Lynne Francis - Sarah’s Story - An emotional family saga that you won’t be able to put down

Published by Avon, an imprint of

HarperCollins Publishers

The News Building

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain in ebook format by HarperCollins Publishers 2018

Copyright © Lynne Francis 2018

Cover design © Alison Groom 2018

Cover image © Shutterstock.com

Lynne Francis asserts the moral right to

be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Ebook Edition © August 2018 ISBN: 9780008244293

Version: 2018-06-07

To the Writing Matters group for all their encouragement and support.

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page Sarah’s Story Lynne Francis

Copyright Published by Avon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers The News Building 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain in ebook format by HarperCollins Publishers 2018 Copyright © Lynne Francis 2018 Cover design © Alison Groom 2018 Cover image © Shutterstock.com Lynne Francis asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. Ebook Edition © August 2018 ISBN: 9780008244293 Version: 2018-06-07

Dedication To the Writing Matters group for all their encouragement and support.

Part One: May – September 1874 PART ONE

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Part Two: September 1874 – February 1875

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Part Three: February – April 1875

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Part Four: April – September 1875

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Part Five: September 1875 – October 1877

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Part Six: November 1877 – September 1881

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Part Seven: September 1881 – August 1882

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Part Eight: August 1882 – May 1890

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Acknowledgements

Keep Reading …

About the Author

The Mill Valley Girls Series

About the Publisher

Sarah had watched the bird of prey awhile, shading her eyes against the midday sun. It was hunting from the edge of Tinker’s Wood, scattering small birds from the hedgerows where they had taken refuge from the heat. The hedge-hawk had had no success so far, and she wondered at the energy it was expending, but it was patient. It returned to the shelter of the woodland canopy each time, waiting for the scattered birds to settle, then launched another attack. She didn’t want it to succeed, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away, either.

Just when she thought it must have given up and flown away without her noticing, it startled her by skimming up over the hedge, so close to where she was sitting that she could have sworn she saw the intent in its yellow eye as it swept past. There was a muffled squawk, a flurry of fine feathers and calls of alarm – and it was all over. The hawk sped off, taking its prey to a plucking post deep in the woods.

With a sigh and a shudder, Sarah jumped down from the wall where she had perched herself and shook out her skirts, craning her head back over her shoulder to check for any mossy stains. She tied her bonnet back in place over her curly brown hair which, in honour of the unusual warmth of the weather so early in May, was loosely caught up on top of her head rather than hanging halfway down her back, then she turned back to the track. She’d wasted enough time and the plants in her basket were beginning to wilt. Her grandmother would not be pleased. With the sun in her eyes, Sarah didn’t notice the man until she was almost upon him. She cried out in shock and almost stumbled as she tried to avoid him.

His arm shot out and he held her in a firm grip. ‘Watch out for yoursen here, miss. ’Tis a rough track you tread and your ankles look a sight too dainty for it.’

Sarah, her heart beating fast at the close and unexpected encounter, felt her colour rise. It was wrong of the man to make a remark about her ankles, which in any case he couldn’t have seen, encased as they were in sturdy, though patched, boots.

She made to shake him off but he’d already let go of her arm and stepped back to a respectful distance. He held both hands up, placatingly.

‘I only thought to save you from a fall, miss. No offence.’

Now that she was no longer blinded by the sun she could see what manner of man he was. And she rather liked what she saw. He was barely taller than she was – unusual in itself as she was petite – wiry with dark curly hair and a deeply tanned face. His eyes shone bright blue and they seemed filled with an amused expression, while a smile played around his lips. She had no idea how she could read so much into a countenance, but she had the distinct impression that he was laughing at her.

‘I’ll thank you to stand aside and let me on my way,’ she said, with as much dignity as she could muster.

He regarded her gravely, then bowed. ‘The track is yours.’ He stood back to let her pass and she had gone but ten paces before he called after her, ‘But I’d be honoured if you’d let me keep you company along the way. I fear ’tis not safe for a young girl like you to be abroad along this path. ’Tis used by all manner of ruffians and vagabonds, heading to and from the water.’