“Can you love me still?” I ask him. “Can you wish to be a part of … of all that you have seen? You know what I am become. You have witnessed the danger that surrounds me. I was so afraid for you … Are you certain you still want to be with me? I mean…”

“Hush.” He puts a finger to my lips. “Where else would I be?”

High up in the branches of the cedar, a blackbird begins its tuneful song, starting up the chorus to herald the morning, as a thin, silvery light begins to lift the night from the city.

I take Bram’s hand in mine.

“Well then, my love, a new day is dawning,” I tell him. “Shall we face it together?”

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

The Midnight Witch presented all manner of interesting challenges for me. I wished to immerse myself in a time and place that is extremely well documented, so that my first task was to present it anew. I also wanted to create a complex tale, with story layers that reflected the strata of the era, and that would at the same time reveal a hidden seam of magic and witchcraft. If I have succeeded in my aims, it will be due in no small part to the guidance and hard work of my editorial team, Peter Wolverton and Anne Brewer. I am hugely grateful.

Thanks also, as ever, to my long-suffering and supportive family, and particularly on this occasion to my mum—beta reader and cheerleader combined.

Also by Paula Brackston

Also by Paula Brackston

The Witch’s Daughter

The Witches of the Blue Well

The Winter Witch

About the Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PAULA BRACKSTON is the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch’s Daughter and The Winter Witch. She has a master’s degree in creative writing from Lancaster University in the UK. She lives in Wales with her family. Visit her online at www.paulabrackston.com.