The Summer Maiden

The Summer Maiden
Dilly Court

The second book in a stunning new series from Sunday Times bestseller, Dilly Court1873. When Carrie Manning’s father dies her mother, Esther, is heartbroken. Essie leaves London to convalesce with her good friend Lady Alice, and it is down to Carrie to look after her family and take charge of the shipping company that her father has left behind.But the company is in dire straits, forcing Carrie seek work as a companion to Maria Colville. When Carrie and Maria try to track down Maria’s mother, they have no idea of the secrets that they will discover. Secrets that link the Colvilles, the Mannings and figures from the past who return to England.Carrie’s journey is as unpredictable as the waters that link the rival shipping companies, but will her determination be enough to preserve the legacy of her family’s name?

Copyright (#uce918d8c-7229-5881-9f9b-c52cb8d7830c)

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 © Dilly Court 2018

Cover photographs: Front © Gordon Crabb/Alison Eldred (Girl); Background © Shutterstock (https://www.shutterstock.com) (ships/harbour)

Cover design by Claire Ward © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2017

Dilly Court 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: 9780008199647

Ebook Edition © January 2017 ISBN: 9780008199654

Version: 2018-03-19

Dedication (#uce918d8c-7229-5881-9f9b-c52cb8d7830c)

For Lottie Atchison, my second great-niece, with love

Table of Contents

Cover (#udf17b343-9995-5015-9c17-dff2b715cf36)

Title Page (#uf644c3f0-8ebe-5b74-91e2-e6b5bf15d550)

Copyright (#u8cce88da-8b12-5429-8742-c0396763858f)

Dedication (#u6743d581-931e-5098-81cb-2277f920e18c)

Chapter One (#u9d61b79d-293c-56f7-80d2-603ceb1af00d)

Chapter Two (#u0604f63a-6aea-5f1f-a0f2-70a5c7467d2b)

Chapter Three (#uc0fb3852-c1e4-5d9f-9c24-83dbe62448a8)

Chapter Four (#u58423964-9bf2-5cbf-b73d-cd7cfae20958)

Chapter Five (#u257a15b2-e020-5e3b-a844-fa825877ad0a)

Chapter Six (#u470e4897-f0d4-5370-a325-94463afb93dc)

Chapter Seven (#u7cc408db-713c-576c-8cd5-c3a6b1b50cc7)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Five (#litres_trial_promo)