Today I’m joining the blog tour for The Promise Tree. I’m sharing an extract from the book with thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me on the tour and to the publisher for providing the extract.

Blurb:

When does a story begin?

For Edwin Hope, it begins with a childhood dare and a forbidden tree. It begins with him falling … in more ways than one.

Called home from his studies by the grandfather who has always hated him, eighteen-year-old Edwin is once again trapped in a house that is colder than the winds whipping across the fields. Seeking sanctuary, he escapes into the untamed beauty of the Peaks and meets a woman who sparks an old memory. A memory of the sycamore that broke him, and the little girl who saved him.

Drusilla has had many acolytes over the centuries but none like Edwin. With the Great War looming and Edwin’s future uncertain, she knows the right thing to do is to set him free from her spell, but can she do so if it means breaking her own heart?

Extract:

Two weeks after breaking his arm climbing the sycamore tree o his grandfather’s land, Edwin Hope has returned to the it, despite being forbidden by his grandfather. He has vague memories of a little girl being in the tree when he fell and in this excerpt he meets her again.

The girl was sitting astride a branch, peering down at him. 

“What are you doing up there?” Edwin demanded, aggrieved at being spied on. 

“I’m watching you,” she said in a wispy voice. 

She swung her legs, pointing and flexing her toes. Her feet were bare and filthy. 

“You are the boy from weeks ago. You fell. You’re not very good at climbing, are you? How old are you, four or five?” 

“I’m seven,” Edwin said indignantly. 

“Well you climb like a five-year-old,” the girl said. She giggled again. “You’re just a little Sapling.” 

Edwin flushed red. Robert Carfax had teased him about being a baby before goading him into climbing the tree. 

“I’m not a Sapling.” 

The girl leaned down, pushing her face further through the leaves. She was facing him now, lying on her front with her elbows crossed and her legs dangling down as if she were riding a horse properly like a boy, not sideways as ladies did. She reminded him slightly of the picture of the Cheshire Cat reclining in the branches from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Brown hair framed a face with a pointed chin and browny- greenish eyes. Her arms and legs were a nice light-brown colour, though he had a feeling that was on account of her being used to living outdoors because he didn’t think her features looked like any of the few people from India who lived in the town. 

He wasn’t quite sure what she was wearing, but it looked to be made of something floaty in green with brown swirls that almost matched the colour of the leaves and bark. It all added to his belief that she must be a gypsy child rather than one from the town. 

He stood up. “Why don’t you come down and talk to me properly rather than sitting in the tree. You shouldn’t even be here. You’re tripsassing.” 

“Trespassing,” the girl replied giving him a condescending look. “You can’t even say it properly, and anyway, I’m not. This tree isn’t yours. You’re only a little boy.” 

“My grandfather owns it. He owns this field and the one behind it. And the one down to the stream, and the house at the bottom with the croquet lawn and walled garden, and the factory beyond that,” Edwin said. He stuck his tongue out at her. “So I will own it one day and then it will be mine and you will never own it.” 

The girl tilted her head on one side and looked at him. “I don’t need to own it. It’s still my tree.” 

“Are you the witch that was hanged?” Edwin asked. 

“That’s a lie. It never happened like that.” She pouted then smiled again and lifted her chin proudly. “I’m the goddess of the tree.” 

Edwin laughed scornfully. “That’s blasphemy. There aren’t such things as goddesses, only God.” 

The girl glared at him then her expression changed to disdain. “You’re wrong, but you’re only a Sapling so don’t know any better.” 

“You could be a goddess. I suppose the ancient Greeks and Egyptians had both,” he said quickly. 

“In that case I forgive you.” 

She smiled and Edwin felt like the sun had come out from behind a cloud. He thrust out his hand. 

“I’m Edwin Clarence Hope, by the way.”

“Hello Edwin Clarence Hope-By-The-Way.”

Edwin burst out laughing then covered his mouth with a hand, worried he might have offended her.

“No. Just the first bit. Edwin Clarence Hope.” 

“I know that. I’m teasing you. I know how names work. They don’t change so much. Why are you here again?” 

“I came back to get a leaf,” Edwin said. “I don’t know how I’m going to climb up with only one arm though.” 

The girl folded her arms and appeared to be thinking hard. She wriggled around to face him again. “I’ll get you one, but I want something in return. To make the taking fair and equal.” 

Edwin stuck his hands in his pockets but there was nothing there that a girl might value. Only a glass marble with a swirl of green inside it. He drew it out and held it up. 

“Yes! I want that,” she exclaimed. “You can take your leaf. Let me pick one for you.” 

She plucked one then jumped down to land beside Edwin with a grace and confidence he envied. Her green dress fell to just beneath her knees and was sleeveless. Her legs and feet were bare. 

“Aren’t you cold?” Edwin asked. 

She twirled on the spot, throwing her head back so the tangles of her hair spun out. 

“I’m never cold.” 

She snatched the marble from his open palm then twirled the leaf by the stalk before pressing it between both her hands, holding them as if she were praying in church. Each of the five points peeked out over the top of her fingers. She brought her fingers to her lips and blew gently then held it out. 

“It will bring you luck if you keep it safe.” 

He took it and was about to thank her, but before he could speak he heard a sharp voice. 

“Master Edwin, come out of there now!” 

He looked over his shoulder and saw Sykes striding towards him across the meadow, waving an arm in the air. 

He’d stayed too long. His stomach twisted with foreboding at the inevitable consequences. 

“Quickly, lad!” 

Edwin held out his hand. “I’m going now. I’m sorry. It was nice to meet you. I’ll come again soon.” 

The girl grasped his fingers. Her eyes were wide and her mouth twisted. 

“Don’t let them plant the hedgerow, again. Please.” 

Edwin nodded, not quite understanding her fear. He walked through the gap and into the meadow.

***

The Promise Tree is available from Amazon.

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