Never Forget Me

AUTHOR NOTE (#ua76a7906-ccb6-594e-9bd6-c7976cbe360a)

War, conflict and the impact it has not just on those who fought, but on those left behind, have been recurrent themes in my books. While the First World War has long been a subject which I found compelling, I've always shied away from it as the backdrop to romance. The sheer scale of the suffering, death and destruction seemed prohibitive and the war itself is still very much present in the memories of the families of those who fought in it.

With the centenary of the start of the ‘war to end all wars’ coming around though, I began to seriously rethink my stance. Between 1914 and 1918, the world, or at least the world of those countries involved in the conflict, really did change utterly and it wasn't all negative. Out of such suffering, those who fought and those who lost loved ones were determined some good must come—not just the long-term peace that the League of Nations was established to protect, but ‘good’ for the individual. And it did. Of course, there were other influences and dynamics of change that were in train before the war, but no one can deny (though no doubt someone will now!) that the war gave women's liberation a kick start, not only in enfranchising them, but in getting them out of the home and into the workplace and in Britain making a start on eliminating sexual discrimination by allowing them into the legal profession and the higher echelons of the civil service. A maximum working day (and week) and a stronger trade union movement were just some of the measures that protected workers.

I could go on, but this isn't a history lesson. What I'm trying to say is, the idea of somehow showing the impact of these huge changes on my characters really appealed to me. But how to do this and at the same time capture the essence of the war? I decided that rather than pick one key moment in the conflict, I would write three different stories set at the beginning, the middle and the end. Building on my experience from working on the Castonbury Park series, I'd have some continuity characters who would act as landmarks for the changes and so I came up with the idea of having a house and a family central to all three stories, who would then represent the shift from the old world to the new.

All very well, but finding a way of setting not one but three romances against a backdrop of war without shying away from the reality was a tough one. What I hope runs through all the stories is the triumph of the human spirit and the power of love.

My own spirit, I must admit, was at times crushed by this book. Thanks once again to my Facebook and Twitter friends for all their help and encouragement. You kept me going and you fed me ideas—having letters form a key part of my second story is just one of them. Many thanks to Alice, who shared the amazing story of her grandfather's war and allowed me to borrow his surname for one of my heroes. And finally, a huge big thank-you to Linda F at Harlequin Mills & Boon for taking a chance on this book and as ever to my wonderful editor, Flo, who hauled me out of the mire that my third story had become entangled in.

This has been by far the most challenging book I've written, but because of that it's also been the most rewarding. I truly hope you find it as rewarding to read.

Table of Contents

Cover (#u07ba2904-363b-5b95-abc5-d94c679f43c3)

Introduction (#u9ec17335-e667-5579-a0ca-63398007440e)

About the Author (#u083128af-5a18-5f86-95c0-1abfaf72f0db)

Title Page (#uac6cfa5f-7b0e-5818-9570-fd8c69b9413a)

Booklist

Author Note

A Kiss Goodbye

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Dearest Sylvie

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Forever With Me

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Historical Note

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

A Kiss Goodbye (#ua76a7906-ccb6-594e-9bd6-c7976cbe360a)

Marguerite Kaye

Chapter One (#ua76a7906-ccb6-594e-9bd6-c7976cbe360a)

Argyll, Scotland—October 1914