I’ve never been a fan of romance novels or Hallmark movies, but when I accidentally downloaded “Cinder Bella” by Kathleen Shoop, I decided to read it anyway. It is the third in her ‘’Tis the Season” series.
It is late December 1893. The financial panic has caused hardships for everyone. Young Bella Darling has been allowed to live in the cozy barn on the Westminster estate after she got three spent hens to lay again and produce more eggs than normal. Everyone who uses the eggs insists that they make every recipe better and food go much further than regular eggs.
Bella has had a difficult and pain-filled life, but she never complains. She has a place to live, the hens and Simon the cat for companionship, a small income from selling excess eggs and access to the Westminster library.
At this point, the Westminsters are in Europe and most of their staff has been let go. Only James the butler and Margaret the housekeeper remain on duty, awaiting the Westminsters return.
Barthalamew Baines arrives at Mrs. Tillman’s boarding house with a trunk of clothing and a briefcase of papers. Unlike many of his fellow bankers, Barthalamew isn’t claiming destitution while hiding riches.
Those who see him assume the worst, but Barthalamew Baines has integrity and is racked with guilt. After a client committed suicide, the young banker liquidated all his assets and gave them to the man’s widow. He’s now homeless and hopeless. The boarding house is full, but Mrs. Tillman lets him sleep on the parlor settee.
The other boarders are a varied lot. Leonard Hill is obviously very ill but stubbornly clings to a positive attitude. Arnold Aries once nurtured the famous Reynolds gardens. Nathaniel Hobbs had enjoyed a career as a talented musician; the ever-cheerful Penelope is an accomplished baker. Only the dour widow Clemmie Towson shares Barthalamew’s view of the season.
Somehow this odd group has managed to form a “family.” Though she longs for love and a family, Bella knows that’s not likely to happen. Bella sells her popular eggs at the local market where desperate women often fight over the meager offerings.
Barthalamew and Bella get off to a bad start after he buys her “special” eggs and finds that three eggs only contain tiny curious rhymes. Furious, he tracks her to the estate but mistakes her for one of the Westminster daughters because she has borrowed a fur wrap from the estate closets.
That same afternoon, the boarding house burns to the ground. The boarders save whatever they can, including Barthalamew’s belongings. Seeing their desperate plight, Bella invites them to spend the night at the estate. Vowing to respect the Westminsters’ property, they make plans for a merry Christmas Eve.
Without meaning to, Bella invites over 100 local villagers to celebrate with them. When Mr. Buchanan comes to evict them, they ply him with Bella’s magic eggs and he relents, allowing them to stay until Jan. 2.
As the plans move forward, there is both celebration and sorrow to contend with. Through it all, Bella does her best to remain positive and ignore her strong attraction to Barthalamew. At the same time, he’s learning how deeply he feels for her.
Carefully woven into the story is a local businessman, Henry Heinz. His interest in making sure that foods were prepared in safe and sanitary conditions neatly dovetails with the interests and talents of the small group of boarders and the people of Shadyview, Pennsylvania. Maybe, just maybe, something warm and inspiring can take place here in real life.
AT A GLANCE
Book: “Cinder Bella” (‘Tis the Season, Book 3)
Author: Kathleen Shoop
Publisher: Kathleen Shoop
Year Published: 2021
Number of pages: 251
Christmas story follows grand estate, boarding house
