Lost Angel (30 page)
‘Yes, me too,’ Val said, and, as Pauline reached out her arms, Val took her.
Ellen looked out of the window, hoping for a last glimpse of the butterfly. It was there, on a buddleia, wings twitching. A profound feeling of peace filled her, and at that moment she remembered the old woman and the rune stones. This was the sign she had spoken of, Ellen was sure of it, and though some people might think she was living in a world of fantasy, others that she was mad, Ellen didn’t care.
What did it matter what other people thought? What she chose to believe, what eased her pain, what gave her comfort and the strength to go on
- that was all that mattered. And how could anyone begrudge her that?
The butterfly’s wings opened and then it was flying again, soaring away. Fantasy or not, coincidence or not, before it went out of sight for ever, Ellen whispered, ‘Goodbye, darling. For now
- goodbye.’
My thanks as always to my wonderful husband, Jim and daughter, Samantha, along with my agent, Judith Murdoch, and the wonderful team at Avon/HarperCollins.
LOST ANGEL
Kitty Neale was raised in South London and this working class area became the inspiration for her novels. In the 1980s she moved to Surrey with her husband and two children, but in 1998 there was a catalyst in her life when her son died, aged just 27. After joining other bereaved parents in a support group, Kitty was inspired to take up writing and her books have been
Sunday Times
bestsellers.
Kitty now lives in Spain with her husband and is working on her new novel for Avon, due to be published in summer 2010.
To find out more about Kitty go to www.kittyneale.co.uk
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Nobody’s Girl
Sins of the Father
Family Betrayal
Desperate Measures
Lost and Found
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.
AVON
A division of HarperCollins
Publishers
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www.harpercollins.co.uk
FIRST EDITION
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins
Publishers
2009
Copyright © Kitty Neale 2009
Kitty Neale 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
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EPub Edition © JANUARY 2010 ISBN: 978-0-007-34633-2
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