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Back The Cottage Save as PDF
Chapters (82)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. THREE
  6. FOUR
  7. FIVE
  8. SIX
  9. SEVEN
  10. EIGHT
  11. NINE
  12. TEN
  13. ELEVEN
  14. TWELVE
  15. THIRTEEN
  16. FOURTEEN
  17. FIFTEEN
  18. SIXTEEN
  19. SEVENTEEN
  20. EIGHTEEN
  21. NINETEEN
  22. TWENTY
  23. TWENTY-ONE
  24. TWENTY-TWO
  25. TWENTY-THREE
  26. TWENTY-FOUR
  27. TWENTY-FIVE
  28. TWENTY-SIX
  29. TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. TWENTY-NINE
  32. THIRTY
  33. THIRTY-ONE
  34. THIRTY-TWO
  35. THIRTY-THREE
  36. THIRTY-FOUR
  37. THIRTY-FIVE
  38. THIRTY-SIX
  39. THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. THIRTY-NINE
  42. FORTY
  43. FORTY-ONE
  44. FORTY-TWO
  45. FORTY-THREE
  46. FORTY-FOUR
  47. FORTY-FIVE
  48. FORTY-SIX
  49. FORTY-SEVEN
  50. FORTY-EIGHT
  51. FORTY-NINE
  52. FIFTY
  53. FIFTY-ONE
  54. FIFTY-TWO
  55. FIFTY-THREE
  56. FIFTY-FOUR
  57. FIFTY-FIVE
  58. FIFTY-SIX
  59. FIFTY-SEVEN
  60. FIFTY-EIGHT
  61. FIFTY-NINE
  62. SIXTY
  63. SIXTY-ONE
  64. SIXTY-TWO
  65. SIXTY-THREE
  66. SIXTY-FOUR
  67. SIXTY-FIVE
  68. SIXTY-SIX
  69. SIXTY-SEVEN
  70. SIXTY-EIGHT
  71. SIXTY-NINE
  72. SEVENTY
  73. SEVENTY-ONE
  74. SEVENTY-TWO
  75. SEVENTY-THREE
  76. SEVENTY-FOUR
  77. Suggested topics for reading-group discussion
  78. Keep Reading …
  79. Lisa Stone also writes under the name of Cathy Glass.Don’t miss her latest book …
  80. About the Author
  81. Books by Lisa Stone
  82. About the Publisher

‘Come on, Tinder, time to go,’ she called. Her voice sounded strange and far off in the otherwise quiet forest.

He was a little way to her left. Having picked up the scent of something, he was sniffing around the base of a tree close to the hedge. ‘What is it?’

She went over. A ball of green twine just like the ones Camile kept in the shed and which Jan had used to tie the wood in place lay partly covered by leaves. Moving Tinder aside, Jan picked it up and examined it. She was sure it had come from Camile’s shed, but what was it doing here? Had Chris or Camile used it for repairing the fence in the past? No. Chris would have used something stronger and more robust – hammer and nails, not twine – she was sure. And Camile had been gone weeks. This ball of twine hadn’t been here that long. It was barely wet and showed no sign of weathering – days not weeks, she thought.

Tinder was looking at her expectantly, hoping to get another sniff of the ball, but Jan threw it in the direction of her back garden. If it made it in there, she would return it to the shed. She set off towards the track, Tinder at her heels. If she walked in a straight line, she should come out more or less where she’d come off the track. Then it was left towards Wood Lane. As she walked the only sound came from her boots crunching over the dry leaves and twigs and Tinder running beside her. In some places she could see the foot marks she and Tinder had made on their way in, so she knew she was on the right course.

Suddenly Tinder stopped and gave a low growl, his ears pricked up. He’d heard something. Pausing, Jan looked in the same direction, but there was nothing to be seen. ‘Come on, good boy, this way,’ she said, her voice slightly unsteady.

He gave another growl but came with her.

A few steps further on, she heard a noise coming from the same direction, as though someone else was here. Cold fear embraced her. It was still some way back to the track and even further to Wood Lane and the cottage. Her heart began to race. It had been stupid to come this far into the woods alone, just to prove a point. Who knew what lived here? She began to run, stumbling over the piles of rotten leaves and bracken while trying to avoid the branches overhead. Tinder ran beside her, as eager to be out of the woods as she was.

Thankfully the trees cleared and she found herself on the track again, but the movement in the wood continued. Someone or something was in there, moving parallel to them. Petrified, Jan quickened her pace and took out her phone, ready to call for help if necessary.