Blog tour ~ extract: Love and Loss at the Beach Hotel by Francesca Capaldi

Genre: Romantic Saga / Historical Romance

Publication Date: November 21, 2024

Publisher: Hera Books (Canelo)

Estimated Page Count: 370

Standalone Fourth Book in the Beach Hotel series

I am excited to share an extract today  ~ thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for organizing.

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Extract:

Hetty has been on trips out with Victor Perryman on a couple of afternoons off, just as a friend, but she is finding she has a growing attraction to him, despite her ambiguous relationship with Lorcan. On a visit home, she finds out that her mother has other plans for her…

‘We have a guest coming this afternoon,’ said her mother.

‘Who?’ She noticed the pleasant aroma and took a deep breath in. ‘Have you been baking?’

‘Just a small fruit cake I managed to gather some ingredients for. It’s made with that dreadful war flour, but it will have to do.’

‘Who’s coming then?’ She thought it might be her sister, Iris, who she hadn’t seen for a couple of months.

There was a knock at the door, causing her mother to pull off the apron she’d been wearing and toss it behind her in the kitchen. ‘Go and sit down in the parlour,’ she commanded on a whisper. ‘Elegantly.’

Hetty was confused but did as she was asked. She took a seat on the settee nearest the empty fireplace. A few moments later her mother showed in a tall, skinny, youngish gentleman with dark, oiled hair, black clothing and a dog collar. It was the vicar of the mission church, which was just around the corner from the school.

She stood up. Was this the expected guest? ‘Good afternoon, Reverend Peck.’

‘Good afternoon, Henrietta. Though “good” is not how the weather is looking currently.’

‘It is rather cloudy.’

‘Sit down, Reverend.’ Her mother pointed to the space next to Hetty, but he sat in the armchair instead. ‘I’ll just fetch the tea in.’

‘Very good,’ he said.

Hetty sat back down. Why on earth would her mother invite the vicar around, knowing she was coming home for the afternoon? Maybe, with her  

brother Hector injured, she required some holy reassurance. Poor Mum. She always bustled around, taking charge and keeping busy when something upsetting happened.

‘So, Henrietta, I hear you’re still working at the luxury hotel.’ It was said in a slightly disapproving manner.

‘That’s right, Vicar. In the stillroom, and sometimes in the dining room.’

‘Don’t you think it’s all rather unnecessary in the current times, with the war raging. The hotel could be used as a hospital.’

‘People still need some distraction in the war, Vicar, to get them through. And we have put on several charity events raising money for the soldiers and for the poorer children.’

‘That is something, I suppose. But all the staff there, they could be doing war work.’

‘Most of the men who worked there are now fighting. What about you, Vicar? What war work do you do?’

‘The reverend’s war work is to look after our spiritual welfare,’ said her mother, bustling in with a tray.

‘I believe there are some men of the cloth who’ve gone out to the front, as chaplains,’ said Hetty.

‘They can’t all go, otherwise what would we do for holy guidance? Now, enough of that.’ Miriam placed the tray on a side table. ‘Henrietta, why don’t you come and pour, seeing as you have dining room experience?’

‘Yes, Mother.’

‘Henrietta has learned a lot of household skills, working at the hotel.’

What a strange thing to say. What was her mother up to? Then the cold truth hit her like the wet towels her brothers used to fling at her when they were children on the beach. Reverend Peck was unmarried. Oh Lord, what a thought! She sent up a brief apology to the Almighty, but also an appeal.

‘I’m sure it’s quite useful in teaching women wifely skills,’ he said. ‘But there comes a time when they must do their duty for their country and God, by becoming mothers and wives.’

She was tempted to say, Not in that order, I assume, but held it back.

‘Indeed, Reverend Peck,’ said Miriam.

‘How old are you now Henrietta?’ he asked.

‘Twenty-five, Vicar.’

‘Then it’s high time you found a husband.’

‘That is rather a problem at the moment, what with most of the young men away fighting.’ She kept her voice civil, and even managed a smile, but inside she was boiling.

