Beneath the Skin Page 32

  ‘Oh, no problem. Glad to help. It was a lovely idea to have it printed and framed. Isn’t your girl clever, Candy? I wouldn’t have thought of that.’

  She touches Antonia’s shoulder, a feather touch of care, which stings behind Antonia’s eyes. ‘Well, give me a shout if you need me.’

  Antonia smiles her frozen polite smile and turns back to the silent television screen. She won’t need Mrs Jones. The seeping of the past, the digging and the need for detail has stopped. She was on the verge of telling Mike everything when he visited on the afternoon of Olivia’s death, to spilling it out, the truth. To confessing it all and to saying, ‘Dad cried and begged me for forgiveness before falling asleep, but still I stabbed him when he slept and couldn’t stop.’ But something held her back. The anxiety of rejection? The fear of him discovering the ugliness underneath? She doesn’t know. Survival, perhaps. Or maybe the secret has become a part of her she doesn’t want to let go. But it was the right decision, absolutely. Some things, she knows, are best hidden beneath the skin.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Many thanks to:

  My lovely family – Elizabeth, Charlotte, Emily and Jonathan. And my mum and dad, Ron and Mary, gone but still loved.

  My fabulous writing friends and my gin buddies (you all know who you are!)

  My wonderful readers and supporters – Liz Ball, Hazel James, Richard and Bo Baker.

  People who have helped on the way – Robert Peett, Jeremy Brinton, Jane Butcher, Michael Thorn and Eric Akoto.

  My agent Kate Johnson, my editor Phoebe Morgan, and the whole team at Avon.

  Looking for your next obsession? Look no further…

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  About the Author

  Born a Yorkshire lass, Caroline England studied Law at Manchester University and stayed over the border. She deserted the law to bring up her three lovely daughters and discovered writing was far preferable to dusting, ironing and vacuuming. Her short story collection Watching Horsepats Feed the Roses was published by ACHUKA Books in 2012. Beneath the Skin is her first novel.

  About the Publisher

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  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

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