A Midwinter Promise
Page 42
‘Of course, we don’t know what happened,’ Lala said sadly.
‘There’s nothing on the autopsy report about a pregnancy,’ Johnnie said. ‘They would have noticed if she’d been three months pregnant, surely. So perhaps it was all in her mind. If that’s what caused her to do it.’
Lala looked agonised. ‘I feel so terrible about it. If she did imagine it, she should never have had cause if she hadn’t slept with David. That was my idea. I told her to do it if she wanted to save her marriage.’ Tears sprang to her eyes. ‘And look what happened.’
‘Everybody can blame themselves,’ Alex said softly. ‘Pa did. Sally did, a bit. But no one knew what might happen. Hindsight makes everything obvious, but it wasn’t at the time.’
‘No. You’re right.’ Lala sighed. ‘But regret is a terrible thing.’
Johnnie said, ‘We can’t change it. We can only learn.’ He pointed to a small flowering cherry just near the lake, its young trunk still protected by meshing. ‘We planted that in memory of Mum.’
Lala smiled. ‘That’s lovely.’
Johnnie looked over the gardens and up towards the house. ‘Everything we do here is for her. Even just trying to be happy.’
Lala looked at Alex and Johnnie. ‘She would have been very proud of you, you know. She would have said you made her existence worthwhile. What a shame she has missed all of this – you, the house, the grandchildren. But I can still hear her laugh and see her smile. She will never be forgotten. She’ll always be here.’
They looked out over the water one last time, and then turned to walk back towards the house.
Acknowledgements
Thank you, as always, to everyone at Pan Macmillan: my marvellous and very supportive editor, Wayne Brookes; Alex Saunders, who is always unflustered, patient and endlessly helpful; and the wise and wonderful Jeremy Trevathan. Also to Alex Lloyd from Pan Australia, whose suggestions were so helpful and whose enthusiasm meant so much. You are a wonderful team and great fun to work with.
My thanks to Rosie Wilson, my fab publicist; Lucy Wai, who masterminds the marketing; and Stuart Dwyer and his team who get the all-important sales. Thank you to Neil Lang for another beautiful cover. I am so grateful to everyone in-house.
Huge thanks to Lorraine Green, who copy-edited with so much skill and sensitivity. Your encouragement, good humour and understanding mean so much.
Thank you to Mandy Greenfield, who proofread, and Samantha Fletcher at Pan Macmillan, who desk-edited. We can’t do without these dedicated, precise and painstaking people, who make the books so polished and complete.
Special thanks go to Maddalena Cavaciuti for her sensitive reading, incisive editorial suggestions and heartfelt encouragement.
Thanks as always to my superstar agent, Lizzy Kremer, at David Higham Associates, and her team: Harriet Moore and Maddalena Cavaciuti. I don’t know what I’d do without you.
Love as always to the SWANS – the South West authors who celebrate books, toast success and offer comfort in the dark times.
I’m very grateful to the staff of D’Urberville in Sherborne, who provided such delicious coffee, cake and a calm, welcoming environment while I was doing my rewrites.
Thank you to Paul Laikin for reading the first draft and giving me a warm, thoughtful and helpful critique, and to my mother, Kate Adams, for sending me the inspiration for Julia’s illness.
Lots of love and thanks to James, Barney and Tabby, and to my friends and family for their support. I couldn’t do it without you all – readers, book-buyers, bookshops, festival-goers and followers on social media. Thank you seems too small a phrase.
Lulu Taylor
Dorset 2019
THE WINTER CHILDREN
Behind a selfless act of kindness lie dark intentions . . .
Olivia and Dan Felbeck’s dreams of a family are finally fulfilled on the birth of their twins. The longed-for babies mark a new and happy stage in their lives.
Soon after, Dan’s oldest friend, Francesca, offers them the chance to live at Renniston Hall, an Elizabethan house she is renovating. They can stay rent-free in a small part of the unmodernised house, which was once a girls’ boarding school.
The couple accept, and just as they are enjoying the family life that they have craved for so long, Francesca arrives at the Hall and doesn’t seem to want to leave. What exactly happened between Dan and Francesca years ago at Cambridge? As Olivia wonders how well she knows her husband, she starts to suspect that her perfect life could be built on a lie.
Meanwhile, Renniston Hall holds dark mysteries of its own, and slowly the old house starts to surrender its long-held secrets . . .
Praise for Lulu Taylor
‘I raced through this gripping tale about secrets and lies and long-buried emotions bubbling explosively to the surface’
DAILY MAIL
THE SNOW ROSE
I know they think I shouldn’t keep her . . . That’s why I’ve escaped them while I can, while I still have the opportunity . . .
Kate is on the run with her daughter Heather, her identity hidden and their destination unknown to the family they’ve left behind. She’s found a place where they can live in solitude, a grand old house full of empty rooms and dark secrets. But they’re not alone, for there are the strange old ladies in the cottage next door: Matty and her sister Sissy. They know what happened here long ago, and are curious about Kate. How long can she hide Heather’s presence from them?
