time.”

  “We are definitely going to have a good time,” Doona said emphatically.

  The days seemed to fly past, at least for Bessie, and she soon found herself packing and getting ready for her week away. The night before their early morning departure, John Rockwell insisted on throwing them a small going-away party. Bessie suggested they have the party at her cottage, as that was an easy place for everyone to gather.

  “Bessie, are you all packed and ready to go?” he asked when he arrived a short time before the party was due to start. Bessie hugged the tall, dark-haired man, feeling relieved to see that he’d regained at least some of the weight he’d lost recently. His stunning green eyes were bright and his smile seemed genuine.

  “I think so,” Bessie told him. “At least as much as I can be. Some things will have to be added in the morning, of course.”

  “I’m glad you’re going with Doona,” he said in a confiding tone. “I think she’d get rather bored on her own.”

  Bessie shrugged. “I never get bored on my own,” she said firmly. “But I’ve had a great many years to get used to being alone.”

  John nodded. “It does take some getting used to,” he said ruefully.

  “How are you coping?” Bessie asked, feeling as if she’d said the wrong thing. John and his wife, Sue, had only recently split up. Sue had returned to Manchester with their two children, leaving John on the island by himself.

  “I’m getting there,” he replied. “Some days are better than others, but the kids have a half-term break coming up soon, so they’ll be coming over for a week. I’m hoping to be in the new house by then.”

  Bessie had helped John do some house hunting the previous month. John had been delighted when the owners of the property he liked best, a recently renovated bungalow in the same neighbourhood where he was currently renting, dropped their price. His offer had been accepted almost immediately and Bessie knew he was happy to getting settled into his new home.

  “I’m looking forward to seeing it once you’ve moved in,” Bessie told him. The house, when they’d seen it, had been deliberately neutral in décor. John had shown Bessie various paint samples for the colours he was planning to use for each room. The end result promised to be quite interesting.

  “Yes, well, we’ll see how it all turns out,” John said, flushing. “Sue always handled painting and decorating, so this is all new territory for me. I have a feeling some of the colours aren’t going to work as well as I’d hoped.”

  Bessie hid a grin. She had the same feeling, but she wasn’t going to share that with John. “You’ll learn more through trial and error than from having others tell you what to do,” she said.

  Before John could reply, they heard a car pulling up outside. Bessie opened the door to Hugh Watterson and his girlfriend, Grace Christian.

  “Hugh, you’ve grown again,” Bessie exclaimed as she hugged the young policeman.

  He blushed and shook his head. “I think it’s just these boots,” he muttered, glancing down at his feet.

  Bessie looked at the stylish leather boots he was wearing and pressed her lips together. Under the circumstances, chuckling would be inappropriate, but she couldn’t help but smile as she looked at the rest of Hugh’s outfit. Bessie had known Hugh since he was a child, and now, in his mid-twenties, he still looked little more than fifteen. The fancy trousers and collared shirt didn’t really do much to help with that, but it was something of a surprise, as Bessie was used to seeing Hugh in jeans and tattered T-shirts when he wasn’t in uniform.

  Grace now joined him in the doorway and Bessie stepped back to let them both inside, giving Grace a hug as the girl walked past. There was no doubt in Bessie’s mind that the pretty young schoolteacher was responsible for the changes to Hugh’s wardrobe. She’d seen other changes in the young man as well, as he became increasingly dedicated to his difficult job. Now she could only hope that Hugh would get around to proposing before Grace gave up on him.

  The guests all brought food with them, and within half an hour Bessie’s small cottage was filled to overflowing with friends from around the island.

  “Honestly, you’d think we were moving away or something,” she remarked to Doona as they both refilled their wine glasses in the kitchen.

  “Everyone was just looking for an excuse to celebrate something,” Doona replied. “Mid-October is a bit of a quiet time for parties.”

  Bessie couldn’t argue with that. “Hop-tu-naa isn’t far off,” she did point out. “Although that’s more for the little ones, I suppose.”

  The night was cool, but dry, and Bessie soon found herself in her favourite place in the world, standing on the beach behind her home. She breathed in the salty sea air and sighed deeply.

  “You’re going to miss this,” Hugh suggested as he joined her.

  “I will, but it’s only for a week,” Bessie replied. “And all of the cabins are meant to be able to see at least one of the lakes on the property, so I’ll still have a water view.”

  “Doona was showing us all the brochure down at the station. Do you think it would be a good honeymoon destination?” Hugh asked.

  Bessie shook her head. “Save it for when you have little ones,” she said firmly. “Take Grace to Paris for your honeymoon. It’s known as one of the most romantic cities in the world for a reason.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” he said with a chuckle.

  “And when are you going to ask her?” Bessie demanded.

  Hugh flushed. “I was thinking Christmas,” he muttered. “I want it to be really special, you know?”

  “What you’re asking will make it special,” Bessie told him. “I wouldn’t wait if I were you. If you want to spend the rest of your life with her, why not start right now?�
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  “I don’t know,” Hugh said with a shrug. “I’ll think about it.”

  Bessie sighed. “Men,” she said, shaking her head. She didn’t get to lecture Hugh any further, though, as Grace joined them on the beach.

  “It’s such a beautiful night,” she said.

  “There’s a bit of a chill in the air,” Hugh replied, looking at her with concern. “Are you sure you’re warm enough?”

  “I’m fine,” Grace told him, smiling brightly. “Although I’d probably be better with your arm around me.”

  Hugh grinned and slid his arm around Grace. Bessie smiled at the pair.

  “I’m going to miss you two,” she said.

  “It’s only a week away,” Hugh said. “You’ll barely have time to miss anyone.”

  “I hope we’ll be too busy to miss anyone,” Doona said. Bessie hadn’t noticed her friend’s approach, but now she turned and smiled.

  “I feel like a small child,” Bessie confessed. “It’s silly how excited I am about our holiday.”

  “I know what you mean,” Doona agreed. “I haven’t been away since my last honeymoon and that doesn’t exactly bring back warm memories.”

  “I can’t remember my last proper holiday,” Bessie said thoughtfully. “Although as I’ve never worked and I live on the beach, I suppose my entire life has been a holiday.”

  Everyone laughed and then Bessie headed back inside to spend some time with her other guests. Quite a few of her friends from Manx National Heritage and the Manx Museum had come to wish her well and she didn’t want any of them to feel neglected.

  Two hours later, the last of the guests were leaving. Bessie hugged everyone as they left, grateful that they’d taken time out of their busy lives to celebrate her upcoming trip.

  “Well, that was fun,” she said to Doona as she shut the door behind Hugh and Grace. “And tiring.”

  Doona nodded. “It was at that,” she agreed. “It’s a good thing we’re going on holiday tomorrow. We can get some extra rest.”