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The Winter Rose

Rita Bradshaw
Chapters (56)
  1. Cover
  2. RITA BRADSHAW
  3. Acknowledgements
  4. Prologue
  5. PART ONE
  6. Chapter One
  7. Chapter Two
  8. Chapter Three
  9. Chapter Four
  10. Chapter Five
  11. Chapter Six
  12. Chapter Seven
  13. Chapter Eight
  14. PART TWO
  15. Chapter Nine
  16. Chapter Ten
  17. Chapter Eleven
  18. Chapter Twelve
  19. Chapter Thirteen
  20. Chapter Fourteen
  21. Chapter Fifteen
  22. PART THREE
  23. Chapter Sixteen
  24. Chapter Seventeen
  25. Chapter Eighteen
  26. Chapter Nineteen
  27. Chapter Twenty
  28. Chapter Twenty-One
  29. PART FOUR
  30. Chapter Twenty-Two
  31. Chapter Twenty-Three
  32. Chapter Twenty-Four
  33. Chapter Twenty-Five
  34. PART FIVE
  35. Chapter Twenty-Six
  36. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  37. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  38. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  39. PART SIX
  40. Chapter Thirty
  41. Chapter Thirty-One
  42. Chapter Thirty-Two
  43. Chapter Thirty-Three
  44. Chapter Thirty-Four
  45. Epilogue
  46. Dancing in the Moonlight
  47. Beyond the Veil of Tears
  48. The Colours of Love
  49. Snowflakes in the Wind
  50. A Winter Love Song
  51. Beneath a Frosty Moon
  52. One Snowy Night
  53. The Storm Child
  54. The People’s Friend
  55. The Winter Rose
  56. By Rita Bradshaw

Cover

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RITA BRADSHAW

The Winter Rose

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Acknowledgements

The following books helped with my research for this story:

Consett, A Town in the Making, Tommy Moore

Consett, Derwentdale Local History Society

A Nostalgic Look at Consett, Derwentdale Local History Society

Consett, The Past Relived, Derwentdale Local History Society

Prologue

Rose was dreaming. Even in her sleep she knew it wasn’t real, but that didn’t matter. She wanted to stay in the dream where she was safe in Davey’s arms and he was smiling down at her, his brown eyes alight with love. But then his arms weren’t gentle any more. They were rough, pulling at her nightdress, and whisky-soaked breath hit her full in the face.

She reared up in terror, fully awake now as a hard weight descended on her. Her legs were being forced apart, and as she struggled and then screamed, the flat of a man’s hand slapped her violently across the face, jerking her neck so that she felt as though her head had been torn off.

Muttered obscenities and the rank smell of male sweat added to the horror of what was happening, and on the periphery of her mind she realized her screams had woken Betsy, who was crying and calling for her. In spite of the crippling pain in her neck and the sheer weight of him that was squeezing the breath out of her chest she continued to resist, kicking and biting and pummelling at his thickset body for all she was worth. Even when she felt him enter her she didn’t give in, and when he tried to adjust his position to grab her hands, she managed to twist and wriggle out from beneath him – but before she could escape he’d caught her again, pinning her on the edge of the bed now as he attempted to enter her once more.

Betsy’s cries were frantic, and it was this, her child’s distress, that gave her a burst of superhuman strength. From somewhere she found the power to push at him so ferociously that – perched as he was on the edge of the bed straddling her – he lost his balance and went catapulting backwards with a crash that shook the house.

Her only thought was to get to Betsy before he came at her again . . .

PART ONE

Judas

1902

Chapter One

As soon as David O’Leary opened the back door of the house and stepped into the kitchen he knew something was wrong. There was no dinner cooking in the range oven, no pans simmering on the hob and no Rose turning to greet his arrival with the smile that always lit up her lovely face.

He stood stock-still for a moment and then, as he heard a low moan coming from upstairs, he hurried into the hall, calling her name as he did so.