Eden Hall

Eden Hall Copyright © 2004 by Veronica Heley Requests for information should be addressed to: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Heley, Veronica Eden Hall / Veronica Heley.-1st ed. p. cm. ISBN 0-310-24963-5 1. Young women-Fiction. 2. Administration of estates-Fiction. 3. Fathers and daughters-Fiction. 4. Cancer-Patients-Fiction. 5. Stepmothers-Fiction. 6. England-Fiction. title. PR6070.H6915 E34 2004 823'.92-dc22 2003023565 CIP Veronica Heley asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Interior illustration by Clint Hansen Interior design by Michelle Espinoza Printed in the United Kingdom 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 /. CLY/ 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 We want to hear from you. Please send your comments about this book to us in care of zreview@zondervan.com. Thank you. Chapter One She was being watched. No one had come to meet her, but Araminta Cardale-Minty- could feel eyes upon her. The little country station seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Three other people had alighted from the train, got into cars, and driven away. A number of vehicles remained in the car park, probably those of commuters who'd gone to the faroff city for the day. An ancient man dozed in a disreputable estate car. That was all. The midday sun lay heavily over the trees and fields before her. The only road leading from the station car park twisted out of sight behind a stand of oak trees. There were no other houses or even people in sight. Could they have forgotten to meet her? Surely not! It was only last night that Minty's half-sister Gemma had phoned, saying their father was seriously ill and Minty was needed. After all those years of banishment, her father wanted her back! Minty hadn't thought twice about it, but said she'd be on the first train next morning. Then she had to face the aunt and uncle who had housed and fed-but not loved-her all those years. They'd been furious at what they called Minty's "desertion" of them, even though Minty had made hasty but sufficient arrangements for other people to take over her work in the parish. For once Minty had refused to give in to their appeals and threats. She'd gone back up to pack in the small, cold bedroom that had been hers for nearly twenty years- only to realise she hadn't any money for the journey. She quailed at the thought of having to face her uncle again, but summoned up her courage and did it. She said she'd hitchhike if necessary. In the end he'd agreed to lend her the exact amount for the train fare. Ten minutes passed. No one came. Minty eased her shoulders under her white T-shirt. It hadn't taken her long to pack her rucksack the previous evening. After all, she was going back to Eden Hall as a daughter of the house. No longer would she have to subdue her natural exuberance, be careful of what she said and whom she said it to. She was leaving behind the life of vicarage drudge and parish secretary. She was going to be herself for once! And leaving Lucas behind, too. An added bonus. She had cast aside the severe navy blue skirts and white blouses that her aunt had decreed were the appropriate wear for Minty as vicar's niece and his parish secretary. All she took into her new life were the jumble sale and charity shop jeans and T-shirts she had worn when she helped in the youth club, a halfway decent cotton skirt, a couple of sweaters and a jacket. Her Bible, of course, went in first. Before anyone else was up in the morning, she'd set out through the city streets to walk to the station, where she'd nearly an hour to wait for the little local train. She had nHeley, Veronica is the author of 'Eden Hall', published 2004 under ISBN 9780310249634 and ISBN 0310249635.