When an eccentric band of newcomers arrive, led by the charismatic Archer, Kate realises that the past she’s so desperate to escape is about to catch up with her. And inside the house, history is beginning to repeat itself . . .
Praise for Lulu Taylor
‘Pure indulgence and perfect reading for a dull January evening’
SUN
HER FROZEN HEART
Caitlyn, there’s something I have to tell you. About Sara.
Caitlyn thinks her marriage to Patrick is a success. For one thing, he is one of the few people not to fall head over heels for her beautiful friend, Sara. Life is lived on his terms, but they are happy. Aren’t they?
When a devastating accident turns her existence upside down, Caitlyn is forced to reassess her marriage, what she truly knows about Patrick, and his real feelings for her best friend. In the refuge of an old manor house, she begins to discover the truth.
At Kings Harcourt Manor in 1947, the worst winter in decades hits England, cutting the inhabitants off entirely. For Tommy Carter, widowed at the start of the war, it is particularly hard: the burden of the family falls on her. She has the solace of her children, and the interesting presence of her brother’s friend, Fred. But there is also Barbara, a mysterious figure from her past who appears to want a piece of Tommy’s future as well.
Praise for Lulu Taylor
‘Interesting characters, well researched detail and a dash of romance. Perfect for a winter’s eve’
SUNDAY MIRROR
THE WINTER SECRET
‘My dear boy, the place is cursed. It always has been and it always will be . . .’
Buttercup Redmain has a life of pampered luxury, living in beautiful Charcombe Park. Her older husband, Charles, is wealthy and successful, and proud of the house he has painstakingly restored. Buttercup is surrounded by people who make her life delightfully easy. But the one thing she really wants seems impossible.
There are other discomforting realities: her husband’s ex-wife Ingrid still lives nearby, although Buttercup has never met her. And it soon becomes clear that all the people who make Buttercup’s life so carefree are also watching her every move. Does she actually live in a comfortable but inescapable cage? And what is the real story of her husband’s previous marriage?
Xenia Arkadyoff once lived in Charcombe Park with her father, a Russian prince, and her mother, a famous film star. Life seemed charmed, full of glamour and beauty. But behind the glittering facade lay pain, betrayal and the truth about the woman Xenia spent her life prot
ecting.
Now Charcombe Park is calling back people who were once part of its story, and the secrets that have stayed long hidden are bubbling inexorably to the surface . . .
Praise for Lulu Taylor
‘Don’t you just want to grab this, switch off the phone and curl up on the sofa? Winter bliss from Lulu Taylor’
Veronica Henry, top ten bestselling author of
Christmas at the Beach Hut
Praise for Lulu Taylor
‘Don’t you just want to grab this, switch off the phone and curl up on the sofa? Winter bliss from Lulu Taylor’ Veronica Henry, top ten bestselling author of
Christmas at the Beach Hut
‘Pure indulgence and perfect reading for a dull January evening’
Sun
‘Told across both timelines, this easy read has a sting in the tale’
Sunday Mirror
‘Utterly compelling. A really excellent winter’s story’
Lucy Diamond
‘I raced through this gripping tale about secrets and lies and long-buried emotions bubbling explosively to the surface’
Daily Mail
‘Wonderfully written . . . this indulgent read is totally irresistible’
Closer
‘A creepy story of obsession and deception. Very chilling’
Irish Sunday Mirror
‘A gripping psychological thriller’
Essentials Magazine
‘This is a fantastic, all-consuming read’
Heat
‘[A] gripping story’
Hello!
‘The cold, snowy cover and winter setting make this a great stocking filler for your mum or sister’
thelittlewildwoodkitchen.com
‘The book is full of mystery and intrigue, successfully keeping me guessing until the very end . . . An evocative read, full of dramatic secrets that will make the reader gasp’
www.novelicious.com
‘A poignant, sophisticated and romantic love story’
www.handwrittengirl.com
About the Author
Lulu Taylor’s first novel, Heiresses, was nominated for the RNA Readers’ Choice award, and she has gone on to write many more well-received books. With The Winter Children, The Snow Rose, Her Frozen Heart and The Winter Secret, she became a Sunday Times top ten bestseller. After many years in London, she now lives in Dorset with her husband and two children.
www.lulutaylor.co.uk
@misslulutaylor
By Lulu Taylor
Heiresses
Midnight Girls
Beautiful Creatures
Outrageous Fortune
The Winter Folly
The Snow Angel
The Winter Children
The Snow Rose
Her Frozen Heart
The Winter Secret
A Midwinter Promise
First published 2019 by Pan Books
This electronic edition published 2019 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
The Smithson, 6 Briset Street, London EC1M 5NR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-5290-2966-6
Copyright © Lulu Taylor 2019
Cover Design © Neil Lang, Pan Macmillan Art Department
Cover Images: Main image © Shutterstock
Gate © Trevillion Images
The right of Lulu Taylor 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.