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Secrets of Cavendon: A gripping historical saga full of intrigue and drama
Barbara Taylor Bradford
‘A glamorous read packed with period detail…strong women are centre stage’ Daily MailThe secrets of an aristocratic dynasty are about to be revealed…The year is 1949. And at Cavendon Hall, a Yorkshire stately home, the Second World War has exacted a terrible price and the estate is facing bankruptcy. The aristocratic Ingham family is at odds with its loyal retainers, the Swanns, for the first time.And when Cavendon’s secrets start to rise to the surface, young and old alike are threatened. Can the generations unite to save the family name and their future?
Copyright (#ubfa72f98-2818-56d8-8e80-be087e6c7d93)
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2018
Copyright © Barbara Taylor Bradford 2018
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018 Cover photographs © Elizabeth Ansley/Trevillion Images (woman), Shutterstock.com (http://Shutterstock.com) (gate and leaves on back cover) and Ivan Vdovin/Getty Images (house back cover)
Barbara Taylor Bradford asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
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.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780007503353
Ebook Edition © November 2017 ISBN: 9780007503377
Version: 2018-07-06
Dedication (#ubfa72f98-2818-56d8-8e80-be087e6c7d93)
For Bob, with all my love always
Contents
Cover (#u453e6d63-1d13-5ec8-8e50-9e33e508ac16)
Title Page (#u18f5bf79-b154-56e1-afc0-bc278fe6d958)
Copyright
Dedication
Characters
PART ONE
A Rip in the Fabric 1949
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
PART TWO Les Girls (#u0032b181-f2c7-5311-99b4-90eb8a476724)
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
PART THREE Magic and Make-Believe (#u9bec13f4-fcb4-5683-a510-31cb2b0564bb)
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
PART FOUR Stepping into Reality (#uee60d771-c3b4-583d-b1c1-3a2c8c2ab29f)
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
PART FIVE Different Perceptions 1950 (#u8ea5881e-38db-51dc-9a9b-53533acda96c)
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Acknowledgements
Keep Reading … (#u994fcc66-c163-5313-982d-eab245a643b7)
About the Author (#uc8d00145-a1fe-5c6d-882b-ab9641749d96)
Books by Barbara Taylor Bradford
About the Publisher
CHARACTERS (#ubfa72f98-2818-56d8-8e80-be087e6c7d93)
ABOVE THE STAIRS
THE INGHAMS IN 1949
Miles Ingham, 7th Earl of Mowbray, aged 50. Owner and custodian of Cavendon Hall. Referred to as Lord Mowbray. He is married to Cecily Swann, 48, who is the 7th Countess of Mowbray.
THE CHILDREN OF THE EARL AND COUNTESS
David Ingham, heir to the earldom, aged 20. He is known as the Honourable David Ingham. Walter, 18; Venetia, 16; and Gwen, 8.
Lady Diedre Ingham Lawson, sister of the Earl, aged 56. She is married to William Lawson, 56, and lives in London with him and her son, Robin Drummond, 22. She works at the War Office. They come to Cavendon at weekends where they have their own house, Little Skell Manor.
Lady Daphne Ingham, sister of the Earl, aged 53. She remains married to Hugo Ingham Stanton, 68. They live permanently at Cavendon Hall, in the South Wing. They have five children who live in London and visit at weekends. They are Alicia, 35; Charles, 31; the twins Thomas and Andrew, 28; and Annabel, 25.
Lady Dulcie Ingham, youngest sister of the Earl, aged 41. She lives in London and at Skelldale Manor at Cavendon. She is married to Sir James Brentwood, 56, one of England’s greatest actors, who was knighted by King George VI. They have three children: twins Rosalind and Juliet, 20, and a son, Henry, 17.
The three sisters of the Earl are now referred to affectionately as the Three Dees by the staff.
BETWEEN STAIRS
THE SECOND FAMILY: THE SWANNS
The Swann family has been in service to the Ingham family for almost two hundred years. Consequently, their lives have been intertwined in many different ways. Generations of Swanns have lived in Little Skell village, adjoining Cavendon Park, and still do. The present-day Swanns are as devoted and loyal to the Inghams as their forebears were, and would defend any member of the family with their lives. The Inghams trust them implicitly, and vice versa.
THE SWANNS IN 1949
Walter Swann, aged 71; father of Cecily and Harry. Head of the Swann family, and in charge of security at Cavendon Hall.
Alice Swann, his wife, aged 68, the mother of Cecily and Harry. Alice runs most of the village events and helps to run the Women’s Institute alongside the Dowager Countess.
Harry, son, aged 51, a former apprentice landscape gardener at Cavendon Hall. He is now running the estate. He has also created beautiful gardens which draw the public.
Cecily, daughter, aged 48. She is married to Miles and is a world-renowned fashion designer.
Paloma Swann, 38, wife of Harry, and mother of their children: Edward, 10; Patricia, 8; and Charles, 6. She is a well-known photographer.
OTHER SWANNS
