Electra was the youngest of my siblings and her name suited her perfectly. By now, I was used to little babies and their demands, but my youngest sister was without doubt the most challenging of them all. Everything about her was electric; her innate ability to switch in an instant from dark to light and vice versa meant that our previously calm home rang daily with high-pitched screams. Her temper-tantrums resonated through my childhood consciousness and as she grew older, her fiery personality did not mellow.
Privately, Ally, Tiggy and I had our own nickname for her; she was known among the three of us as ‘Tricky’. We all walked on eggshells around her, wishing to do nothing to set off a lightning change of mood. I can honestly say there were moments when I loathed her for the disruption she brought to Atlantis.
And yet, when Electra knew one of us was in trouble, she was the first to offer help and support. Just as she was capable of huge selfishness, her generosity on other occasions was equally pronounced.
After Electra, the entire household was expecting the arrival of the Seventh Sister. After all, we’d been named after Pa Salt’s favourite star cluster and we wouldn’t be complete without her. We even knew her name – Merope – and wondered who she would be. But a year went past, and then another, and another, and no more babies arrived home with our father.
I remember vividly standing with him once in his observatory. I was fourteen years old and just on the brink of womanhood. We were waiting for an eclipse, which he’d told me was a seminal moment for humankind and usually brought change with it.
‘Pa,’ I said, ‘will you ever bring home our seventh sister?’
At this, his strong, protective bulk had seemed to freeze for a few seconds. He’d looked suddenly as though he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Although he didn’t turn around, for he was still concentrating on training the telescope on the coming eclipse, I knew instinctively that what I’d said had distressed him.
‘No, Maia, I won’t. Because I have never found her.’
As the familiar thick hedge of spruce trees, which shielded our waterside home from prying eyes, came into view, I saw Marina standing on the jetty and the dreadful truth of losing Pa finally began to sink in.
And I realised that the man who had created the kingdom in which we had all been his princesses was no longer present to hold the enchantment in place.
Praise for The Midnight Rose
‘I finished The Midnight Rose on the flight back, and I loved it! What an absolutely fantastic storyteller – I was immediately immersed in the story, and absolutely compelled to keep reading to the very last page . . . A real treat’
Katherine Webb
‘Irish-born Riley is quietly becoming a huge success story’
Red
‘A captivating read from Lucinda Riley. Ideal for a book club’
Daily Mail
‘Spellbinding storytelling’
Choice
‘A strong, often nostalgic offering’
Daily Express Weekend
‘Romantic fiction at its most captivating’
Lancashire Evening Post
‘This is a beautifully written story that captures the imagination’
Shropshire Star
Praise for The Light Behind the Window
‘A fast-paced, suspenseful story flitting between the present day and World War II . . . Brilliant escapism’
Red
‘A beautifully written book that secures Riley’s authorial status and proves that her golden penmanship is no mere fluke . . . This is the perfect literary novel to move those readers who wish for something more fulfilling than chick-lit, yet just as entertaining, witty and heart-stopping. The language is dramatic yet truthful and Riley has such a delicate touch with mystery and intrigue that it’s difficult to predict where the plot is going . . . Riley’s descriptive nuances are so evocative, a TV drama is bound to be imminent. A literal and literary page-turner’
We Love This Book
‘Just sink in and wallow’
Kate Saunders, Saga
‘Yet again, I have been totally entertained by another great story that is well-written with an intricate plot that is multi-layered but tied together so well . . . I became really emotionally attached to these characters . . . This novel really is a joy to read, expertly woven together and mixing social history with family dramas and love and relationships – the perfect blend’
Random Things Through My Letterbox
Praise for The Girl on the Cliff
‘[Lucinda Riley] manipulates the strands of her plot with skill’
Independent on Sunday
‘An emotionally charged saga . . . Riley is a writer to watch’
Sunday Express
‘Lucinda Riley knows how to write a captivating novel . . . it’s layered, it’s intricate, it’s just brilliant . . . a truly brilliant read’
Chick Lit Reviews
‘[A] haunting and engrossing new novel . . . superb characterization, atmospheric locations and a well-paced narrative keep the pages turning and the imagination in thrall . . . perceptive, warm and exquisitely wrought, The Girl on the Cliff is another triumph for a talented author’
Burnley Express
‘An enchanting and mysterious story of hope after loss, populated with warm characters’
Candis
Praise for Hothouse Flower
‘Atmospheric, heart-rending and multi-layered’
Grazia
‘Romantic, revealing and rich in heart-rending emotion and atmospheric detail . . . could well be the pick of Richard and Judy’s spring bunch’
Lancashire Post
‘The parallel stories have many layers, and the characters are touching and very humane, which makes this page-turner a perfect beach read’
Elle
‘This romance novel conjures up the past in an imaginative way’
Star
‘It’s a great story, full of atmosphere’
Bookbag
The Angel Tree
Lucinda Riley was born in Ireland and wrote her first book aged 24. Her novel Hothouse Flower (also called The Orchid House) was selected for the UK’s Richard and Judy Book Club in 2011 and went on to sell two million copies worldwide. She is a multiple New York Times bestselling author and her books have reached number one in a number of European countries. Her stories are currently translated into 28 languages and published in 38 countries.
She lives with her husband and four children in the English countryside and in the South of France.
Also by Lucinda Riley
Hothouse Flower
The Girl on the Cliff
The Light Behind the Window
The Midnight Rose
The Italian Girl
The Seven Sisters Series
The Seven Sisters
The Storm Sister
First published as Not Quite an Angel 1995 by Simon & Schuster
This revised and updated edition first published 2015 by Pan Books
This electronic edition published 2015 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-4472-8845-9
Copyright © Lucinda Edmonds 1995
Revised edition copyright © Lucinda Riley 2015
Cover Images: gate © Paul Bucknall / Arcangel, tree and sky © 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, rec
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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