‘Henrietta, don’t answer back.’

‘I wasn’t, Mother. I was simply stating a fact.’

‘They’re not all away fighting.’ Miriam glanced briefly at Reverend Peck. Hetty was glad he hadn’t noticed. ‘Now Reverend, do have some of my fruit cake, baked just today. I know it’s not—’

‘No thank you, Mrs Affleck. I’m not indulging in such things whilst there is a war on, and others would do well to follow my lead.’

‘Oh, um.’ Miriam placed the knife she was about to cut the cake with back on the tray and sat down. Hetty was disappointed not to be offered any.

They started talking about the church and parish matters, allowing Hetty’s mind to wander. Her thoughts came eventually to Victor. How she would like to have been with him this afternoon instead of suffering this pointless visit to get to know the vicar. A choice between a vicar and a Victor, she joked to herself. She knew which she would choose.

‘What are you smiling about, girl?’ said Miriam. ‘Old Mrs Ball’s demise is not an amusing subject.’

She had not heard a word for the last few minutes. Reverend Peck was also looking rather sternly at her.

‘I’m sorry, I was thinking about how kind Mrs Ball used to be to us children at Sunday School.’ It was true that she had been, even if Hetty hadn’t really been thinking about it at that moment.

‘A little too kind and indulgent at times,’ said the vicar.

‘I don’t believe there’s any such thing as being too kind,’ said Hetty, wondering whether this man had a kind bone in his body. He’d always

seemed a cold fish, the few times she’d attended a service with her parents. ‘After all, aren’t we called upon to love our neighbours as ourselves?’

Hetty saw her mother narrow her eyes and lips. She’d be in trouble once the vicar had left.

Book blurb:

Can true love win the day?

Hetty Affleck is working as a maid at the prestigious Beach Hotel in Littlehampton. Her beau, Lorcan, is away at war and has recently stopped replying to her letters but she is determined to keep her spirits up. When she meets wealthy shipbuilder’s son Victor Perryman, they pass the time of day and they both feel a connection but she can’t allow herself to think anything more of it – not only does she have Lorcan to think of, but she and Victor are divided by wealth and class.

Yet they meet again and Hetty is charmed and intrigued by Victor and his openness towards her. It becomes harder to ignore the attachment growing between them.

When Lorcan comes back on leave, Hetty is forced to face her true feelings. Who does she really love, and can that love conquer everything in its path?

Purchase Links

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3zAql23

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/love-and-loss-at-the-beach-hotel

Apple: https://books.apple.com/gb/book/love-and-loss-at-the-beach-hotel/id6504192817

Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/love-and-loss-at-the-beach-hotel/francesca-capaldi/9781804368466

Author Bio –

Francesca has enjoyed writing since she was a child. Born in Worthing and brought up in Littlehampton in Sussex, she was largely influenced by a Welsh mother who loved to tell improvised stories. A history graduate and qualified teacher, she decided to turn her writing hobby into something more in 2006, when she joined a writing class.

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Writing as both Francesca Capaldi and Francesca Burgess, she has had many short stories published in magazines in the UK and abroad, along with several pocket novels published by DC Thomson.

Her Welsh World War 1 sagas were inspired by the discovery of the war record of her great grandfather, a miner in South Wales. Heartbreak in the Valleys was a finalist in the Historical Romance category of the Romantic Novelists’ Association Awards (RoNAs) in 2021. Her latest series, The Beach Hotel, is set in her own childhood town, where her Italian father had a café on the riverside. The first in that series, A New Start at the Beach Hotel, won the Romantic Saga Award in the RoNAs in 2024.

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Francesca is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. She currently lives on the North Downs in Kent with her family and a cat called Lando Calrission.

Social Media Links –

Website & Blog: https://www.francesca-capaldi.com/

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/FrancescaCapaldiAuthor

Twitter/X: https://x.com/FCapaldiBurgess

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/francesca.capaldi.burgess/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@francesca.capaldi.author

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