The Golden Hour. Beatriz Williams

      

      

      Beatriz Williams

       Copyright

      Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

      1 London Bridge Street

      London, SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      First published in the UK by HarperCollinsPublishers 2019

      Copyright © Beatriz Williams

      Cover design by Ellie Game @HarperCollinsPublishers 2019

      Cover photographs © Lee Avison/Arcangel Images (woman and foreground), Shutterstock.com (trees, hedges and background)

      Beatriz Williams asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

      A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

      This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

      Source ISBN: 9780008380274

      Ebook Edition © August 2019 ISBN: 9780008380281

      Version: 2019-08-06

       Dedication

       To women and men everywhere who live with depression.

       You are loved. You are needed. The night will pass.

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

      Copyright

      Dedication

       In August 1940 …

      PART I

      Lulu: December 1943 (London)

      Lulu: June 1941 (The Bahamas)

Elfriede: July 1900 (Switzerland)

Lulu: July 1941 (The Bahamas)

Elfriede: August 1900 (Switzerland)

Lulu: July 1941 (The Bahamas)

Elfriede: September 1900 (Switzerland)

       Lulu: July 1941 (The Bahamas)

       PART II

       Lulu: December 1943 (London)

       Elfriede: October 1900 (Germany)

       Lulu: December 1941 (The Bahamas)

       Elfriede: November 1900 (Germany)

       Lulu: December 1941 (The Bahamas)

       PART III

       Lulu: December 1943 (London)

       Elfriede: June 1905 (Florida)

       Lulu: June 1942 (The Bahamas)

       Elfriede: July 1905 (Florida)

       Lulu: June 1942 (The Bahamas)

       Elfriede: August 1905 (Berlin)

       PART IV

       Lulu: December 1943 (Scotland)

       Lulu: July 1943 (The Bahamas)

       Elfriede: June 1916 (Scotland)

       Lulu: July 1943 (The Bahamas)

       Elfriede: August 1916 (Scotland)

       Lulu: December 1943 (Scotland)

       Lulu: July 1943 (The Bahamas)

       Lulu: December 1943 (Scotland)

       PART V

       Lulu: November 1943 (The Bahamas)

       PART VI

       Ursula: January 1944 (Germany)

       Lulu: March 1944 (Switzerland)

       Elfriede: March 1944 (Switzerland)

       Epilogue. Lulu: June 1951 (RMS Queen Mary, At Sea)

       Historical Note

       Acknowledgments

       Keep Reading …

       About the Author

       Also by Beatriz Williams

       About the Publisher

      In August 1940, the Duke of Windsor is appointed governor of the Bahamas by his brother, George VI, on the recommendation of Winston Churchill.

      While the former king feels the appointment is beneath his station, he accepts, in the expectation that loyal service in this colonial outpost will lead to more prestigious assignments in the future.

      But despite an exemplary public record of governorship for the duration of the Second World War, and the energetic support of the Duchess of Windsor as the governor’s wife, the duke is never again asked to serve his country in an official capacity.

       PART I

       LULU

       DECEMBER 1943

       (London)

      IN