Lives: Pennywell, Bower Lane.

Age: Early thirties

Appearance: 5’ 9” tall, slightly plump with long dark hair usually worn smoothed and tied at the nape of her neck. She has green eyes and a creamy complexion with a smattering of freckles over her nose.

Helen can appear stern and forbidding. She is competent at her job and runs her home and her personal life with the same efficiency. She will smile but is rarely heard to laugh.

Family: Mother: Pamela

            Father: Brian

            Sister: Blythe

Helen came to the village after a long-term relationship came to an end and the apartment she shared with her partner was sold. With insufficient funds to buy a property and unsure if she would fit into village life after living in a city, she initially rented the flat above the bakery until she was more sure of her plans for the future.

To begin with, she regretted choosing Milliwick from the many transfers she could have applied for within the library services. She had wanted to get as far away from her previous life as possible and had presumed that by moving to what she considered to be the middle of nowhere, she would be happy but her decision backfired. The job was less busy than she was used to and she felt bored. She found the residents’ interest in her invasive after barely being acknowledged or recognised by her previous neighbours. She missed the bustle of city life, the stores, the wine bars and easy access to the concerts and theatre she loved but slowly, as the rawness of the breakdown of her relationship subsided, she found herself slipping into the more relaxed pace of the village. It was on her return from a trip to see friends that she realised the sigh she had given as she sat down and slipped of her shoes was one of contentment and relief that she was ‘home’.

The next day, Helen put in an offer on the cottage in Bower Lane and she became the village’s most recent ‘incomer’

Currently:  Helen has settled happily in her new home but being an intensely private person, she still finds the inquisitiveness of some village residents difficult to cope with. She mostly keeps herself to herself and shares her deepest thoughts only with her cat, Alfie.

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HELEN MARCHANT

Librarian