The Hidden Women: An inspirational novel of sisterhood and strength
From the bestselling author of The Girl In The Picture comes a beautiful new timeslip novel.Readers love Kerry Barrett:‘All Kerry Barrett's books are brilliant’‘I'd highly recommend this: detective fiction, historical fiction, powerful, moving, thrilling, sometimes comic, always very human.’‘A beautiful story which kept me hooked’‘I would definitely recommend this read, but be warned, you won't want to put it down.’‘Loved the whole story, couldn't put it down’‘Will definitely read more from this author’
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KERRY BARRETT was a bookworm from a very early age and did a degree in English Literature, then trained as a journalist, writing about everything from pub grub to EastEnders. Her first novel, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, took six years to finish and was mostly written in longhand on her commute to work, giving her a very good reason to buy beautiful notebooks. Kerry lives in London with her husband and two sons, and Noel Streatfield’s Ballet Shoes is still her favourite novel.
‘All Kerry Barrett’s books are brilliant.’
‘I’d highly recommend this: detective fiction, historical fiction, powerful, moving, thrilling, sometimes comic, always very human.’
‘A beautiful story which kept me hooked.’
‘I would definitely recommend this read, but be warned, you won’t want to put it down.’
‘Loved the whole story, couldn’t put it down.’
‘Will definitely read more from this author.’
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
I Put a Spell on You
Baby It’s Cold Outside
I’ll Be There For You
A Spoonful of Sugar
A Step in Time
The Forgotten Girl
The Girl in the Picture
The Hidden Women
KERRY BARRETT
HQ
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2019
Copyright © Kerry Barrett 2019
Kerry Barrett 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.
E-book Edition © January 2019 ISBN: 9780008318529
Version: 2018-11-29
Table of Contents
For Petrova Fossil, the original Attagirl
‘I thought you’d be pleased,’ I said, watching Greg’s stony face for any sign of happiness.
‘Well I’m not.’ His expression softened, just a bit, and he sat down next to me on the sofa and took my hand.
‘It’s just too soon,’ he said.
‘We’ve been together for five years, Greg,’ I snapped. ‘It’s not like we just met.’
He had the grace to look at least slightly ashamed.
‘I meant for me, not us,’ he said. ‘It’s too soon for me. And you. We’re still young. We should be out having fun, not at home with a squawking baby.’
‘We’re in our thirties; we’re not kids,’ I said, resting my head against the sofa cushions. I felt sick and I didn’t think it was just because of my unexpected pregnancy.
I’d done the test that morning, and showed Greg the unmistakeable dark line as he brushed his teeth.
‘It’s positive,’ I’d said, feeling a tiny shiver of excitement mixed with fear. ‘I’m pregnant.’
Greg had glanced at the plastic stick and then kissed me, his breath minty fresh.
‘I need to run,’ he’d simply said. ‘We’ll chat tonight.’
And now we were chatting and it wasn’t going the way I’d thought it would.
‘I thought we were set,’ I said. ‘I thought we were a team.’
‘We are a team,’ Greg said. ‘You and me.’
‘You and me and our baby,’ I said.
Greg winced. He tried to cover it up by pretending to cough, but I’d seen it.
‘I don’t want to have a baby, Helena,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry, but that’s just how I feel.’
I couldn’t speak.
‘There’s a clinic,’ Greg said. ‘Max at work told me about it. His girlfriend went there a while back. He gave me the card, hang on …’
He dug about in his pocket while I let my fingers drift down to rest on my stomach.
‘I need some air,’ I said, ignoring his outstretched hand clutching a business card. ‘I’m going for a walk.’
I grabbed my jacket from the arm of the sofa, and stumbled my way out of the front door.
‘H,’ Greg said. ‘Don’t be like this. It’s hormones; you’re not thinking straight.’
