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Josephine Cox Sunday Times Bestsellers Collection
Josephine Cox
Josephine Cox’s classic Sunday Times best-selling novels get straight to the heart and heartbreak of family drama.The JourneyThree strangers are thrown together by chance. It’s an encounter which is destined to change all of their lives for ever.When Ben Morris comes to the aid of Lucy Baker and her daughter Mary, he is intrigued by the story behind their frequent visits to the local graveyard. Later, invited into their home, an old Edwardian place suffused with secrets of the past, Ben hears Lucy’s remarkable tale – one she must tell before it’s too late.Journey’s EndAs Barney Davidson watched the liner sail away with his beloved family on board, bound for America, he stood a devastated and broken man. His dream was over, but theirs was just beginning.Now many years later Barney is gone. Only Lucy Baker, now old and in ill health herself, knows the truth about what happened.The LonerYoung Davie Adams is all alone. Devastated, he flees his hometown of Blackburn to escape the memories of the worst night of his life. With little more than the shirt on his back he sets off on a lonely, friendless road, determined to find his father.Born BadEighteen years ago when he was a boy, Harry made a decision that drove him from the place he knew and loved.Now for the first time in all those years, he is heading back.Three LettersEight-year-old Casey’s father is gentle and hard-working and, though Tom Denton has long suspected his wife of having sordid affairs, he has chosen to turn a blind eye to keep the peace. But then, out of the blue, Tom’s world is cruelly shattered when he receives two bits of devastating news.The Broken ManIt’s 1954 and Adam Carter is twelve years old, an only child with no friends nor any self confidence. One particular afternoon, when Adam is his last drop of the day, the school bus driver, Phil, decides to accompany him along the darkening wood land to his house, never suspecting that as they chat innocently, in the house at the end of the track a terrible tragedy is unfolding which will change Adam’s life forever.
The Journey
Journey’s End
The Loner
Born Bad
Three Letters
The Broken Man
Josephine Cox
Copyright (#u6313f8d8-3ae3-5420-b911-333426060019)
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
The Journey First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2005
Journey’s End First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2006
The Loner First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2007
Born Bad First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2009
Three Letters First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2012
The Broken Man First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2013
Copyright © Josephine Cox 2014
Jacket layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2014
Josephine Cox asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780007146147, 9780007146178, 9780007279548, 9780007290048, 9780007419975, 9780007419906
Ebook Edition © July 2014 ISBN: 9780007590667
Version: 2017-05-23
Table of Contents
Cover (#u446e5c6c-2466-5de1-ba4c-d23ee87724b4)
Title Page (#u1baba671-c9cf-5780-97dc-0a9854acb5a3)
Copyright
The Journey (#u7c42cbc8-0ca0-5283-b6ae-e7a3e052d3b6)
Journey’s End (#udab95169-bc5c-50e6-8dbe-d055f5cc43e5)
The Loner (#u18f83f0b-9472-5a3d-b35f-0474f9eef776)
Born Bad (#u33841330-3d94-5319-b86f-2a82e22eb528)
Three Letters (#ua3cc84d5-7f0d-5986-8082-e16f29894c7f)
The Broken Man (#u5853625c-2bc9-5c21-b141-713dd06be703)
About the Author
Also by Josephine Cox
About the Publisher
JOSEPHINE COX
The Journey
DEDICATION (#ulink_81435ee2-f01a-5688-8e99-da9f4b43541f)
For my darling Ken, as ever
CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE (#u557e9744-5ca4-5b47-8811-16805fb448e0)
DEDICATION (#u1275bccd-d7cc-57e1-a113-ef67824ed151)
PART ONE (#u2e2de3b5-cc2c-55e0-a6c2-8fababdebf08)
CHAPTER ONE (#uf55eb0a6-4013-504f-bd3b-2a5becdd4545)
CHAPTER TWO (#u0bf25ce0-c9d9-5b50-8d83-ff1a13c8c2c2)
CHAPTER THREE (#uecc5d823-cef5-5ef7-8828-12e25e35190f)
CHAPTER FOUR (#uc071ba30-2430-5296-8d51-59cafe498146)
CHAPTER FIVE (#u82151db5-660b-5bfa-a464-ba4a82845612)
PART TWO (#u929b31d4-2f44-56d3-b03f-47932812f74e)
CHAPTER SIX (#u79526419-f6a1-5ba1-b113-2f297abcf69f)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#u5ade6789-636a-5f39-9f46-6881d49bd5ea)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#uc4ad87b3-c977-5b7b-abe9-c262ba82f99d)
CHAPTER NINE (#ueaf6fe03-6e51-54d4-89dd-238e731016b8)
CHAPTER TEN (#ub010c753-8564-5198-96e7-63aaad3a419e)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#uf2a101b4-d56d-564d-8483-ddf22c0c672c)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#u06a06eee-6431-5000-997e-48bc3efc77a1)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#ubb2cab90-de8a-579f-a910-3d955f45ab7b)
PART THREE (#ub8f17cd1-8c7d-58ee-9238-5208f7afaa41)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#u45ad7e6e-a25e-560e-8cad-412bc67311e7)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#u7aff388c-73c1-5bb1-9ca4-c57fba270d78)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#ua2a0e216-2af9-557f-928e-171c8c0f9f03)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (#ud9278376-2318-5361-8f24-33d626c12ff3)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN (#u0f871558-f24a-527c-909d-169dd2c8683d)
CHAPTER NINETEEN (#u0a67c26c-4b56-54ee-8c04-338405cb57d4)
CHAPTER TWENTY (#u5f26aa62-89d8-5ad2-a313-b4388410991c)
PART FOUR (#u32d2f6e4-66a3-571f-8ed8-36a9059e537d)
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE (#ub700b809-8f1e-5364-8cb0-95ec865ff344)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (#uf4bb7ba2-0d7b-531b-ba13-2b039f34b492)
Part 1 (#ulink_ba8786dc-8d7b-5f6c-a8b1-e40d8d694ef4) January, 1952 The Woman
Chapter 1 (#ulink_1de14ed1-2680-55d3-94f5-40f1dcbd2528)
Salford, Bedfordshire
HE HAD SEEN them twice before, and each time his curiosity was aroused. Arm-in-arm, the two women would come softly into the churchyard, place their flowers, and linger awhile before leaving in the same discreet manner in which they had arrived.
