Francesca's Party (57 page)

The following morning their farewells were short and sweet. She could see them laughing at her and at the tears sliding down her cheeks as she waved her goodbyes. She laughed in spite of herself at their antics in the taxi and waved after them until the car turned onto the coast road.

She closed the door behind her and wiped her eyes. It was dark and cold and the crack of dawn and her
warm
cosy bed beckoned. She climbed her spiral staircase and slid back into her bed and snuggled down under the quilt. The cottage was silent, but it was a calm, serene silence and she felt peaceful. She would help Mark find a place of his own. She was now the stronger one in the relationship, she thought in surprise. It felt good. She was looking forward to going into partnership with Ken. And then at Easter she would fly out to the States to holiday with her sons. Mark could join them if he wanted to. They could spend time as a family and then she could come home to her gorgeous little house.
Her
house. Oh yes, she had an awful lot to look forward to, Francesca thought drowsily as her eyes closed and she fell into a deep, untroubled sleep.

Patricia Scanlan lives in Dublin. Her books, all number one bestsellers, include
Two for Joy
,
Double Wedding
,
Divided Loyalties
,
Forgive and Forget
and
Coming Home
.

Although Patricia loves writing fiction, she’s really longing to be asked to research a book on Great Luxury Spas of the World or the Poshest Boutiques in Paris... she doesn’t mind which!

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FRANCESCA’S PARTY
A BANTAM BOOK : 9780553812923
Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781448109494

Originally published in Great Britain by Bantam Press,
a division of Transworld Publishers

Bantam Press edition published 2001
Bantam edition published 2002

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Copyright © Patricia Scanlan 2001

The right of Patricia Scanlan to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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