Excerpt: Annie's Secret (Hartford Manor #6) by Marcia Clayton
- Archaeolibrarian
- 7 hours ago
- 8 min read
Book details:
Book Title: Annie’s Secret
Series: The Hartford Manor Series
Author Name: Marcia Clayton
Publication Date: 18 October 2025
Publisher: Sunhillow Publishing
Pages: 304
Genre: Historical Fiction, Victorian, Family Saga, Historical Romance
Any Triggers: No
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1887, North Devon, England
When Lady Eleanor Fellwood gave birth to a badly deformed baby, she insisted that the child be adopted as far away as possible. However, that proved difficult to accomplish, and so, in return for payment, Sabina Carter, an impoverished widow living locally, agreed to raise the little boy as a foundling. The child’s father, Lord Charles Fellwood of Hartford Manor, warned Sabina that the matter must be treated in the strictest confidence or her family would be evicted from their home. As far as Lady Eleanor was concerned, the child was being cared for miles away.
All was well for several years until fate took a hand and, against his parents’ wishes, Robert Fellwood, the heir to the Hartford Estate, married Sabina’s daughter, Annie. Robert arranged for his mother-in-law, Sabina, and her family to reside in the Lodge House, situated at the end of the Manor House driveway. A house that Lady Eleanor passed regularly, and it was not long before she spotted Danny’s dark curls among the Carter redheads. As she looked into the child’s eyes and noted his disabilities, she recognised her son.
Now, at seven years old, Danny has had numerous operations to correct his disabilities and is a happy, healthy child. However, his presence is a source of constant anguish for his birth mother as, day after day, she watches him play in the garden. Her husband, Charles, and son, Robert, are aghast when she announces that she wants him back! An impossible situation for all concerned, and a rift develops between Robert and Annie as he struggles to find a solution to suit everyone.
Over the years, Lady Eleanor has steadfastly refused to acknowledge her daughter-in-law, for she disapproves of Annie’s lower-class origins. When a freak accident forces the two women to spend time together, they inevitably find themselves drawn into conversation, and before long, the years of pent-up resentment and family secrets surface as home truths are aired.
Will the two women be rescued from their precarious situation unscathed? And, if so, will the family survive the scandal that is about to be unleashed?
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available in #KindleUnlimited,
The Hartford Manor Series Links:
Prequel - Betsey http://mybook.to/Betsey
Book 1 -The Mazzard Tree http://mybook.to/TheMazzardTree
Book 2 - The Angel Maker http://mybook.to/TheAngelMaker
Book 3 - The Rabbit’s Foot http://mybook.to/TheRabbitsFoot
Book 4 - Millie’s Escape https://mybook.to/MilliesEscape
Book 5 - A Woman Scorned https://mybook.to/AWomanScorned
All books in The Hartford Manor Series are available to read on #KindleUnlimited, and print copies can be ordered from any bookshop.
Eli Cutcliffe was finding living in the pigsty at the bottom of the garden of the Lodge House relatively comfortable, for the weather was warmer, and he no longer shivered all through the night. Helen, Stephen, and Danny ensured he had plenty to eat, and their mother frequently remarked that her children were forever hungry. The boy was lonely, though, for he spent many hours alone and was eager to find his father as soon as possible.
Stephen had pointed out the cottage where John and Noeleen lived, and that it was John’s habit to return home for his lunch. Having surveyed the route between the Hartford estate where John worked and his cottage, Eli selected a quiet corner with sufficient bushes for him to wait unobserved. Having no idea of the time, and with nothing better to do, Eli was in position far too early and waited impatiently. He was hungry, for the children had not had the opportunity to take him any food that morning. He always ate everything they provided straight away for fear of attracting more rats and mice, which he knew shared his dwelling.
As he lay quietly in the long grass, a delicious aroma reached his nostrils, making him salivate and his belly rumble, and he realised that the old woman's cottage, where he had stolen a cake a few weeks earlier, was only a stone’s throw away. The temptation was too great, and he decided he must risk missing John to find something to eat. After all, he could always lie in wait for his father another day.
He crept along the path to the back door, but this time it was closed, and he gently lifted the latch and pushed it open as quietly as he could. Unfortunately, it had been some years since the hinges were last oiled, and to his horror, the door creaked loudly.
“Who’s there? Help! Can you help me? Please, come in; I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”
The boy eyed the hot pasties cooling on a rack and was torn between making a quick getaway with something to fill his hungry belly and helping the old lady. He hesitated, then crept over to the table.
“Oh, please, come in. I can hear you out there. I need a hand to get back on my feet.”
Deciding he couldn’t abandon the old woman, Eli peered around the door into the sitting room, where he saw Nancy Brookes lying on the floor, the blood from a cut on her head running into her eyes, and her walking stick out of reach.
“Hello, my dear; don’t be frightened. I’m in no position to hurt you; is it you who’s been stealing my food? If so, it doesn’t matter. If you help me, you can take what you like, and I promise you I won’t tell the policeman. Can you give me a hand?”
Eli was not a bad boy at heart, and he knew he couldn’t run off and leave this helpless old lady lying there. He went towards her, picking up her walking stick as he passed and knelt beside her.
