‘I’m here, my darling, Pa’s here,’ said his familiar voice, ‘we’re going to get you the help you need, I promise . . .’
‘Yes, I need help,’ I whimpered. ‘Help me, Pa. I’m so alone . . .’
I slept again, feeling comforted, but then I was jolted awake by another bout of sickness. I didn’t make it to the toilet bowl this time – I was just too exhausted to reach it. I tried to sit up, looking around for Pa, but I was all alone again, and I knew he had gone.
Bibliography
Munya Andrews, The Seven Sisters of the Pleiades (Spinifex Press, 2004)
Antony Beevor, The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 (Phoenix, 2006)
Wayne H. Bowen, Spain during World War II (University of Missouri Press, 2006)
Anne Dublin, Dynamic Women Dancers (Second Story Press, 2009)
John Fletcher, Deer (Reaktion Books, 2014)
Bernard Leblon, Gypsies and Flamenco, trans. by Sinéad né Shuinéar (University of Hertfordshire Press, 1994)
Patrick Jasper Lee, We Borrow the Earth: An Intimate Portrait of the Gypsy Folk Tradition and Culture (Ravine Press, 2000)
Paul Preston, The Spanish Holocaust: Inquisition and Extermination in Twentieth-Century Spain (HarperPress, 2013)
Paco Sevilla, Queen of the Gypsies: The Life and Legend of Carmen Amaya (Sevilla Press, 1999)
Rita Vega de Triana, Antonio Triana and the Spanish Dance: A Personal Recollection (Harwood Academic Publishers, 1993)
G. Kenneth Whitehead, Deer and their Management in the Deer Parks of Great Britain and Ireland (Country Life Limited, 1950)
Author’s Note
Whenever I sit down to write the acknowledgements for a book, it’s a few months after I have finished the manuscript and I always feel as if the story simply wrote itself. Maybe it’s a little like childbirth – for me, anyway, the pain of the actual process has all been forgotten due to the wonderful wholeness of the end product, be it babies or books. But of course, each book is nine months of very hard graft, partly due to the enormous amount of research needed to make it as factually correct as possible. However, each book is also a work of fiction based on fact, and very occasionally I have to use artistic license to fit around the plot. For example, in The Moon Sister, the 2008 full moon Tiggy sees when she ventures into the forest with Angelina actually happened three weeks later in real life. And it’s important to remember it is 2008 when Tiggy’s story takes place; so many huge changes occurred over the following ten years due to technological advances, and especially this year, for women’s equality.
Researching the rich gitano culture was also a challenge, due to the fact that very little is actually written down; the many mysteries of it are spread by word of mouth rather than the pen, and I am indebted to Oscar González for guiding me round Sacromonte. Also, to Sarah Douglas, Innes MacNeill, Ryan Munro and Julie Rutherford who made me so welcome at the extraordinary Alladale Estate in Scotland, on which Kinnaird is based. Both research trips were equally amazing and enlightening; as with all the sisters’ stories, I feel I have personally trodden the paths Tiggy takes in the story. Thanks also to Dr Mark Westwood and Rebecca Westwood, a Reiki Master, whose wonderful holistic veterinary practice provided inspiration for parts of Tiggy’s story.
The past year, due to ill health, has been my most challenging yet, and this book could not have been written without the back-up of my incredible team, both editorially and domestically: Ella Micheler, my research assistant, and Susan Moss, my copy-editor and best friend forever, have worked above and beyond to get this book out on time to the publishers. Olivia Riley, who coordinates all things admin, and Jacquelyn Heslop, have also been there for me personally and professionally and I am forever grateful for all their love and support.
My publishers around the world, particularly Jeremy Trevathan, Claudia Negele, Georg Reuchlein, Nana Vaz de Castro and Annalisa Lottini, who, apart from being fantastic publishers, have offered me friendship and belief in myself, as both a writer and a human being. My mother, Janet, my sister, Georgia, also Tracy Allebach-Dugan, Thila Bartolomru, Fernando Mercadante, Loen Fragoso, Julia Brahm, Bibi Marino, Tracy Blackwell, Stefano Guisler, Kathleen Doonan, Cathal Dineen, Tracy Rees, MJ Rose, Dan Booker, Ricky Burns, Juliette Hohnen and Tarquin Gorst – you have all been there for me in so many different ways.
To all the staff of The Royal Marsden Hospital, where I have spent much of the past year, and where parts of this book were written, particularly Asif Chaudry and his team, John Williams and his lovely girls, Joyce Twene-Dove and all the nurses who have cared for me so brilliantly. Believe it or not, I miss you all!
Finally, to my husband and agent, Stephen, and my children, Harry, Isabella, Leonora and Kit. We have all been on a frightening and eventful journey this year and each and every one of you has been there to give me the courage and strength to get through. I am so proud of you all and I honestly don’t know what I would do without you.
And to all my fantastic readers; if I have learnt one thing from the past year, it is that the moment is truly all we have. Try, if you can, to relish it, in whatever circumstances you find yourself, and never give up hope – it is the fundamental flame that keeps us human beings alive.
Lucinda Riley
June 2018
To discover the inspiration behind the series, including Greek mythology, the Pleiades star cluster and armillary spheres, please see Lucinda’s website http://lucindariley.co.uk/.
Also on the website is information on the real stories, places and people featured in this book: Alladale, a Highland estate; Carmen Amaya; The Caves of Sacromonte; Spanish gypsies and flamenco; and white stags.
The Moon Sister
Tiggy’s Story
Lucinda Riley was born in Ireland, and after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first book aged twenty-four. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages and sold over fifteen million copies worldwide. She is a Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author.
Lucinda is currently writing the Seven Sisters series, which tells the story of adopted sisters and is based allegorically on the mythology of the famous star constellation. The first three books, The Seven Sisters, The Storm Sister and The Shadow Sister, have all been No. 1 bestsellers across Europe, and the rights to a multi-season TV series have already been optioned by a Hollywood production company.
Also by Lucinda Riley
Hothouse Flower
The Girl on the Cliff
The Light Behind the Window
The Midnight Rose
The Italian Girl
The Angel Tree
The Olive Tree
The Love Letter
The Seven Sisters Series
The Seven Sisters
The Storm Sister
The Shadow Sister
The Pearl Sister
First published 2018 by Macmillan
This electronic edition published 2018 by Macmillan
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-5098-4012-0
Copyright © Lucinda Riley 2018
Figure © Darren Baker/Alamy
Background © Adrian Pope/Getty Images; Shutterstock
The right of Lucinda Riley to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Pan Macmillan does not have any control over, or any responsibility for, any author or third-party websites referred to in or on this book.
You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may
be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Visit www.panmacmillan.com to read more about all our books and to buy them. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events, and you can sign up for e-newsletters so that you’re always first to hear about our new releases.
The Moon Sister Page 61