‘Tucked away in here.’ She patted her coat over the top of her stomach.

For a moment he stared at her blankly, and then, as comprehension dawned, his face lit up. ‘You’re having a baby?’

‘Our baby.’ A child conceived in the last days of the war but who would be born into peace. A child of hope and love. She smiled, and then they were both laughing and hugging, and Betsy and the twins stopped what they were doing and stared at their parents, laughing too but without knowing why, all joined together in one perfect moment.

Dancing in the Moonlight

By Rita Bradshaw

As her mother lies dying, twelve-year-old Lucy Fallow promises to look after her younger siblings and keep house for her father and two older brothers.

Over the following years the Depression tightens its grip. Times are hard and Lucy’s situation is made more difficult by the ominous presence of Tom Crawford, the eldest son of her mother’s lifelong friend, who lives next door.

Lucy’s growing friendship with Tom’s younger brother, Jacob, only fuels Tom’s obsession with her. He persuades Lucy’s father and brothers to work for him on the wrong side of the law as part of his plan to force Lucy to marry him.

Tom sees Lucy and Jacob dancing together one night and a chain of heartbreaking events is set in motion. Torn apart from the boy she loves, Lucy wonders if she and Jacob will ever dance in the moonlight again . . .

Beyond the Veil of Tears

By Rita Bradshaw

Fifteen-year-old Angeline Stewart is heartbroken when her beloved parents are killed in a coaching accident, leaving her an only child in the care of her uncle.

Naive and innocent, Angeline is easy prey for the handsome and ruthless Oswald Golding. He is looking for a rich heiress to solve the money troubles his gambling and womanizing have caused.

On her wedding night, Angeline enters a nightmare from which there is no awakening. Oswald proves to be more sadistic and violent than she could ever have imagined. When she finds out she is expecting a child, Angeline makes plans to run away and decides to take her chances fending for herself and her baby. But then tragedy strikes again . . .

The Colours of Love

By Rita Bradshaw

England is at war, but nothing can dim land girl Esther Wynford’s happiness at marrying the love of her life – fighter pilot Monty Grant. But months later, on the birth of her daughter Joy, Esther’s world falls apart.

Esther’s dying mother confesses to a dark secret that she has kept to herself for twenty years: Esther is not her natural daughter. Esther’s real mother was forced to give up her baby to an orphanage – and now Joy’s birth makes the reason for this clear, as Esther’s true parentage is revealed.