But oh, Ant, to sit out there with you once more. To point out the stars, to talk about Julia and the war and the chickens and the bicycle and dear Reverend Goudge and the wild flowers and the times we had – if I could have had one more evening with you . . . For you were my dearest delight, my dear boy. In that terrible time we were safe, and happy for a while, were we not?
Dear boy, try to be happy. What endures after you are gone is not the striving, but the happy memories, the moments of sunshine, the warmth and the feeling of safety and joy in a loved one’s company.
I am sorry, dear Ant. I loved you very much. You did know that, didn’t you? And looking after you really was the greatest privilege of my life.
Hang her up high.
Your loving great-aunt,
Dinah Alexandra Wilde
The stone goddess made as an amulet for an ancient, long-forgotten king was hung back up in its place, above the door, by Tony that very afternoon. She remained there for forty years, becoming more and more tangled in with the wild flowers that slowly smothered the house until, one summer’s day, she fell to the ground. Someone picked her up, and so was set in motion the train of events which the goddess needed to finally, after all those years, help her mend the house, and its family.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to everyone at Headline for the joy of knowing I am in such safe hands. Especial thanks to Sara Adams, Viviane Basset, Katie Brown, Yeti Lambregts, Frances Doyle, Georgina Moore, Becky Bader and most of all, in every way, Mari Evans, who continues to make me feel every day like I am the luckiest author in the world and for whom no thanks are adequate.
Thank you to everyone at Curtis Brown, especially Lucia Rae, Emma Bailey and Melissa Pimentel, with a big thank you to Jonathan Lloyd who buoys me up and was an enormous help in the early stages of this book.
Thank you to Mary Nelson for all her information and advice about singers and singing; to Simon Mulligan and Nicole Wilson, and to Jo Roberts-Miller, for her help and general greatness. I love you Jo-Jo. Thanks to Rebecca Folland for being a reassuring early reader. And thank you to Katie Cousins for accompanying me to Studland Beach, days out forever.
I’d like to say a big thanks to all the amazing readers and book bloggers who have supported my last few books and have let me know you liked them. Thank you for being so generous and kind.
Thanks to my mum for her support and to my magic brilliant dad for being my hero over this last awful year, and my lovely sister Caroline to whom this book is dedicated. And to Prêt à Manger for feeding us.
Most of all thanks to my two precious girls, Cora and Martha, for giving me joy I never thought I could have and finally to my Chris, because no matter how hard I lean on you, you stay strong.
If you loved The Wildflowers, discover the secrets of the Parr family
What magic is this?
You follow the hidden creek towards a long-forgotten house.
They call it Keepsake, a place full of wonder . . . and danger. Locked inside the crumbling elegance of its walls lies the story of the Butterfly Summer, a story you’ve been waiting all your life to hear.
This house is Nina Parr’s birthright. It holds the truth about her family – and a chance to put everything right at last.
Harriet Evans. She brings you home.
Available from Headline Review now
The Wildflowers Page 48
