Lifetime Burning
Page 40
A silence. He hears her intake of breath, then, ‘I have a child now. A son. He’s two.’ The line crackles. ‘Are you still there?’
‘Yes. I’m here. Who - who’s the father?’
‘A friend. A good friend. I wanted a child, he obliged. He’s a nice guy. But that’s all.’
‘What’s he called? Your son, I mean.’
‘Hughie.’
Eventually Theo says, ‘Does he take after you?’
‘No, he looks rather like Dad.’ Her voice catches. ‘Which means he looks a lot like you… Theo, will you come?’
‘Lottie—’
‘Theo, please!’
‘Yes, I’ll come.’
Theo finds Hugh in one of the glasshouses, busy with a watering-can.
‘I just had a phone-call.’
‘Oh?’
‘From Lottie.’
‘Good grief!’ Hugh straightens up with difficulty. ‘Our Lottie?’
Theo’s grin is sudden, lopsided. ‘Is there more than one?’
‘Was she all right?’
‘Seemed to be. She’s had a baby.’
Hugh beams and nods. ‘She’s told you then?’
‘You knew?’
‘Oh, yes. I’ve got a photo somewhere,’ he says vaguely. ‘Delightful-looking child. Curly blond hair. She named him after me, you know. I was very touched.’
‘Why did no one tell me?’
‘She told us not to. Thought you might be hurt. She knew you’d never have children of your own, you see. If you don’t mind my asking, why did she ring?’
‘She wants me to go out to Sydney to see her. Have a holiday. She’s offered to pay.’
‘Splendid! Well, don’t worry about me. I’ll manage perfectly. I dare say Rory will help out with the nursery. High time you had a holiday. You did say you’d go?’
‘Yes. I did.’ Theo drags his hand backwards through his hair. ‘I said I’d go and see her…God help me.’
‘Oh, He probably will.’ Hugh bends to his watering again. ‘He very probably will.’
I burn…
I burn…
You think it’s finished, Rory. You think I’m dead and gone. Ashes to ashes…
But I’m not.
I’m still here. Waiting.
I waited all my life for you. I can wait some more.
As long as it takes.
~~~
Author’s Note
Music plays a large part in this book and in my life, although I don’t play an instrument, nor can I read music. My inspiration and constant companions in the writing of A LIFETIME BURNING were the recordings of pianists Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim and Paul Lewis.
These are the pieces that Rory plays in the course of the novel:
BEETHOVEN Cello sonata in A, Op. 69
BEETHOVEN Piano sonata No. 21 in C, Op.53, Waldstein
SCOTT JOPLIN Maple Leaf Rag
RAVEL Piano trio in A minor
SCHUBERT Piano sonata D.960 in B flat
SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Concerto No. 2 in F, Op.102
SHOSTAKOVICH Prelude & Fugue No. 1 in C
~~~
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank:
My daughter and husband, Amy and Philip Glover who always asked for more
Linda Priestley who offered a sharp critical eye at the eleventh hour
Stephen Harrison who answered my musical questions
My agent Tina Betts who praised and encouraged
My publishers at Transita, Nikki Read and Giles Lewis who took another gamble
~~~
Also by Linda Gillard
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When Gwen discovers fragments of forgotten family letters sewn into an old patchwork quilt, she starts to piece together the jigsaw of the past and realises there's more to the family history than she's been told. It seems there are things people don’t want her to know. And one of those people is Alfie…
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UNTYING THE KNOT
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A wife is meant to stand by her man, especially an army wife. But Fay didn’t. She walked away - from Magnus, her traumatised war hero husband and from the home he was restoring: Tullibardine Tower, a ruined 16th-century tower house on a Perthshire hillside.
Now their daughter Emily is getting married. But she’s marrying someone she shouldn’t.
And so is Magnus…
~
THE GLASS GUARDIAN
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As she prepares to put the old house up for sale, Ruth discovers she’s not the only occupant. But has grief overturned her mind? Can she really be falling in love? And with a man who died almost a hundred years ago?…
~
CAULDSTANE
A gothic novel in the tradition of Daphne du Maurier, Mary Stewart and Victoria Holt.
“If you live in fear, you fear to live.”
When ghost writer Jenny Ryan is summoned to the Scottish Highlands by Sholto MacNab - retired adventurer and Laird of Cauldstane Castle - she’s prepared for travellers’ tales, but not the MacNabs’ violent and tragic history.
Lust, betrayal and murder have blighted family fortunes for generations, together with an ancient curse. As the MacNabs confide their sins and their secrets, Jenny learns why Cauldstane’s uncertain future divides father and sons.
But someone resents Jenny’s presence. Someone thinks she’s getting too close to Alec MacNab - swordsmith, widower and heir to Cauldstane. Someone who will stop at nothing until Jenny has been driven away. Or driven mad.
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Especially a dead woman.
~
THE TRYSTING TREE
A century of secrets…
Four women live in the shadow of the Trysting Tree.
All have something to hide.
In 1916 a m
an without a memory walks away from the Somme battlefield, while a young woman grieves beneath the tree that will guard her secret for 100 years.
In 2015 Connor Grenville is restoring the garden where his grandmother, Ivy used to play. Before her death, she tried to destroy the family archive. Who was Ivy trying to protect? And why?
~~~
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