The Woman In The Lake: Can she escape the shadows of the past?

The Woman In The Lake: Can she escape the shadows of the past?
Nicola Cornick

For fans of Kate Morton and Tracy Rees comes a captivating novel about two women, separated by centuries, whose fates are bound together by one haunting secret.***‘A fascinating tale with intriguing twists.’ Barbara Erskine‘I was hooked from the first pages.’ Gill Paul‘You just can’t put it down. Brilliant!’ Katie Fforde***‘I see it all again: the silver moon swimming beneath the water and the golden gown billowing out about her…’1765: Lady Isabella Gerard asks her maid to take her new golden gown and destroy it. Its shimmering beauty has been tainted by the actions of her husband the night before.Three months later: Lord Eustace Gerard stands beside the lake looking down at the woman in the golden gown. As the body slowly rolls over to reveal her face, it’s clear this is not his intended victim…1996: Fenella Brightwell steals a stunning gown from a stately home. Twenty years later and reeling from the end of an abusive marriage, she wonders if it has cursed her all this time. Now she’s determined to discover the history behind the beautiful golden dress…

International bestselling author NICOLA CORNICK became fascinated with history when she was a child, and spent hours poring over historical novels and watching costume dramas. She studied history at university and wrote her master’s thesis on heroes. Nicola also acts as a historical advisor for television and radio. In her spare time she works as a guide in a seventeenth-century mansion.

Copyright (#ulink_fb5f0c4e-6615-5e2b-a907-e6a143b2697f)

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2019

Copyright © Nicola Cornick 2019

Nicola Cornick asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for 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, downloaded, 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.

Ebook Edition © March 2019 ISBN: 9781474064712

For Julia, a Swindon girl

Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind.

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE

Contents

Cover (#u38193088-7663-536f-b496-cb1b645ec48e)

About the Author (#ulink_301a9b32-1dec-5231-839e-ee4f664094c6)

Title Page (#uaaeb6578-ae2a-5ec9-9c25-5c1b7a6bbc40)

Copyright (#ulink_de9ee5be-3dab-56d7-a429-767d93602fd0)

Dedication (#ue3de52ec-8a9d-531b-be93-17f2d6333b3a)

Epigraph (#u48c69a71-ab96-5030-aa10-5971851f5268)

Prologue (#ulink_2c0f9dc6-7448-59b4-ac5f-6d52a7b78834)

Chapter 1 (#ulink_62bed444-0c41-5a9e-b4f5-45d2ebc5fd12)

Chapter 2 (#ulink_b75c5433-12f8-5d9f-bb5b-349fdbc4052a)

Chapter 3 (#ulink_56cfc10b-d7c7-5f38-b9f5-6e26c270f720)

Chapter 4 (#ulink_e0146721-e0fc-5dae-9180-bb357c12ce6e)

Chapter 5 (#ulink_074ea30e-c5e6-5c61-97fd-789f6f14a340)

Chapter 6 (#ulink_50d2538b-78db-5a09-875a-50af1049137b)

Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 25 (#litres_trial_promo)