by Val Wood
She fastened the belt of her dressing robe and drawing the hood over her head went down the stairs and unlocked the front door.
She went down the steps and Edward came towards her. ‘I couldn’t sleep,’ he explained.
‘Nor I,’ she answered. ‘I have to ask you to wait a little longer.’
He nodded; it was as if he had expected it, as if he had come especially to hear the words she was saying.
‘Forgiveness?’ he said, then murmured, ‘I understand. It’s only right and proper. It’s who we are. I said I would wait and I will.’
‘We’ll wait together,’ she said softly. ‘Until the time is right.’
He took her hand in his and drew it to his lips, and with his other he embraced her waist and drew her close, his cheek touching hers, and together they danced beneath the moon’s silver light.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I have read often of Mrs Caroline Norton’s remarkable life, which has influenced my thinking of Victorian women whilst writing fiction of that period. She was a society woman, a social reformer, a lady, in fact, born into a grand though penniless family.
She had many powerful and influential friends including important political figures, such as Lord Melbourne, who were drawn into her continuing chronicle, upsetting the powerful in Parliament as she strove for the right of women to control their own lives and to consider their children as belonging to them as much as to their husbands.
In 1837 she filed to the courts on The Natural Claim of a Mother, following her husband’s decision to remove their children from her care, as was his right at that time.
August 1839. The Custody of Infants Act was made law, giving custody, after court petition, to the mothers of children under seven, providing they had not been proven to have committed adultery. In 1873 the Act was changed to allow access to or custody of children below the age of sixteen.
1858. Marriage and Divorce Acts became law. Women could petition Parliament for divorce on the grounds only of their husband’s incestuous adultery. Prior to this, women could not divorce their husbands under any circumstances, though men could divorce their wives.
Caroline Norton wrote several books including a novel based on her own experiences, A Story of Modern Times, which drew much acclaim. Alas for her, her husband took their children to Scotland where the custody law did not apply and she never saw them again.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Victorian House by Judith Flanders, Harper Perennial, 2004
Various internet sources for information on Mrs Caroline Norton, writer and social campaigner.
To my editor Sally Williamson; copy and production editors Vivien Thompson and Nancy Webber and the whole of the dedicated Transworld team, I thank you all.
If you enjoyed this, don’t forget to read more of Val Wood’s powerful novels…
Four Sisters
Hull, 1852.
Matty has had to care for her three younger sisters ever since their mother’s death ten years ago. She and the girls’ beloved father have worked hard to keep the family together and now it’s time to celebrate as Matty turns eighteen.
But their joy is short-lived when tragedy suddenly strikes and their father disappears on his way to London. The sisters have no way of knowing what has happened to him – only that he hasn’t returned home. With little money left they’re now forced to battle life’s misfortunes alone...
Available now.
The Long Walk Home
At only thirteen, Mikey Quinn is arrested for stealing a rabbit to feed his family. Despite his age, he’s shown no mercy by the wealthy lawyer who sends him to prison. He returns home to find that his mother has died and his younger siblings taken into the workhouse.
With only his determination, Mikey makes his way to London to seek a better life for his family. Whilst there, he meets Eleanor who he recognises as the daughter of the lawyer who ruined his life. Desperate, they band together forging a new life for themselves on the streets of London.
Overlooking their initial differences, the two come to rely on each other and, when the time comes to return to Hull, they face the long walk home together.
Available now.
THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING
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Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published in Great Britain in 2020 by Bantam Press an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Copyright © Valerie Wood 2020
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Cover design by Richard Ogle/TW Jacket
Photography: woman © Jeff Cottenden
Background photography: © Getty Images
ISBN 978-1-473-57142-6
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