Friday's Girl Read online

  He marched her down to Alfred Talisman’s painting and stood her in front of it.

  Edith gazed up at Alfred’s painting of her, and felt an almost physical shock as she saw how much Alfred had understood and even loved her.

  ‘You, I am afraid, Mrs Todd,’ Sam told her, humour coming into his voice for the first time, ‘you are the cause of all the trouble, but I will leave your poor demented husband to tell you the full story. As it is, I do assure you, since both painters will, in the fullness of time, become not just famous but immortal, this scandal will only enhance their reputations, believe me. Scandals are always good for art, Mrs Todd – and, naturally, business!’

  He lit a cigar and smiled. After all, his gallery had just received more press attention than the National Gallery and the Royal Academy combined.

  Edith, shocked by the violence of Napier’s feelings for her, not to mention his willingness to sacrifice his painting to prove his love, eventually consented to return to him. Celandine and Aunt Biddy were pleased for her, but especially happy that Napier and she decided to sell Helmscote to a quickly formed co-operative group of workers, and return to Cornwall and their circle of loving friends.

  For a while it seemed that the trauma of the scandal concerning ‘Temptation’ had indeed had an adverse effect on Napier, and he had returned to that same artistic state in which he had first encountered Edith scrubbing the floor of the Stag Inn; until one day she happened to mention the man with the lantern who had led her to safety through the streets of Newbourne.

  Inspired by her description, Napier painted her rescuer as he imagined him. The painting, entitled ‘Here I am, Child’, depicted a bearded figure with a lantern. It became one of the most reproduced paintings of all time, and made Sam Devigne the happiest of gallery owners.

  Celandine and Sheridan founded the Newbourne Art School, where Celandine made sure that the intake of female artists was at least as great as the male. She continued to paint local personalities, as Sheridan continued to promote his ideals of naturalism. Today their paintings hang side by side in the school’s gallery at Newbourne. They are greatly admired by the kind of people who would never have visited Sam Devigne’s gallery, but are quite sure that they know a good painting when they see one.

  ‘Friday’s Girl’, on the other hand, hangs in the new National Gallery at Newbourne. It is a speaking portrait of a young girl at a certain moment in her life. A great many people think it sentimental. Only those who knew the sitter know the truth of it.

  If you enjoyed Friday’s Girl, look out for Charlotte Bingham’s next novel, Out of the Blue.

  Charlotte Bingham would like to invite you to visit her website at www.charlottebingham.com

  About the Author

  Charlotte Bingham comes from a literary family – her father sold a story to H. G. Wells when he was only seventeen – and Charlotte wrote her autobiography, CORONET AMONG THE WEEDS, at the age of nineteen. Since then, she has written comedy and drama series, films and plays for both England and America with her husband, the actor and playwright Terence Brady. Her published novels include the highly acclaimed bestsellers SUMMERTIME, THE SEASON, THE BLUE NOTE, THE LOVE KNOT, THE KISSING GARDEN, LOVE SONG, TO HEAR A NIGHTINGALE, THE BUSINESS, IN SUNSHINE OR IN SHADOW, STARDUST, NANNY, CHANGE OF HEART, DEBUTANTES, THE NIGHTINGALE SINGS, GRAND AFFAIR, THE CHESTNUT TREE, THE WIND OFF THE SEA, THE MOON AT MIDNIGHT, DAUGHTERS OF EDEN, THE HOUSE OF FLOWERS, THE MAGIC HOUR, FRIDAY’S GIRL, IN DISTANT FIELDS and THE WHITE MARRIAGE.

  Also by the Author

  CORONET AMONG THE WEEDS

  LUCINDA

  CORONET AMONG THE GRASS

  THE BUSINESS

  IN SUNSHINE OR IN SHADOW

  STARDUST

  NANNY

  CHANGE OF HEART

  GRAND AFFAIR

  LOVE SONG

  THE KISSING GARDEN

  THE BLUE NOTE

  SUMMERTIME

  DISTANT MUSIC

  THE MAGIC HOUR

  FRIDAY'S GIRL

  OUT OF THE BLUE

  IN DISTANT FIELDS

  THE WHITE MARRIAGE

  GOODNIGHT SWEETHEART

  THE ENCHANTED

  THE LAND OF SUMMER

  THE DAISY CLUB

  The Belgravia series

  BELGRAVIA

  COUNTRY LIFE

  AT HOME

  BY INVITATION

  The Nightingale series

  TO HEAR A NIGHTINGALE

  THE NIGHTINGALE SINGS

  The Debutantes series

  DEBUTANTES

  THE SEASON

  The Eden series

  DAUGHTERS OF EDEN

  THE HOUSE OF FLOWERS

  The Bexham trilogy

  THE CHESTNUT TREE

  THE WIND OFF THE SEA

  THE MOON AT MIDNIGHT

  Novels with Terence Brady

  VICTORIA

  VICTORIA AND COMPANY

  ROSE'S STORY

  YES HONESTLY

  Television Drama Series with Terence Brady

  TAKE THREE GIRLS

  UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS

  THOMAS AND SARAH

  NANNY

  FOREVER GREEN

  Television Comedy Series with Terence Brady

  NO HONESTLY

  YES HONESTLY

  PIG IN THE MIDDLE

  OH MADELINE! (USA)

  FATHER MATTHEW'S DAUGHTER

  Television Plays with Terence Brady

  MAKING THE PLAY

  SUCH A SMALL WORLD

  ONE OF THE FAMILY

  Films with Terence Brady

  LOVE WITH A PERFECT STRANGER

  MAGIC MOMENT

  Stage Plays with Terence Brady

  I WISH I WISH

  THE SHELL SEEKERS

  (adaptation from the novel by Rosamunde Pilcher)

  BELOW STAIRS

  For more information on Charlotte Bingham and her books,

  see her website at www.charlottebingham.com

  TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS

  61–63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA

  www.transworldbooks.co.uk

  Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies

  whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com

  First published in Great Britain in 2005 by Bantam Press

  an imprint of Transworld Publishers

  Bantam edition published 2006

  Copyright © Charlotte Bingham 2005

  Charlotte Bingham has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781409045397

  ISBN 0553817930/9780553817935

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

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