Praise for
LINDA KAVANAGH
‘A genuinely gripping read’
—Irish Independent
‘Well worth a read for those who are looking for something gritty’
—Chick Lit Club
‘I was gripped’
—The Irish Mail on Sunday
‘A thrilling read’
—Ireland on Sunday
‘Dark, gritty and addictive’
—RTE Guide
‘A real page-turner’
—Sunday Life magazine
‘Unputdownable’
—The Afternoon Show
‘An intricate tale of love, betrayal and murder’
—Evening Echo
‘An imaginative and unusually plotted novel’
—Books Ireland
Bestselling Irish author LINDA KAVANAGH has always wanted to write novels. She wrote her first at age eight, about two dogs who tried to go into space in a dustbin! She is now the author of seven novels and is a former journalist who has worked for various Irish newspapers and magazines. She lives in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
www.mirabooks.co.uk
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Sincere thanks to editor Sally Williamson and all the team at MIRA, to my wonderful agent Lorella Belli, for her support and belief in me, and especially to all my readers who have already made my previous novels bestsellers in Ireland.
Table of Contents
Cover
Praise for LINDA KAVANAGH
About the Author
Title Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Interview with: LINDA KAVANAGH
Extract
Endpages
Copyright
Chapter 1
A minute ago, everything had been fine in Ivy Heartley’s life. Now her worst nightmare was coming true.
She’d been smiling happily as she’d opened the email from her sister-in-law, who was also a lifelong friend. She loved Peggy’s newsy letters, filled with gossip about the village where they’d both grown up, and where Peggy still lived. Her emails had the ability to bring everything to life, and Ivy could almost see the events she described unfolding before her very eyes.
Ivy had been chuckling as she read what had happened the previous week in the Lincolnshire village of Willow Haven. Peggy told her about the fund-raising drive for a new roof for the church, the disastrous garden party at the vicarage, and the thief who’d raided the church’s allotment. She’d been concerned to hear that Mrs Evans had just had a hip-replacement operation, and glad that her old school friend Clara Bellingham had got engaged to Bill Huggins from Allcott, a nearby town.
Ivy regularly visited Willow Haven. She and her husband – Peggy’s brother – had left as soon as they’d finished school, and moved to London where Ivy studied at RADA. Now, almost twenty years later, they were both very successful in their respective careers, and Joseph, their son, was at university. She was a highly paid soap star, and Danny was founder and managing director of the Betterbuys supermarket chain. Their tiny rented flat in London was now a distant memory, and today they lived in a luxurious mansion in Sussex.
Ivy stretched, and decided to make herself a cup of tea before she continued reading Peggy’s long email. While she boiled the kettle and placed a tea bag in a cup, she’d revel in the anticipation. She smiled as she thought of the garden party at the vicarage – those occasions were usually cringe-worthy, and she’d attended more of them than she cared to remember. As a celebrity, she was often called upon to open fêtes or lend a touch of glamour to community social events.
Returning to the computer, Ivy sat down again and scrolled through Peggy’s email as she sipped her tea, reading about Peggy’s husband Ned and family, and about her father-in-law Fred Heartley’s high blood pressure. Peggy kept a close eye on him, for which Ivy was grateful, since she and Danny were hundreds of miles away.
Suddenly, Ivy’s heart gave a lurch as she read Peggy’s final words. Since the village has been expanding so much lately, there are plans afoot for draining Harper’s Lake. The space will be used for landfill, which means that eventually the land could be built on. Ned thinks it’s a crazy idea, but the local council has voted in favour of it.
Ivy’s hands were now shaking, and she could no longer hold the cup. Putting it down, she covered her face with her hands. “Oh God,” she whispered, “what am I going to do?” The past was finally catching up with her. The secret she’d kept hidden for most of her adult life was now about to destroy her. And not just her alone, but her entire family. Her career would be over, Danny would hate her for what she’d done. And Joseph – how would he react when he discovered his mother’s heinous secret? Peggy, too, would want nothing to do with her. And all because she hadn’t told the truth all those years ago.
Ivy found herself shaking from head to toe. If the Council’s plan went ahead, the ripples from the lake would spread out and devastate many lives in the process. Just as they had on that fateful day when her own life had changed forever.
Chapter 2
Rosa Dalton was sitting at her desk in the classroom, busy writing in the front page of one of her schoolbooks, her fluffy blonde hair almost touching the desk as she leaned over it. Class hadn’t yet begun, and she was deeply absorbed in what she was doing, which was writing her name as Rosa Heartley over and over again.