Today, as his bumbling black Labrador Chuck tugged on the lead, the dog’s nostrils twitching at the secret scent of rabbits in the churchyard, the women came again. He tried not to seem interested, but the moment they walked through the gate and passed him by, he could not stop himself from sneaking a glance. They acknowledged him with a polite nod of the head, then moved on, intent about their business. It was almost as if he was not there.
In her own way, each of the women was beautiful. The taller of the two, who looked about fifty, had long chestnut-brown hair, grey in places, tied back with a ribbon, and lovely golden-brown eyes, a smart though ample figure and softly rounded features. Today, the bouquet of evergreens cradled in her arm seemed to accentuate her beauty; though it was not a virgin beauty, for the crippling seasons of time and emotion were deeply etched in her face.
She walked with a stick, long and slender with bone handle and silver-capped toe. It was obvious that she was crippled in some slight way, though this did not detract from her air of dignity and sense of purpose. With her sombre bearing and her carefully-measured steps, she made a striking figure.
He knew they were headed for the same headstone, where he himself had paused many times. In the shape of a cross, the headstone was small and nondescript, yet the words written there were so powerful, they raised that humble stone above all others. The words, carved deep, read:
BARNEY DAVIDSON
1890–1933
A MAN OF COURAGE.HE MADE THE GREATESTSACRIFICE OF ALL.
Having read the inscription and been intrigued by it, Ben knew it off by heart. It had set his thoughts alight with all manner of questions. What had this man done to deserve such an accolade? What did the words mean? And who had ordered them to be inscribed? Somehow, he didn’t think it had anything to do with the heroism of war. This Barney Davidson would have been twenty-four when World War One broke out – and no doubt the young man had played his part – but he had died well before the second lot.
His attention was drawn to the two women.
With such tenderness that it took him aback, the older one stroked the tips of her fingers over the dead man’s name. Her voice broke with pride as she murmured, ‘Oh, my dearest Barney.’ In that moment when she lifted her gaze to the heavens, her brown eyes glittered with tears. So much pain, he thought. So much emotion.
He sensed that, somewhere deep inside, she carried a terrible burden. What was that old saying? ‘The eyes are the mirror of the soul.’ He wondered what sorrowful secrets were hers.
The man’s discreet gaze went now to the younger woman. Smaller, with a neat, if slightly plump figure, her fair hair was bobbed to the shoulders, and even from where he stood, he could see that her pretty eyes were the deepest shade of blue lavender. He imagined that normally, those eyes were quick to smile – but not today. Today her concerned gaze was trained on the older woman.
The two visitors were sensibly dressed. Like himself, each wore a long coat and sturdy shoes, for the weather had been foul of late, and in places the ground underfoot was treacherous.
In the early hours of this January Sunday in 1952, ditches and paths had run high with the melting remnants of a heavy snowfall. By midday the wind had heightened and now, judging by the darkening skies, it seemed a new storm was gathering.
‘Here, Chuck. Here, boy!’ he said in a harsh whisper, and tugged on the leash, quickly bringing the dog to heel. In a burst of affection, the animal jumped up and licked him, nearly sending him flying. Recovering, he patted the dog, then set off for the lych-gate and home.
He was only a few strides away from Barney Davidson’s tomb when the women left it and began walking on, merely an arm’s reach in front of him. Slowing his step, he continued to follow, the dog plodding obediently at his side.
They were almost at the gate when the older woman’s stick slipped in the mud and she fell heavily, seeming to twist her leg as she did so.
When her young companion cried out and immediately began struggling to bring her upright, he ran forward. ‘Please … let me help?’ Sliding his two hands under the older one’s arms, he gently hoisted her up. When she seemed steady, he let go, recovered her walking stick and handed it to her. ‘No real harm done, I hope?’ he said politely.
‘Thank you.’ Her dark eyes appraised him. ‘As you can see, I’m not as agile as I once was.’
A softer voice interrupted. ‘Yes, thank you, Mr … ?’ The young woman frowned. ‘How can we thank you properly, when we don’t know your name?’
His warm gaze enveloped her pretty face. ‘The name’s Ben,’ he revealed. ‘Benjamin Morris.’ Holding out his hand in greeting, he was pleasantly surprised and thrilled when she put her small hand in his. Surprised, because he found her grip firm and strong, as though she worked with her hands in some way. Thrilled because she seemed to hold on just that moment longer than necessary.
