First and foremost I thank my agent, Judith Murdoch, who took a chance on an absolute beginner; her sound advice and encouragement got me this far. Thanks, Judith, for keeping the faith. I am also extremely grateful to the team at HoZ/Aria for their friendly guidance, particularly my fantastic editors, Sarah Ritherdon and Rose Fox, proof-reader Sue Lamprell and team member Vicky Joss; what a difference a sharp eye and a broad vocabulary makes to any story.
My love and sincere thanks to my son, Charles, and his wife, Martina, whose IT skills rescued me on numerous occasions, and to Paul and Annemarie Downey, June Shields and Elizabeth Rice for reading and patiently listening to me as I waffled on. Thanks to Andrew Downey and my brother, John Manion, for keeping me right with their local knowledge of the Colne Valley, and to Matthew and Jack Downey for keeping the gardens under control and my grandson Harry for simply making me happy.
This story and all the main characters, places and events are entirely fictitious.