Everyone in the school knew that sixteen-year-old Rosa was crazy about Danny Heartley, and dreamed of marrying him and living happily ever after. He attended the local boys’ school and was in the same class as Rosa and her friends. Every day she’d wait outside the girls’ school in the hopes of engaging him in conversation when he passed by on his way home. But despite Danny’s disinterest, Rosa refused to accept defeat. If Danny would only ask her out, she’d show him what a wonderful girlfriend – and later, wife – she could be. She just needed the opportunity!
As the teacher arrived, Clara Bellingham, who was sitting behind Rosa, gave her a warning dig in the
back, and Rosa quickly hid the book she’d been writing in. Flashing Clara a grateful smile, she got out the correct book and turned to the page the teacher called out. It was Geometry today, and Rosa was bored before the class even began. All she could think of was Danny Heartley and his flashing eyes, and the shock of unruly blond hair that fell across his left eye.
“This morning, we’re going to look at isosceles and equilateral triangles – please turn to page 47 of your texts,” Mrs Jones announced, but Rosa heard nothing. She didn’t see the value of all this theory – after all, when she and Danny were married, they weren’t going to be discussing geometry over the breakfast table, were they?
As the teacher droned on about the importance of understanding the concepts of angles, equal and unequal sides, Rosa had a dreamy look on her face. Geometry had no place in her world view, and she regarded it as just another torment thought up by adults to keep young people from enjoying themselves.
She was having a lovely daydream about being married to Danny when the teacher noticed her gazing out the window with a faraway look in her eyes.
“Rosa Dalton, explain what I’ve just been talking about.” Mrs Jones had a triumphant gleam in her eye. She’d caught Rosa out, and she intended to make the most of it.
At first Rosa didn’t answer because she was too absorbed in her daydream, but the sudden silence and tittering at the back of the classroom gradually began to filter through to her consciousness and she glanced around, only to see Mrs Jones bearing down on her.
“Oh …”
“Stand up and repeat what I’ve just been explaining to the class for the last fifteen minutes.”
“Oh er, I’m sorry, Mrs Jones,” Rosa faltered, “I – I’m –”
“She didn’t recognise her name, Mrs Jones!” shouted one of the girls at the back of the room. “If you’d called her Rosa Heartley, she’d have answered straight away!”
The classroom dissolved into laughter since everyone knew about Rosa’s feelings for Danny Heartley. Angrily, Mrs Jones called for order as she returned to the podium.
“Sit down, you silly girl,” she said haughtily to an embarrassed Rosa. “You’d better buck up and pay attention if you want to get decent exam results. There’s more to life than boys, you know.”
The other pupils began to snigger at the mention of boys, and Rosa turned puce.
Ivy Morton, who was sitting at the back of the class, felt sorry for her. Rosa was a daydreamer, but she had a bubbly personality and was fun to be with. Although they’d never been close friends, she and Rosa hung out with the same group of boys, and Rosa was usually the centre of attention because of her outrageous jokes and coquettish behaviour. It was impossible to dislike her, even though she always tried to outshine all the other girls and focus the boys’ attention solely on her. She had a presence and a sense of her own importance and Ivy, who desperately wanted to be an actress when she left school, often wondered if Rosa wasn’t more suited to the profession than she was.
Rosa heaved a sigh of relief as the teacher began the lesson again. She tried to look nonchalant and unaffected by the teacher’s comments – she didn’t want anyone thinking she cared about what Mrs Jones had to say. On the other hand, she was well aware that she needed to knuckle down and start studying. But it was difficult when Danny Heartley occupied so much of her thoughts …
Since childhood, Rosa had wanted to be a flight attendant, and she’d never tired of telling anyone who’d listen that she hoped to work for one of the big airlines. Everyone assured her that with her personality and looks she’d be a shoo-in, and in her dreams Danny was always waiting at the airport to welcome her home from the exotic locations she’d been visiting. He’d be so proud of his high-flying wife …
Rosa sighed. But first, she had to catch Danny, and convince him that she was the girl for him. She couldn’t understand what he saw in shy, mousey Ivy Morton, who’d never amount to anything. Much to Rosa’s annoyance, Danny was always trying to talk to Ivy, and she always ended up laughing at his antics as he tried to get her attention.
