Heirs of Ravenscar (56 page)

H
arry Turner stood in the middle of the library floor at Ravenscar, staring up at the marvellous painting of his grandfather, the great Edward Deravenel. He had a big smile on his face, and in his arms he held his baby son. His son and heir. Born three days ago on October the twelfth in 1975.

Jane had given him a healthy, beautiful boy, and in a few days' time he would be christened in the family chapel at Ravenscar.

‘Here he is, Grandfather!' Harry cried, talking aloud to the masterful painting. ‘My son. My heir … your heir. And he is named for you. He's another Edward. And he's going to be great like you, I promise you that. Another great Edward in our family.'

Smiling from ear to ear, Harry held the child towards the painting. ‘He has Deravenel blood and Turner blood, and he's going to rule your empire and take it to even greater heights one day.'

Harry cradled the little boy in his arms, blowing on the little tiny tuft of red hair on top of his head for a second, kissing the bright blue eyes. In my own image, Harry thought, in my grandfather's image. Jane did it for me, gave me what I've yearned for since I first got married all those years ago to Catherine.

I'm forty-five, but I'm not too old to have more children, and I will. Jane will give me more sons, and daughters, as well. She said in Paris last year that she had always yearned for a big brood, and that is what we shall have.

He felt a tugging on his trouser leg and he looked down.

Elizabeth was standing there staring up at him through her bright black eyes. ‘Can I see my brother, Father?'

Bending down, Harry showed her the baby, a tiny bundle wrapped in bunch of lacey white shawls. ‘Here he is … Edward, your brother Edward. My son. My heir.'

Straightening, Harry stared at the painting of his grandfather again, and decided, at that very moment, to have a similar portrait painted of himself. He would do it for his newborn son. So that one day Edward could hold
his
son up, and tell him that here was his grandfather, the great Harry Turner. Bending over the child, Harry kissed his forehead, overflowing with love for him, this longed-for child.

‘Can I hold my baby brother?'

‘Of course not, Elizabeth. You're only four and you might easily drop him, and then where would we be, eh?'

‘
Please
, father.'

‘I said no. Now go away, that's a good girl. I'm very busy with my son and heir.'

Elizabeth, hurt and slighted, took a step back, and then turned around and ran to Nanny, who was standing in the doorway of the library.

When Avis Paisley, the nanny, saw the tears trickling down the little girl's cheeks she took hold of her hand and led her
away, filled with fury that Harry Turner would hurt his small daughter in this way.

‘Don't cry, sweetheart,' Nanny said, ‘Everything is all right.'

‘No, it isn't,' Elizabeth wailed. ‘I'm not a boy. I wish I was. Then I would be the son and heir and father would love me.'

‘He does love you,' Nanny consoled her. ‘Everybody loves you.'

‘Do they really?' Elizabeth said, cheering up, rubbing her eyes. ‘How many people is that …
everybody
?'

‘Why, the whole of England, Elizabeth,' the nanny answered, improvising. ‘The whole of England loves you.'

The red-haired child with the ebony black eyes smiled, brushed her tears away. ‘And I shall love them,' she said; and meant it.

A
lthough I have accumulated a great deal of historical research over the years, pertaining to the Plantagenets and the Tudors, when I started this series I realized that I needed to know more about the Edwardian era. That was the period in which I planned to set this series of books, from the year 1904 up to the present. In other words, I needed to know a lot more than I did concerning the early part of the twentieth century.

Because I was busy researching the manners, mores, politics, social life, business and fashions of those early days, plus many areas of daily life, as well as the First World War, I needed help. I must now give special thanks to Lonnie Ostrow and Damian Newman of Bradford Enterprises. They helped to make my life so much easier. All I had to do was pick up my phone and ask, ‘Was the Savoy Hotel in London already built in 1904?' or some other such question, and no matter how complicated it was I got an immediate answer almost before the words left my mouth. They pulled up all
kinds of information I needed, some of it quite strange and obscure, and provided yearly calendars from 1904 up to the present time. These two wizards on their computers must have heard from me at least twenty times a day for the past two years. My gratitude for their help knows no bounds.

I must acknowledge the fascinating novel,
The Sons of
Adam
(HarperCollins, London) by Harry Bingham. Apart from being a gripping read, I learned more about wild catting and drilling for oil in the 1920s than in any of my research books, and in the most enjoyable way. My thanks to this talented author for writing his book in the first place. It was invaluable.

I must say a word here about my two very talented editors who are unfailing in their support of me, and ready to listen and to advise. My editor in London, Patricia Parkin of HarperCollins, has edited twenty-two of my novels and this will be her twenty-third. I am most appreciative of her wisdom, devotion and dedication to my books. In all the time we have worked together we've never had a cross word or a disagreement, something of a record I'm sure.

My editor in New York, Jennifer Enderlin of St. Martin's Press, is cut from the same cloth, and is devoted, dedicated and full of enthusiasm, and I appreciate this. Having two such great editors and such splendid support on both sides of the Atlantic is a rare gift. My unstinting thanks to them both.

It is important to me to present a perfect typescript to my publishers, and I could not do that without the help of Liz Ferris of Liz Ferris Word Processing. She has typed many of my books for a number of years now, and my gratitude and thanks go to her for doing this so beautifully. Her finished typescripts are indeed perfect, produced at great speed, in record time, and without one complaint from her when I put the pressure on.

I also want to give special thanks to everyone at HarperCollins in London and at St Martin's Press in New York, all those who are involved in the design and production of my books. Behind the scenes editors, copy-editors and designers are invaluable to an author, and I am grateful for the care they put into my novels, and their hard work.

I have a circle of remarkable girlfriends who are always here for me, cheering me on, asking if I need anything, wanting to help in any way they can, and keen to both cosset and protect me when I'm writing. My thanks and love to them … they all know who they are.

Finally, last but not least, I must say that I could not write any of my books without the constant loving care, affection, devotion and ‘cheering on' of my husband, Robert Bradford. They threw the mould away when they made him, my very patient Bob.

Barbara Taylor Bradford was born in Leeds, and by the age of twenty was an editor and columnist on Fleet Street. Her first novel,
A Woman of Substance
, became an enduring bestseller and was followed by twenty-one others, including the bestselling Harte series. In 2006
The Ravenscar Dynasty
began an epic new family series around Ravenscar and the house of Deravenel. Barbara's books have sold more than eighty-one million copies worldwide in more than ninety countries and forty languages, and ten mini-series and television movies have been made of her books. In 2007 Barbara was appointed an OBE by the Queen for her services to literature. She lives in New York City with her husband, television producer Robert Bradford. This is her twenty-third novel.

For more information and inspiration behind the Ravenscar series, visit www.barbarataylorbradford.com

Visit www.AuthorTracker.co.uk for exclusive information on Barbara Taylor Bradford

Series
THE EMMA HARTE SAGA
A Woman of Substance
Hold the Dream
To Be the Best
Emma's Secret
Unexpected Blessings
Just Rewards

Others
Voice of the Heart
Act of Will
The Woman in His Life
Remember
Angel
Everything to Gain
Dangerous to Know
Love in Another Town
Her Own Rules
A Secret Affair
Power of a Woman
A Sudden Change of Heart
Where You Belong
The Triumph of Katie Byrne
Three Weeks in Paris

Series
THE RAVENSCAR TRILOGY
The Ravenscar Dynasty

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United Kingdom
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United States
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