“Thank you, son. I’m so grateful. Could you pass me that damp cloth by the sink so that I can wipe this blood out of my eyes? I must have knocked myself out, for I don’t know how long I’ve been lying here.”
“I don’t think you’ve been there long; the pasties smell like they’re not long out of the oven.”
He passed her the cloth, and she mopped the cut, but could not see what she was doing.
“Shall I clean it up for you? Perhaps if I hold the cloth on the wound for a few minutes, it will stop the bleeding; that’s what Ma used to do when she’d taken a beating.”
Nancy nodded gratefully, thinking this poor lad had known some difficult times. After a few minutes, he gently removed the compress and was relieved to see that the bleeding had stopped.
“There, I think it’s stopped. Shall I help you up?”
“Yes, please, though there’s not much to you; I don’t know if we’ll manage it. Perhaps if you can help me onto my knees, I might be able to grab hold of the table and haul myself up.”
After much wincing at the pain in her legs and a considerable effort from Eli, the boy eventually got the old woman onto her knees. She paused as the room swam before her, but then smiled weakly before grabbing the edge of the table and struggling to heave herself up. With the boy supporting her, she finally regained her feet, and he quickly pushed a chair under her.
“Oh, thank God, you came along, lad. I was worried I might lie there for days, for I never know when I’ll next have a visitor. Now, if you make us a cup of tea, we’ll eat a pasty together. Two, if you like.”
While the boy pulled the kettle forward on the stove to boil, and, following Nancy’s directions, put the tea leaves into the pink china teapot, Nancy slowly got to her feet and tried a couple of steps. Relieved that nothing was broken, she sank thankfully into her favourite armchair beside the stove and lifted her feet onto the footstool.
Eli made them both a strong cup of tea and put two pasties on plates, one for each of them, before sitting in the armchair opposite her.
“Eat up, then, lad. You’ve earned your pasty today. Is it you who’s been stealing my food? You can tell me the truth, for I won’t report you after helping me this morning.”
“Yes, I’m sorry. I’m not normally a thief, but I’ve had to steal to eat for the last few weeks. Perhaps I could do a few jobs to make up for it?”
“Yes, maybe, but why are you in such dire straits? Where are your parents?”
“Well, Ma’s dead, and the man I thought was my father turned out not to be.”
“How did you find that out?”
“Ma told me as she lay dying. Jem has always treated us badly, even my brothers and sisters, who are his, but especially me, as I’m the oldest. Ma told me she was expecting me before she married Jem, and when I was born early, he guessed I wasn’t his and beat the truth out of her. She reckoned if I stayed after she’d passed on, he’d treat me even worse, so she told me to leave and try to find my real father.”
“Oh, so you know who he is?”
“Yes, she wasn’t a prostitute. She told me he’s called John Cutcliffe and that he used to work on the Hartford estate.”
Nancy took a sharp breath. “John Cutcliffe, you say? How old are you, and what’s your name?”
“I’m called Eli and I think I’m about ten.”
“So that would mean you were born in 1877, back when John was married to his first wife, Hannah.”
“You know John Cutcliffe, then?”
“Aye, I know him, and I ought to for he’s my son, and if what you tell me is right, then you’re my grandson!”
Marcia Clayton writes historical fiction with a sprinkling of romance and mystery in a heartwarming family saga that spans the Regency period through Victorian times.
As a child, Marcia often had to amuse herself as her siblings were several years older than her, and her arrival was something of a shock to her middle-aged parents. Her favourite pastimes were writing stories and reading, and she adored the Enid Blyton books, particularly The Famous Five and The Adventure Series. These books established her love of literature, which has remained with her to this day.
A farmer’s daughter, Marcia, was born in North Devon and is proud to be a Devon Maid. Over the years, she has been employed in various occupations, primarily to work around raising her three sons, Stuart, Paul, and David. She has worked in banking and nursing and, for many years, was the School Transport Manager for the local authority. Now retired, Marcia spends a lot of her time writing historical fiction but also enjoys gardening, researching her family history, and walking in the lovely Devon countryside with Bryan, her husband of fifty-three years.
Marcia has written seven books in the historical family saga, The Hartford Manor Series. You can also read her free short story, Amelia, a spin-off tale from the first book, The Mazzard Tree. Amelia, a little orphan girl of 4, is abandoned in Victorian London with her brothers, Joseph and Matthew. To find out what happens to her, download the story here: https://marciaclayton.co.uk/amelia-free-download/
In addition to writing books, Marcia writes blogs about a variety of subjects and a monthly newsletter, which she shares with her readers. If you would like to join Marcia’s mailing list, please subscribe to her website, The Devon Maid Book Corner: https://marciaclayton.co.uk/
Author Links:
Website: https://marciaclayton.co.uk/
Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/MarciaC89111861
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marciaclayton97/
Amazon Author Page: http://viewauthor.at/MarciaClayton
Tour hosted by: The Coffee Pot Book Club
Thank you so much for hosting Marcia Clayton today, with an enticing excerpt from her fabulous new novel, Annie’ Secret. Take care, Cathie xx The Coffee Pot Book Club