Weyward(99)

‘No. There’s no Kate living here,’ he said, though the set of his mouth told Violet he was lying. There was something cold in his voice. It made her think of Frederick.

She began to apologise, flustered – but he shut the door before she could get the words out.

Later, in the car, Violet realised why he looked familiar.

He was the cruel-faced man from her dream long ago, with the golden hair and livid eyes.

The world fell away as she realised.

She’d glimpsed two events from Kate’s future, not one – the car accident that killed her father and then, many years later, the meeting of this man. The man who wanted to – perhaps already had – hurt her.

Just like her mother before her, Violet had thought she could change the course of the future as easily as tearing out the pages of a book. She’d thought she could save her great-niece.

She’d been wrong.

She hadn’t saved Kate from anything.

But Violet was determined to make things right, while she still had breath in her body.

The day after her trip to London, she made an appointment to see a solicitor. It was past time she made a will.

At the solicitor’s office, she remembered the bee brooch she had given to Kate when she was small. Perhaps Kate had lost it; perhaps she didn’t even remember Violet – the eccentric old woman she’d met only once. The woman who had disappeared from her life, all those years ago.

But now Violet could make amends. She would give Kate her legacy.

She would give her a new life. Away from him.

‘When the time comes,’ she instructed her solicitor. ‘Make sure you speak to my great-niece directly.’

The light was fading outside. She squinted at her watch: it was half past ten already. Who knew where the last hour had gone. Time was funny like that, Violet thought. Speeding up and slowing down at the strangest of moments. Sometimes, she had the odd sensation that her whole life was happening at once.

Violet took off her necklace and put it on the bedside table. She rolled over onto her side, facing the window. The sun was disappearing behind the sycamore tree now, turning the garden red and gold. She closed her eyes and listened to the chatter of the crows. She was so tired. Darkness pulled at her, gentle as a lover.

She felt something brush her hand and opened her eyes. It was a damselfly, its wings fiery with the sunset. How pretty.

Her eyelids drooped. But something was tugging at her, keeping her awake.

Sighing, she sat up in bed. Reaching over to the bedside table, she tore a piece of paper out from her notebook. She hesitated for a while, thinking of what to write. Best keep it simple, she thought. To the point.

She scrawled the sentence down quickly, then rolled up the paper and put it inside the locket of her necklace.

She stowed the necklace safely in her jewellery box. Just in case.





The connections between and among women are the most feared, the most problematic, and the most potentially transforming force on the planet.

Adrienne Rich





Acknowledgements


When I was seventeen, finishing my final year of high school, my English teacher took me aside. ‘Whatever you do’, she said, eyes bright with passion, ‘promise me you’ll keep writing.’

Mrs Halliday, I’ve kept my promise. Thank you so much for nurturing my love of stories. I’ve taken the liberty of naming one of my characters in your honour. I hope you don’t mind.

Felicity Blunt, my brilliant agent: your email changed my life. Thank you for making this a better novel, and for making me a better writer. Much gratitude to everyone else at Curtis Brown – particularly foreign rights marvels, Jake Smith-Bosanquet and Tanja Goossens. Thank you also to Sarah Harvey and Caoimhe White. Many thanks also to Rosie Pierce for her endless support and patience.

Alexandra Machinist, my US agent – I’ll never forget that incredible phone call in March 2021. Thank you so much for your support.

Carla Josephson and Sarah Cantin: I couldn’t have wished for better editors. I so treasure our working relationship, and the magic you’ve worked on this novel. It has been an absolute joy.

Thank you to everyone at Borough Press and St. Martin’s. I have been privileged to have such incredible teams on both sides of the pond. So many talented people have worked so hard on Weyward. At Borough Press, a huge thank you to my lovely publicist, Amber Ivatt, and to Sarah Shea, Maddy Marshall, Izzy Coburn, Sarah Munro and Alice Gomer in sales and marketing. Thank you to Claire Ward for the stunning UK jacket design. Thank you also to Andrew Davis for the incredible proof design and book trailer. In production, thank you to Charles Light and Sophie Waeland.

At St Martin’s, I’m particularly grateful to Jennifer Enderlin, Liza Senz, Anne Marie Tallberg, Drue VanDuker and Sallie Lotz. Thank you also to my incredible marketing and publicity team: Katie Bassel, Marissa Sangiacomo, Kejana Ayala. Thank you to Tom Thompson and Kim Ludlam for the beautiful ARC design and graphics. In production, thank you to Lizz Blaise, Kiffin Steurer, Lena Shekhter and Jen Edwards. Thank you so much to Michael Storrings for my gorgeous US jacket design.

I’m also very grateful to my excellent copy-editors, Amber Burlinson and Lani Meyer.

I’m hugely grateful to everyone at Curtis Brown Creative, but especially Suzannah Dunn, my incredible tutor; Anna Davis; Jennifer Kerslake; Jack Hadley and Katie Smart. And, of course, my lovely fellow students – thank you for your wonderful feedback and support.