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      First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 1996

      This edition published by Harper 2017

      Copyright © Barbara Erskine 1996 and as follows:

      ‘The Toy Soldier’ (Woman’s Weekly) 1996; ‘Writer’ (Chic Magazine) 1996; ‘Aboard the Moonbeam’ (Woman’s Story) 1976; ‘Dance Little Lady’ (Rio) 1981; ‘Distant Voices’ (Woman’s Weekly) 1994; ‘A Family Affair’ (Rio); ‘The Fate of the Phoenix’ (Woman’s Weekly) 1993; ‘Flowers for the Teacher’ (Your Story) 1975; ‘Moment of Truth’ (Romance Magazine) 1978; ‘The Poet’ (Judy) 1976; ‘Stranger’s Choice’ (Scottish Home & County); ‘A Test of Love’ (Romance) 1976; ‘To Adam, a Son’ (Truly Yours) 1975; ‘Watch the Wall, My Darling’ (Woman’s Realm) 1989; ‘When the Chestnut Blossoms Fall’ (Woman’s World); ‘Choices’ (Sunday Post) 1996; ‘Island Shadows’ (Sunday Post) 1996

      Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2017

      Cover images © Shutterstock.com

      Barbara Erskine 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: 9780008180911

      Ebook Edition © January 2017 ISBN: 9780007375103

      Version: 2017-09-08