When Midnight Comes

by Beryl Matthews

  The next morning, Chrissie was brushing Midnight when Harry joined her and asked immediately, ‘Do you have an answer, Chrissie? Will you marry me?’

  ‘Have you thought about it carefully?’ she asked.

  ‘I’ve thought of nothing else. I love you and want you by my side as my wife.’

  ‘Then I accept,’ she told him simply.

  He breathed a sigh of relief, gathered her in his arms and swung her round while kissing her firmly on the mouth.

  ‘People are watching,’ she told him breathlessly.

  ‘I’m too happy to care. I want the marriage to take place within two months. I think we should be able to make all the arrangements by then. What kind of a wedding do you want? A quiet one or a lively one with loads of guests?’

  ‘I think I would like a lively one.’

  ‘Perfect. I’ll send word to the Travellers asking them to get here without delay. They can camp on the spare ground behind those trees.’

  ‘You’d do that?’ she gasped. ‘Wouldn’t your other guests be offended?’

  ‘If they are then they needn’t come. This will be our wedding, my love, and we will invite who we want.’

  ‘Having them here will certainly make it lively.’ She laughed. ‘I’d love to see Elsie again.’

  ‘Me too.’ Harry shook her shoulder gently and grinned. ‘This is the celebration you told me would take place here, isn’t it? You knew this was going to happen all the time, didn’t you?’

  Her expression gave nothing away until he saw the sparkle of amusement in her eyes. ‘How would I know that? I’m not a fortune-teller.’

  As they laughed and hugged each other she knew this unconventional marriage was right for them. In different ways they had both come through hard and distressing times, but now they could move on with their lives – together.

  We hope you enjoyed this book.

  Do you want to know about our other great reads, download free extracts and enter competitions?

  If so, visit our website www.allisonandbusby.com.

  Sign up to our monthly newsletter (www.allisonandbusby.com/newsletter) for exclusive content and offers, news of our brand new releases, upcoming events with your favourite authors and much more.

  And why not click to follow us on Facebook (AllisonandBusbyBooks)

  and Twitter (@AllisonandBusby)?

  We’d love to hear from you!

  To discover more great books and to

  place an order visit our website at

  allisonandbusby.com

  Don’t forget to sign up to our free newsletter at

  allisonandbusby.com/newsletter

  for latest releases, events and exclusive offers

  Allison & Busby Books

  @AllisonandBusby

  You can also call us on

  020 7580 1080

  for orders, queries

  and reading recommendations

  About the Author

  BERYL MATTHEWS was born in London but now lives in a small village in Hampshire. As a young girl her ambition was to become a professional singer, but the need to earn a wage drove her into an office, where she worked her way up from tea girl to credit controller. After retiring she joined a Writers’ Circle in hopes of fulfilling her dream of becoming a published author. With her first book published at the age of seventy-one, she has since written over twenty novels.

  By Beryl Matthews

  Hold on to Your Dreams

  The Forgotten Family

  Battles Lost and Won

  Diamonds in the Dust

  A Flight of Golden Wings

  The Uncertain Years

  The Day Will Come

  When the Music Stopped

  When Midnight Comes

  ALSO BY BERYL MATTHEWS

  London, 1940. The war is raging and young Grace Lincoln, only a year married, is reeling from the loss of her husband at Dunkirk. Her secretarial job helps keep her from dwelling on the sorrow, but when her boss enlists, Grace is left without work.

  Thankfully a new role gives Grace something to throw herself into: getting the injured Major Daniel Chester fit and back to his regiment, although his temper and inscrutable character don’t make it easy. Meeting the challenge takes strength, and Grace must have the courage to face whatever else the war will throw at her.

  London, 1910. Lester Holdsworth is a brilliant pianist and his twin, Lillia, is a magnificent singer: they are destined for the stage. But their cruel father has other ideas for their future. Lester is sent to a military academy, while Lillia must marry Lord Dalton – a pompous friend of her father’s. Yet their plans to defy their father’s wishes are put on hold when war breaks out in 1914.

  Before long, Lester is flying planes for the Royal Flying Corps and Lillia is using her skills as a nurse to help those wounded at home, and then abroad. And both twins wait in hope, like the rest of Europe, for the war to end and the music to start again.

  Copyright

  Allison & Busby Limited

  12 Fitzroy Mews

  London W1T 6DW

  allisonandbusby.com

  First published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2018.

  This ebook edition published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2018.

  Copyright © 2018 by BERYL MATTHEWS

  The moral right of the author is hereby asserted

  in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from

  the British Library.

  ISBN 978-0-7490-2345-4