Prologue
Pippa Munro waited; her impatient gaze fixed upon the hilly road that wended its way up from Hurst Bridge towards where she stood. Her boyfriend’s car was nowhere in sight. A light summer breeze kissed her sweaty, sticky skin as she looked out across her hometown, eyes roving over the narrow, flint-walled lanes and tapestry of meadows that were as familiar to Pippa as her own face. Behind her, the magnificence that was Squires House loomed proudly, the old, wisteria-draped brick luminous in the light of the sun. The evening was approaching, but the sun was still high enough to cast a heavenly glow upon the town she felt lucky enough to call home. She knew and loved every inch of this small Yorkshire town. She might have been only seventeen years old, but Pippa was already certain that there was nowhere as perfect as Hurst Bridge anywhere else in the world.
“Where is he?” she muttered. Alex was going to miss her big moment when she got to claim her prize! It wasn’t often Pippa got to visit Squires – the most beautiful house in Yorkshire in her opinion – and yet here she was wasting precious seconds standing outside waiting for her boyfriend.
Something hit the back of Pippa’s head and landed by her feet; a dried twig lobbed by none other than her cousin Frankie. “Any sign of Alex?” he asked as he ambled through the gates to stand by her side. He smelled of toffee and sun-cream.
“Not as yet,” Pippa admitted.
Frankie’s pale eyes, so like her own, twinkled behind his thick-framed glasses. Merely a few months older than Pippa, he had the same unruly dark hair and slight frame. But for his lack of freckles, they could almost have been mistaken for twins at first glance. “What’s keeping him?”
“Dunno.” Pippa’s love for Alex swelled protectively. “He said he’d be here.” She checked her phone for the millionth time but there were still no texts or calls from her boyfriend of one year. From behind her she could hear the raucous chatter of the town’s residents as they milled around the old house’s stunning gardens. Somewhere amongst them were her parents, no doubt enjoying old Mrs Allen’s home-brewed cider as they nattered to their neighbours and gossiped about Trudy Squires’s latest designer outfit.
“I can’t believe he missed your glorious victory.” Frankie tutted. “He knew what it meant to you to win.”
“It’s not that big a deal,” Pippa fibbed because to her, it kind of was. “Just a cheap medal. And I’m sure there’s a good reason he didn’t make the fair.”
Hurst Bridge’s annual Summer Fair was Pippa’s favourite time of year. Every July, the town’s green filled up with food vans and stalls selling the most delicious food, as well as artisans who travelled from miles around to hawk jewellery, pottery and candles of unbelievable quality, and there was always live music. If this weren’t enough, the fair culminated in a series of Wheelbarrow Races, where teams of two navigated tracks of varying difficulty taking turns pushing each other in wheelbarrows. Bragging rights were the ultimate goal, not to mention a laughably tiny medal for all victors. Most thrillingly, that very day Pippa and her best friend Mae had won the teenagers’ race – no mean feat in the warmth of the afternoon sun. Frankie had been their enthusiastic supporter, as evidenced by the enormous sign he’d created for them and waved devotedly the entire time.
Currently, the traditional post-fair celebrations were in full swing, held as usual in the impressive grounds of Squires House. Outside the great iron gates of which Pippa was currently standing. And waiting. Still.
“I stink,” Mae Grant announced as she approached. She slung a lanky arm across Pippa’s shoulders, her cropped rusty-coloured hair sticking up in spikes. The pungent smell of fresh sweat assaulted Pippa’s nose and she elbowed Mae good-naturedly.
“Yuck. Off me. Now.”
Mae giggled and hugged Pippa even tighter. “Hate to break it you, you hardly smell like roses right now.” She exhaled and flapped a hand in a futile effort to cool her flushed cheeks. “Whew! Does anyone mind if I take myself back down to the green and throw myself in the pond?”
“The ducks might have an opinion on that,” Pippa smirked.
“I’ll fight ‘em off.” Mae shrugged.
“I’d be more worried about drinking in all that delicious rat shit,” Frankie drawled. “Can’t beat a bit of Leptospirosis on a summer’s day.”
Pippa squealed in revulsion. “I’ll pass on a dip in the pond, thanks.”
Mae nudged her. “I take it Alex isn’t here yet?”
Pippa shook her head. “I’m a bit worried he’s been in an accident, that he’s hurt.”
“He won’t be, I’m sure.” Mae frowned. “What makes you say that?”
“He’s not here,” Pippa answered. “He said he would be. He promised. Why else wouldn’t he be here but because of something dead serious?”
“I bet he’ll be fine,” Mae said hurriedly. “Have you called him?”
“A couple of times,” Pippa said. She met her best friend’s eye and sighed. “I’m sure he’ll be all right. I’m probably being daft.” She sniffed her armpit and wrinkled her nose. “On second thoughts though, probably just as well he’s not here. Yuck.”
“He’s a farmer,” Frankie said. “He’ll have smelled worse.”
“Oh, be still my heart.” Mae stretched her arms into the air. “But why are we standing around here when the party is back there?” She thumbed behind her. “This is my last year of doing the races, we should make the most of it!”
Pippa arched a disbelieving eyebrow. “Your last race? Really? Ever?”
“Well, dunno. Probably,” Mae said. “The minute my A Levels finish next summer, I’m off to India. Who knows when, or if, I’ll be back.”
Pippa and Frankie exchanged mournful glances. Although Mae had been expressing her wanderlust tendencies for years, her imminent departure felt as though it had come far too soon. Pippa wasn’t sure she was ready for goodbye. After all, Mae had been her best friend since nursery school. “You’ll be back.” Pippa gestured around her. “How can you say goodbye to this forever?”
“This town isn’t going anywhere. It’ll be exactly the same quiet little corner of the moors until the end of time.” Mae shrugged coolly, but her eyes shone with affection. “It’s you idiots I’ll miss the most.”
