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The Bells of Bournville Green

Page 40

by Annie Murray


  Pat had come to visit Greta in hospital as soon as she heard that the baby was safely born, and had been quite emotional at the sight of him.

  ‘Sorry, Pat,’ Greta said, feeling badly for her. ‘It must be hard for you.’

  ‘No,’ Pat said, wiping her eyes and smiling sweetly. ‘It’s just lovely. He’s a beautiful babby, Gret. Well done you!’

  Greta kept to herself the obvious remark that perhaps Pat could have a baby of her own if she’d get on and marry Andrew, who had asked her several times already. But Pat seemed intent on having the longest engagement in history and was not to be hurried.

  ‘I expect I’ll get round to it one day,’ she sometimes said. ‘I’m all right as I am for now though.’

  As Greta and David lay snug in the warm, there was a tap at the door.

  ‘I couldn’t keep her away any longer!’ Edie said, as Francesca launched herself enthusiastically into the room to kiss her baby brother. She took her role as big sister very seriously. ‘Would you two like a cup of tea?’

  ‘Oh yes, please!’ Greta said fervently. Breast-feeding certainly gave her a thirst.

  Edie returned a little later with a tray, just as little Anatoli was waking.

  ‘Stay and drink it with us won’t you?’ David said, smiling as he handed the baby, screaming in hungry outrage, to Greta for his feed.

  Edie settled on the chair, watching the baby and smiling. Francesca watched, awed by the volume of the screaming.

  ‘He’s got a big voice,’ she remarked.

  ‘You wait,’ Greta told her. ‘He’ll be bigger than you one day!’

  She took the little boy to her breast and the room went quiet again. David laid his hand on her thigh under the bedclothes, as if for comfort, and she looked round at Edie, her hair loose, girlish though she was a grandmother, at her little daughter and her husband, and thought that whatever else life might bring, today, here in this room, she had everything she ever wanted.

  The Bells of Bournville Green

  ANNIE MURRAY was born in Berkshire and read English at St John’s College, Oxford. Her first ‘Birmingham’ novel, Birmingham Rose, hit The Times bestseller list when it was published in 1995. She has subsequently written eleven other successful novels, including, most recently, Where Earth Meets Sky. Annie Murray has four children and lives in Reading.

  ALSO BY ANNIE MURRRAY

  Birmingham Rose

  Birmingham Friends

  Birmingham Blitz

  Orphan of Angel Street

  Poppy Day

  The Narrowboat Girl

  Chocolate Girls

  Water Gypsies

  Miss Purdy’s Class

  Family of Women

  Where Earth Meets Sky

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to express my gratitude to the following for their help in my research for this book: Sarah Foden and her colleagues at the Cadbury archive and especially to Cadbury girls Marjorie Hill, Valerie Fletcher and her husband Brian and Pat Harrison, all of whom were so generous with their time and conversation.

  For those who would like to find out more about my books and writing, you are warmly welcome to visit my website, at: www.anniemurray.co.uk

  First published 2008 by Pan Books

  This electronic edition published 2010 by Pan Books

  an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

  Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR

  Basingstoke and Oxford

  Associated companies throughout the world

  www.panmacmillan.com

  ISBN 978-0-330-52702-6 PDF

  ISBN 978-0-330-52700-2 EPUB

  Copyright © Annie Murray 2008

  The right of Annie Murray to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  The Macmillan Group has no responsibility for the information provided by any author websites whose address you obtain from this e-book (‘author websites’). The inclusion of the author website addresses in this e-book does not constitute an endorsement by or association with us of such sites or the content, products, advertising or other materials presented on such sites.

  You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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  Table of Contents

  Title page

  Author biography

  Contents

  Part One

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Part Two

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Part Three

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Part Four

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Part Five

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Chapter Sixty

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Chapter Sixty-Six

  Chapter Sixty-Seven

  Chapter Sixty-Eight

  Chapter Sixty-Nine

  Copyright page

 

 

 


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