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Back With Hope and Love Save as PDF
Chapters (36)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Also available by Ellie Dean
  4. Acknowledgements
  5. The Cliffehaven Family Tree
  6. A letter to readers from Ellie Dean
  7. Epigraph
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. Read More
  36. MEET THE CLIFFEHAVEN FAMILY

Cissy kissed her cheek before stepping back and hugging Daisy. ‘I’ll make you proud of me, Mum. You’ll see.’

‘I’m already proud of you,’ Peggy managed through a tight throat. ‘I love you, Cissy.’

‘I love you too, Mum,’ Cissy replied, her eyes suspiciously bright as she set Daisy on her feet, tugged at the hem of her smart suit jacket and then turned away to pick up her two cases and handbag.

Peggy hoisted a clinging Daisy onto her hip and followed Cissy down the concrete steps to stand in the doorway as her beloved daughter walked purposefully down the path and through the gate.

She and Daisy returned her brief wave – and then she was gone down the alleyway with her head high, already focused on the bright lights of London.

20

Somerset

Martin couldn’t stay in the farmhouse any longer and strode out across the fallow field, determined to put as much distance as he could between himself and the others. It had come as a nasty shock to discover the German farmhand was still working there, and although he knew he’d had nothing to do with the treatment meted out to him by his countrymen, and not all Germans were evil, he’d done his best to avoid him.

Martin had been at Owlet Farm for three weeks now, and although the calm silence away from house and yard was peaceful, he found that the unfamiliar fields and wide open spaces made him feel more isolated than ever – but at least he could breathe out here, and avoid the hurt and worry in Anne’s eyes and his children’s wariness.

He reached the rickety wooden bridge which spanned the narrow flow of water that rushed towards the sea, and stood there, lost in thought. This homecoming had been a disaster in so many ways – not least because it wasn’t really his home, and he longed to be back in Cliffehaven, close to the airfield and his pal Roger. These past three weeks had been a torture, for he’d found it almost impossible to be a proper husband to Anne, and the noise of the children hurt his head. And yet it was the way they’d begun to avoid him that hurt his heart, for he hadn’t wanted to frighten them.