Secrets of Clearwater Castle

SECRETS OF CLEARWATER CASTLE AN UTTERLY UNFORGETTABLE NOVEL FILLED WITH ROMANCE AND FAMILY SECRETS CLEARWATER CASTLE SERIES BOOK 1 EMMA DAVIES BOOKS BY EMMA DAVIES Clearwater Castle series Secrets of Clearwater Castle The Adam and Eve Mystery series Death by Candlelight Death at the Dinner Party Death on the Menu Death at Beresford Hall The Little Cottage series The Little Cottage on the Hill Summer at the Little Cottage on the Hill Return to the Little Cottage on the Hill Christmas at the Little Cottage on the Hill Lucy’s Little Village Book Club The House at Hope Corner The Beekeeper’s Cottage The Little Shop on Silver Linings Street My Husband’s Lie The Wife’s Choice A Year at Appleyard Farm After the Crash The Little Island Secret Letting in Light Turn Towards the Sun The Mystery of Montague House Available in Audio An Adam and Eve Mystery series Death by Candlelight (Available in the UK and the US) Death at the Dinner Party (Available in the UK and the US) Death on the Menu (Available in the UK and the US) Death at Beresford Hall (Available in the UK and the US) The Little Cottage series The Little Cottage on the Hill (Available in the UK and the US) Summer at the Little Cottage on the Hill (Available in the UK and the US) Lucy’s Little Village Book Club (Available in the UK and the US) My Husband’s Lie (Available in the UK and the US) The Wife’s Choice (Available in the UK and the US) CONTENTS 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 The Little Cottage on the Hill One Hear More from Emma Books by Emma Davies A Letter from Emma Death by Candlelight Death at the Dinner Party Death on the Menu Death at Beresford Hall Summer at the Little Cottage on the Hill Return to the Little Cottage on the Hill Christmas at the Little Cottage on the Hill Lucy’s Little Village Book Club The House at Hope Corner The Beekeeper’s Cottage The Little Shop on Silver Linings Street My Husband’s Lie The Wife’s Choice A Year at Appleyard Farm After the Crash The Little Island Secret * For Vic 1 In all the time that Alun’s been gone, Jess has never told Lowri she’ll feel better soon, or that time is a great healer. She just hugs her when she cries and tells her she’s sorry she’s having such a bad day. This never resorting to glib platitudes is one of the things Lowri loves about Jess. It isn’t that her other friends don’t care, but what do you say to a grieving widow? There’s no manual for this kind of thing, particularly not for someone in their early thirties. It’s awkward, so mostly people avoid the subject altogether, or worse, refrain from mentioning Alun’s name, as if he never existed, as if his and Lowri’s shared life simply never happened. They don’t mean to be unkind, far from it, but given that death is the only certainty in life, Lowri sometimes wishes it wasn’t such a taboo subject. So when she opens her front door to find Jess standing there, with a warm smile and a packet of chocolate biscuits, Lowri knows her friend has guessed how much she’s dreading this day. She should have sorted out Alun’s things much sooner, she knows that, but when he died, she just couldn’t face it. Their whole lives were still ahead of them; Lowri wasn’t ready to be a widow. And with Wren so poorly too, Lowri had barely enough strength to look after her daughter and keep her world turning, let alone deal with anything else. So Lowri let time roll by. She moved Alun’s things into the spare bedroom and there they’ve stayed, for two long years, until now. Jess hands Lowri the biscuits, wiggling her shoulders. ‘Blimey, it’s freezing out here. It’s April, for heaven’s sake, shouldn’t it be warm by now?’ She grins, and steps into the hallway where she sheds her coat and bag, hanging them over the polished bannisters just like she always does. Lowri has a perfectly good cupboard in the hall but that’s not Jess’s style. Lowri does organised, Jess does clutter, that’s just the way it is. Then Jess turns, and subjects Lowri to one of her long stares, the kind that misses nothing, the one that assesses all there is to know. ‘I’m fine, honestly,’ says Lowri, knowing Jess won’t believe her. Jess’s eyes narrow. ‘Hmm…’ She regards Lowri for a second longer before her face brightens again. ‘Right then, let’s get the kettle on, shall we?’ And, not waiting for an answer (she never does), she heads straight for the kitchen. ‘How was Wren this morning?’ asks Jess, taking down two mugs from a cupboard. ‘Same as usual. Sailed through the school gate with a wide smile and scarcely a backward glance. That’s one good thing at least.’ ‘So you think she’ll be okay?’ Lowri nods. ‘You know Wren, nothing much gets her down. She makes friends with everyone, so moving is just a big adventure for her. Plus, her Aunty Susan has always spoiled her rotten, so why wouldn’t she want to live close by?’ Alun always said Lowri was small and mighty, but Lowri is nothing in comparison to Wren and it kills her how he’ll never see the person Wren is turning out to be. Born too early, wrinkled and helpless, with huge eyes and pale blue-veined skin, her name chose her rather than the other way around. And she’ll always be their little bird. She had to fight for the first three years of her life, struggling through chest infection after chest infection, her little lungs desperately trying to suck in enough air