Authors: Barbara Taylor Bradford

Tags: #Romance, #Fiction, #Contemporary, #General

Secrets From the Past (42 page)

My mouth twitched with hidden laughter. I said, ‘They’re not even worth a penny, you can have them for nothing … I’m not pensive, I was just thinking of the future, what was going to happen to us all. But of course that’s not really possible.’

‘No, it isn’t,’ he agreed. ‘Life gets in the way occasionally. As we both know. But, come on, come with me. I think you have to make a toast to your sisters before we go in for dinner.’

‘You’re right.’ I stood up. Taking my arm, Zac led me across the room.

I went to Jessica and Cara, stood next to them. Smiling, filled with a sudden rush of happiness, I said, ‘Happy Birthday, Jessica, Happy Birthday, Cara. You’re the best sisters anyone could have. As I look back, I know you’ve both always been there for me, as I have for you.’ I smiled, but my smile quavered slightly, and my throat tightened with a flood of nostalgia and emotion.

I took a deep breath, and went on. ‘Do you remember when I was quite little I used to mangle a certain phrase, couldn’t quite get it out right?’

They both nodded, laughter brimming in their dark eyes, which suddenly looked moist to me. And I knew they understood exactly what I was referring to.

‘I meant it then, and I mean it now.’ I put an arm around each of them and drew them closer to me. ‘We love arch others,’ I said.

‘We certainly do,’ they answered in unison.

Loving each other, that’s what family is all about, I thought, and it always will be. I raised my glass to my sisters, and said, ‘To family!’

‘To family!’ the whole room repeated.

May it last forever, I thought, as my sisters wrapped their arms around me and held me safe in their love.

A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

M
any of my friends often feel the need to sympathize with me, because they think I lead a lonely life as a writer. I immediately point out that it’s a solitary profession rather than a lonely one, because I have so many people bouncing around in my head. They soon go from characters in my imagination to living, breathing people, and that’s when they enter the room where I work, fully formed, demanding to be heard.

I live with them happily for months on end, as I create their complicated lives, force them to deal with their problems, and help them to survive the dramatic events that invariably engulf them.

By the time the book is finished they truly are
real
people to me; I believe they actually exist, and because I have made them come alive, apparently so realistically, they ring true not only for me but seemingly for my readers as well. And that pleases me. I never lose those characters. They stay with me forever, like old friends I care about.

But once the finished manuscript is on my desk, truly complete, my solitary life ends. I am then joined by a lot of other people, whose job it is to see that the manuscript is properly edited, designed, and finally sent off to the printer. That’s when I finally sigh with relief.

I must now mention all those people who are involved with my books. I owe special thanks to Lynne Drew, Publishing Director of HarperCollins, London, for being a superb editor and sounding board. Her ideas and suggestions are always on target, and her enthusiasm for all of my books is much appreciated. Thanks are also due to Kate Elton, Publisher, Harper Fiction; editor Thalia Suzuma, who is always there to handle all kinds of nitty-gritty, and does so cheerfully and with efficiency, and thanks to her assistant, Martha Ashby. I want to thank my editor Susan Opie, and my copy editor Penelope Isaac.

Elizabeth Dawson, Publicity Director, Harper Fiction, deserves a huge thank you from me for all of her work in the promotion of my books. Roger Cazalet, Publishing Strategy Director, and Oliver Wright, UK Sales Director, also have my thanks, as well as the entire team at HarperCollins in London, who are involved in the publication of my books.

I have to thank Lonnie Ostrow of Bradford Enterprises, for his help with preparing the manuscript for publication. A computer whiz, he gets all of my numerous rewrites and edits onto the computer with good humour, and helps with my research as well. My thanks to Linda Sullivan of WordSmart, the best typist I ever had, who is willing to work weekends when required, which is often, I must admit.

It is always my husband Robert Bradford who gets thanked last, but he really should come first. He is as much a part of my novels as I am myself, listening to plot lines endlessly and without complaint. His insights are invaluable. His is a true partner in every sense, taking care of a huge part of my career. He does so with the skill of a businessman and the creativity of a movie producer. I am lucky that I have his support, love and devotion, and that he never gets upset when a book consumes me and seems to take over the entire household. And he always manages to make me laugh every day, even if it’s at myself.

Books by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Series

THE EMMA HARTE SAGA

A Woman of Substance

Hold the Dream

To Be the Best

Emma’s Secret

Unexpected Blessings

Just Rewards

Breaking the Rules

Series

THE RAVENSCAR TRILOGY

The Ravenscar Dynasty

Heirs of Ravenscar

Being Elizabeth

Others

Voice of the Heart

Act of Will

The Women in His Life

Remember

Angel

Everything to Gain

Dangerous to Know

Love in Another Town

Her Own Rules

A Secret Affair

Power of a Woman

A Sudden Change of Heart

Where You Belong

The Triumph of Katie Byrne

Three Weeks in Paris

Playing the Game

Letter from a Stranger

Copyright

HarperCollins
Publishers

77–85 Fulham Palace Road,

Hammersmith, London
W
6 8
JB

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Published by HarperCollins
Publishers
2013

Barbara Taylor Bradford asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Source ISBN: 9780007304165

Epub Edition © February 2013 ISBN: 9780007304288

Version 1

FIRST EDITION

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.

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