Karen Aldous - One Moment At Sunrise

Author Bio KAREN ALDOUS enjoys village life on the edge of the North Downs in Kent with easy access to the buzz of London. Not only does she love the passive pleasures of reading and writing but also craves the more active pursuits of walking, cycling and skiing – especially when they involve family, friends, food… and wine! Much of Karen’s inspiration comes from her travels. The UK, France, Switzerland and the USA are just some of the places you’ll be transported to in her books, but wherever she goes, new characters invite themselves into ‘Karen’s World’ screaming at her to tell their stories; strong independent women who are capable of directing their own lives – but struggle to control them… especially when temptation strikes! As a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and The Write Place, Karen feels she owes so much of her success to the love and support of her fellow writers. You can follow Karen on Twitter at: @KarenAldous_

Acknowledgement From a few simple words on the internet, the obsession grew to tell the French-Pyrenean peasant women’s story and how they became involved in Pierre-Paul Riquet’s vision for the beauty that is now the Canal du Midi. For all her meticulous research, I heartily thank Chandra Mukerji for her academic work Impossible Engineering ; a theoretically significant study which provided such insight and knowledge so as to allow me to spread further recognition for the peasant women’s genius and involvement in such a monumental project. For Mike and George Slee, a special mention and thanks for kindly taking time out to read and offer expertise. I’m just sorry you didn’t get the whisky before having to suffer that first draft. And of course, to my lovely editor, Charlotte Mursell, and the team at HQ Digital, HarperCollins – a huge, huge thanks for all your patience and support.

Dedication With love Macy, Hayden, Spencer and Penelope

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Excerpt

Endpages

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

Evie Grant stamped her foot on the pedal, the wheels of her bicycle whirring through the silence of the Canal du Midi dawn.

‘Why do I always let Seb Wilde call the shots?’ she muttered through gritted teeth. Canal boats slumbered as she approached the Capestang Bridge, even the calm waters reflecting gold-crimson hues from the early morning sky failed to comfort her. She swiped another tear and, stretching out a leg to balance, almost kicked over a plastic bollard. She groaned, thinking how many times he had broken promises before, and as she thrust her foot again on the pedal, a vision of Seb’s face screamed beneath.

She clicked down two gears and sped up the bank, gaining momentum as she mounted the bank. As she reached the bridge, she peered up. But too late. In front of her appeared enormous black shire horses. Two of them were hurtling straight into her path, their hooves deafening as they struck the surface of the bridge. Instinctively, she squeezed on the brakes and steered her handlebars to the edge. The low stone wall offered little support but was all there was between her and a drop into the canal.

‘Oh God. No. Charlotte!’ she screeched her daughter’s name as a beast neared. His heavy chest was now feet away.

Fear ripped through her as she scrambled one leg across the wall gripping for life whilst forcing her body forward to balance and the other leg squeezing against the base of the wall as the bicycle tipped towards the canal. Panicked and helpless, she shrieked.

‘No, please no. Charlotte.’ Evie gripped the handlebars with every ounce of strength she could as she buried her head, the giant body mass and hooves thundering beside her with no room to move. With the thrust, her knee jerked, scrapping down into the wall whilst she tried to maintain the grip. Her body remained rigid, inertly taking the full brutality of the momentum as the horse slammed past. Pain took her breath as the frame shook between her legs.

‘Aaargh… Char…lo…tte…’ With her teeth clenched so hard, she could barely say her child’s name. What would happen to her child? Aware that the horses were pulling a carriage, Evie retained her position, fearing its enormity as it approached. The wheels ground towards her. She was going to fall and drown. Tightening her grip with her legs, she dared to keep one hand compressing the handlebar whilst reaching with the other for the solidness of the stone wall. Taking a deep breath, she squeezed every muscle, and closed her eyes as the thud of the hooves petered, but the roar of the carriage wheels grew louder. Evie pressed her weight once more into the parapet, gritting her teeth and maintaining a grip on the bike but bracing herself for a final push. This was it, it was sure to hurl her over what was no more than a foot of stone. Who knew what was in that water? She must grip the wall, let the bike fall. She couldn’t panic. She won’t panic. Keep calm, keep calm. In her head, she rehearsed a flip of her body to free the bike. She had to lift and kick… let the bike go but grab the wall. Stay calm. The carriage lurched past.

Several seconds later, as the thundering subsided, realisation dawned. Miraculously, thankfully, she wasn’t in the canal fighting for breath and life. She peered around, still bent at an angle, dangling mid-air over the canal, a bright shard of light blinding her. Letting go of her chest, she wailed, ‘I’m alive.’ A poignant mix of straw and leather punched her nose. She let her head drop down. A rush of saliva slid from her mouth as she exhaled and numbness turned to pain.

‘Aarghh…ch. Thank you God… or whoever’s on duty. I’m alive.’ Movement caught her eye. A white knuckle loosened its grasp on the back of her seat. Searching, she met deep brown eyes glistening back. A calmness swept through her.

Keeping the frame of the bike within control, she allowed her wounded leg to restore its weight to the ground. The stranger reached out to steady her, clutching her shoulder. As she levered the bike upright, the mass of the weight was lightened by the aid of the knuckle owner. The thumping in her chest slowed and she blew out a heavy breath as she found both her feet and steadied herself on the handlebars.

‘I can’t believe I’m still here,’ she muttered to the man as she smoothed her face with her hand to confirm her existence. Then her lips began to tremble with relief and, in a blink, her eyes stung and released uncontrollable tears.

Trying to choke them back, she swallowed. ‘Thank you, I…I… I’m sorry, I should have been paying more attention.’ Her hand reached her helmet. Her fingers ran to her chin and unclipped the clasp, removing the helmet from her head. ‘Phew, sorry, I’m a bit shaken, my daughter still has a mother.’

‘That was a close call. I hope you’re all right?’ the male figure holding the saddle of the bike finally said, as a small assembly gathered.

Turning, she swept a clammy hand over her forehead. ‘Relieved, oh, so relieved. I can only think you must have stopped me from tipping over the edge,’ she sniffed, glancing at the buckled wheel of her bike. The stranger leaned it towards him to take the weight and pulled a face looking down at her leg.