Rosa was relieved that Ivy didn’t seem to return his feelings – or was the minx playing hard to get? Rosa’s heart plummeted at the thought that Ivy might simply be pretending indifference in order to snare Danny. If Ivy started going out with him, Rosa knew she’d never live down the shame. Since everyone knew how much she fancied Danny, the other students would either feel sorry for her, or be delighted she’d got her comeuppance. Either way, she wouldn’t be able to face them day after day in school. If only she’d kept her feelings for Danny to herself! But she’d confided in a supposedly trustworthy friend, who’d told her own circle of friends, and suddenly the whole school knew about it. Before long, everyone in the boys’ school knew too. But ultimately, all the embarrassment would be worth it if she and Danny finally got together …
Suddenly the school bell rang, and Rosa was catapulted back to reality. She sighed with relief – another day of torment was over.
Clara nudged her. “Are we going to the lake?”
Rosa nodded. This was the most important part of the day, and a rite of passage for pupils in both the boys’ and girls’ senior school years.
“See you in five,” she whispered, hurrying out of the classroom and down the corridor to the school toilets. She needed to check her hair, apply some discreet make-up and lip-gloss, and dab on some of the perfume she’d sneaked from her mother’s dressing table. Hopefully, Danny Heartley would be at the lake too …
Chapter 3
“Hmmm, you smell gorgeous.”
Danny Heartley, fresh from his shower, nuzzled the back of his wife’s neck as she finished her make-up at the dressing table.
They were going to an important dinner and charity auction that evening, where the important people of the business world and minor nobility would be rubbing shoulders. Despite being a charity event, many lucrative business deals would also be concluded while the patrons were bidding ridiculously high sums of money for the ridiculously cheap items on offer, all in the name of flaunting their wealth.
“What are you wearing tonight?”
“I thought the long blue dress – what do you think?”
Danny grinned as he towelled himself dry. “I don’t know why you bother asking me, my dear, because you take absolutely no heed of my opinion anyway!”
Ivy smiled back. He was right, but she still liked to ask his opinion, and she’d never wear anything he positively disliked.
Danny leaned forward and kissed her hair. “Whatever you wear, you’ll look stunning,” he whispered. “I’m so proud of my beautiful – and talented – wife.”
Ivy smiled back at him, but he didn’t notice the shadow of fear that had crossed her face as she wondered how long things might remain that way.
“Are you bidding on anything tonight?” she asked him, trying to sound cheerful.
“I suppose I’ll have to – it’s expected of me at this stage. I might bid on that awful painting by your friend Anton. If I’m unlucky enough to make the winning bid, I’ll donate it to the children’s hospital.”
Ivy laughed. “I don’t think Anton should give up the day job.”
Danny nodded, looking amused. “You’re right – I think he should stick to acting. Talking of which, did you say that Anton, Emily, Sarah and Dominic are coming for dinner on Saturday night?”
Ivy nodded. Normally, she’d be looking forward to an evening of shoptalk and gossip with her fellow actors. They were all cast members of Bright Lights, a hugely popular soap opera that aired five nights a week. Their schedule was gruelling, but it had made them all stars, paid them substantial salaries, and given them the adulation of millions of fans.
Luckily, Danny never felt out of place in their company, nor did he mind when they started talking about people he didn’t know. But then Danny was a very successful businessman in his own right, and could hold his own in any company. He had nothing to prove to anyone, and he never felt remotely int
imidated by the celebrities at his table.
As she brushed her hair, Ivy recalled their flight from Willow Haven all those years ago. While she’d trained at RADA, Danny had worked in a supermarket to pay for their accommodation and living costs. Since his flair and ideas were responsible for substantially increasing the company’s turnover, he quickly climbed the ladder to senior management.
But Danny had always wanted to be his own boss. He hadn’t wanted to run a small shop like his father’s – his aim was to establish a chain of supermarkets offering something different from all the others. By the time Ivy was treading the boards in West End shows, they were able to afford a full-time nanny for young Joseph, and Danny was able to put down a deposit on a small supermarket that was going out of business. He’d had a hard time convincing the bank that despite his youth he could resurrect the failing venture but eventually he succeeded, and before long he’d acquired a second store. Then a third. Now, Betterbuys was the second largest supermarket chain in the UK, built up by offering the consumer organic and cruelty-free produce at reasonable prices, running regular lines of special offers, and paying his suppliers fairly, which ensured their cooperation and a constant supply of top-quality produce.
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