I did not recognise him. Mother most certainly did. Her hand fluttered to her mouth. 'Oh dear God,' she said. 'Thomas, is it you?'
I half stood up in my seat as the stranger caught Mother as she fell in a complete faint. 'I am sorry I missed the ceremony, Sarah,' my father said as he smiled directly to me.
I heard Charles deep chuckle even as I held out my arms. 'How? What happened?'
'Quite simple my dear daughter,' Mr Howard said. 'Charles told me that the French may have killed or captured your father, and I had French prisoners. I found that the French still held Mr Bembridge and arranged the exchange.'
'Merry Christmas, Mother,' I said softly, knowing that she was too engrossed in her husband to hear me.
There is not much more to say in my strange little tale of how I married three husbands in the same year. In September of 1804 we called out first child Charlotte Longstone Durand. The following year we created Kitty Longstone Durand and in 1806 Adam Longstone Durand decided to join us. People have asked us if the name Longstone related to Charles' home in Guernsey. We only smile and say nothing but every year on a certain day, and often just when we feel like it, we take a night-time trip to the Longstone to verify our love for each other. I always pray for mist on such occasions, and occasionally my prayers are answered.
Oh, and I nearly forgot to add that Kitty found herself a decent husband as well, and produced an extensive litter of little Kitties. One of the prettiest has taken quite a fancy to my son, so all sorts of things may transpire in the future.
And with that I must take my leave of you.
Sarah Bembridge Durand
Limestone Manor
Isle of Wight.
July 1816.
Historical Note
There was no French raid on the Isle of Wight in 1803, although the whole of Great Britain was waiting for a French invasion. The country was filled with units of Volunteers and Militia, ready to augment the regular army if the French did manage to elude the Royal Navy and land an army in Britain.
The Long Stone does exist in Wight. It is much as described in this book, easily accessed by a footpath off the B3399, slightly to the west of Mottistone Manor. It is the only standing stone on Wight and has the alternative name of the Mottistone, which could be a Saxon name meaning 'the stone of the speakers'.
The mansions of Knighton Hazard and Limestone Manor did not exist until I transferred them from my imagination to the pages of this book. The chapel that I placed at Knighton Hazard is not situated in Wight, but it does exist. I found one similar in Duff House at Banff in Scotland, complete with the square dimensions and the twin portraits, and I thought it too good not to use. The chapel in Duff House is used for marriages and has no history of separations.
Wight was indeed the home of smugglers and fishermen at this time in its history, and smugglers often brought home French brandy, despite the two countries being at war. The law of supply and demand superseded the political legality of war.
Sarah, Kitty, Molly, Charles and even Mr Howard are all completely fictitious. I hope you enjoyed meeting them half as much as I enjoyed creating them.
Loads of love
Helen Susan Swift
Also by the Author
Dark Mountain
Dark Voyage
The Handfasters
The Malvern Mystery
The Tweedie Passion
A Turn of Cards
Women of Scotland
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Sarah's Story Page 17