A Nest of Singing Birds

by A Nest of Singing Birds (retail) (epub)

  ‘We’ll have lots of parties, Uncle Fred,’ she promised. ‘A big one in September when Laura will be five and we’ll have been married ten years, please God.’

  ‘Ten years,’ Bridie sighed sentimentally. ‘It’s hard to believe. And a perfect marriage too.’

  Anne looked embarrassed and Carrie said briskly, ‘Well, I suppose you’ve had your ups and downs like everyone else, Anne, but you’ve been happy together, that’s the main thing.’

  ‘That’s true,’ she said, smiling at John as he gave her a quick hug.

  ‘You know, standing here in this kitchen you could be your mother over again, Anne,’ Carrie said. ‘Julia as I remember her when she was young, with her children round her. I was the same.’ She sighed. ‘Happy days… Make the most of yours, love.’

  ‘Oh, I will,’ Anne said. ‘This is what I’ve always wanted, Aunt Carrie. A home and a family like ours. We were always so happy.’

  ‘Aye, like that feller said: “A nest of singing birds”,’ Fred said.

  They went home a little later and Anne and John sat round the table with the children for their evening meal. Gerry had a mug with a Union Jack on it.

  ‘I know a song about this,’ he announced. He began to roar out the words of ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ and Laura joined in, singing her own words. Julie sang tunelessly and beat her spoon on the tray of her high chair.

  Anne pretended to cover her ears but when John stretched his hand over the table to her she took it. As they laughed together he raised his voice to be heard over the happy noise their children were making.

  ‘Here you are, love,’ he said. ‘What you always wanted – a nest of singing birds.’

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank Janet Jenkins and Jean M. Williams, of the Reference Library, and other staff of Crosby Central Library, also the staff of the Local History Department, Liverpool Central Libraries, for their help; and the members of Crosby Writers Club, Shelagh Richardson, and other friends and relatives, and my husband Ted and all our family, for help and encouragement for which I am deeply grateful.

  Next in The Redmond Family Duology:

  Honour Thy Father

  A deeply moving saga based in 20th Century Liverpool, Honour Thy Father is a triumph, perfect for fans of Katie Flynn, Helen Forrester and Lyn Andrews

  Find out more

  First published in the United Kingdom in 1993 by Headline

  This edition published in the United Kingdom in 2019 by

  Canelo Digital Publishing Limited

  57 Shepherds Lane

  Beaconsfield, Bucks HP9 2DU

  United Kingdom

  Copyright © Elizabeth Murphy, 1993

  The moral right of Elizabeth Murphy to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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

  ISBN 9781788634762

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Look for more great books at www.canelo.co