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An Orphan’s Wish: The new, most heartwarming of christmas novels you will read in 2018
Molly Green
War rages, but the women and children of Liverpool’s Dr Barnardo’s Home cannot give up hope. What more could you wish for than a poignant, heart-warming saga to read this Christmas?LIVERPOOL, 1943Yorkshire is the place Lana has always called home, but it’s now filled with painful memories of her fiancé, Dickie, who was killed at sea. When she accepts the challenging position of headmistress at a school in Liverpool, she hopes a new beginning will help to mend her broken heart.A BATTLE TO FIGHTNot everyone at Bingham School is happy about her arrival but Lana throws herself into the role, teaching children from the local village and the nearby Dr Barnardo’s orphanage. She thrives in her work, but soon finds herself falling for a man who she would once have considered the enemy – and is torn between what she knows is right, and taking a risk that might see her lose everything.THE STRENGTH TO HOPEThere are children that desperately need her help, and Lana must fight for everyone’s happiness, as well as her own. But one young girl in particular shows her that there is a way through the darkness – because even when all seems lost, there is always a glimmer of hope to be found…
Copyright (#u55d91cfa-aeb5-5365-b6d5-01115efd9321)
Published by Avon an imprint of
HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street,
London, SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2018
Copyright © HarperCollins 2018
Cover photography © Head Design / Shutterstock 2018
Cover design © Head Design 2018
Molly Green 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: 9780008239008
Ebook Edition © November 2018 ISBN: 9780008239015
Version: 2018-10-23
Dedication (#u55d91cfa-aeb5-5365-b6d5-01115efd9321)
For the original Lana Ashwin, a glamorous dark-haired actress and one of my mother’s close friends who rented a flat in the same building in Kensington. She and her husband, actor Michael Ashwin, endured the London Blitz along with Mum and Dad.
To all Dr Barnardo’s children during the Second World War who were the inspiration for this series.
Lastly, to all the animals who were used in the war – they had no choice. If you haven’t been, do go and see the monument, Animals in War, on the edge of Hyde Park, London. It’s a powerful and moving tribute to the thousands of animals who suffered and died in service.
Table of Contents
Cover (#ub141db7c-30b4-5731-8a13-c0265f496e28)
Title Page (#u64f8e51a-100e-5771-900e-0f042db8adc6)
Copyright (#u9b0d21cc-7316-5198-a949-0ba6eec7e400)
Dedication (#u160b9753-e536-5c42-ad42-c9d8061f80b2)
Before … (#u0c98d131-cd56-5ea0-bb29-a4876fce884e)
Chapter One (#u84620048-50f5-581d-8eb2-a4e2ed6ae05f)
Chapter Two (#u1bafb276-9304-55bc-a7e9-ceb9a122070d)
Chapter Three (#u3f1683dd-d94d-542a-9b4c-94eaa429bc68)
Chapter Four (#u0604e674-82c5-5677-bffe-8f4d1278e3db)
Chapter Five (#u59ca57cd-50b8-583a-b989-af0cf7b3d543)
Chapter Six (#ua9c32836-b5f9-5fe9-a3a2-32d86e1abcea)
Chapter Seven (#u9d2112ef-ede3-5122-b18a-9ec679b0298d)
Chapter Eight (#ua4e8f70f-1b4a-54b8-9559-4b1a385facb8)
Chapter Nine (#u1437b450-0106-5591-99a5-0cf7e89dc990)
Chapter Ten (#ucf9d8eec-dbdb-5f1e-97a0-7c69cad9c317)
Chapter Eleven (#u214e8e56-0b7b-587d-89d7-7bfc024e3784)
Chapter Twelve (#u5cd5deae-ccb5-5e0c-bc9f-17d18cd8ea92)
Chapter Thirteen (#u7fbb324b-15e0-5495-bffa-32647debd299)
Chapter Fourteen (#uc5d5bdb4-ed23-5955-922a-9a52548fd15b)
Chapter Fifteen (#u2542226e-3658-5076-a15a-214c4d7b98ee)
Chapter Sixteen (#u24a05396-b31d-5dfe-87a0-978a4febb36b)
Chapter Seventeen (#u2d5e447e-c98e-58a2-8355-a389ab2dc358)
Chapter Eighteen (#u0fd1f2ac-695f-5270-9007-0654579ae44c)
Chapter Nineteen (#u63a38bef-f1cb-551e-a2b9-1eefde16f6e0)
Chapter Twenty (#u56609aca-1cb6-5fce-8920-6321e3b829a1)
Chapter Twenty-One (#u90b38e4b-72e8-508b-98f5-9a409f8d3a24)
Chapter Twenty-Two (#u86963835-7e14-57f1-88c7-d45aca694022)
Chapter Twenty-Three (#ud668794b-cb07-56bd-9329-b2a47acccf04)
Chapter Twenty-Four (#uf6f659ca-4afa-5ced-9bcc-0ff521a35be3)
Chapter Twenty-Five (#u2adaa13e-9592-54fa-a33b-a16fd5205e00)
Chapter Twenty-Six (#u8f2aee64-4189-5081-bd3b-1c2b747f5b17)
Chapter Twenty-Seven (#u5fb597a3-ed40-5119-b3e6-d86a4e4656d8)
Chapter Twenty-Eight (#ua52ed599-8ec5-535b-b69c-ad7b86025371)
Chapter Twenty-Nine (#u18a4020b-7c90-5844-bbff-7a1bf5694472)
Chapter Thirty (#u2f1dc7eb-1eed-5fed-801f-00ab67136925)
Chapter Thirty-One (#u1177bfcb-2070-5278-a82e-f4c4fccca8f2)
Chapter Thirty-Two (#u873ac625-a70a-56e5-909d-116f202b32c0)
Chapter Thirty-Three (#u2f3957e6-6f93-5149-87cc-3af6904f0531)
Chapter Thirty-Four (#u42b2e24d-ceab-5371-b5ae-039332f9db9c)
Chapter Thirty-Five (#u0e738cee-9f62-5b40-b50e-e50758ec8936)
Chapter Thirty-Six (#u2c462c4e-7302-5b82-bcc9-13097d89b4f4)
Chapter Thirty-Seven (#uc377e401-720e-5213-8ed3-57552e04f079)
Chapter Thirty-Eight (#u83d553b2-0240-59ae-b685-45d0278904aa)
Chapter Thirty-Nine (#u870e8c05-07d9-54f2-b8b4-d16470d1beb7)
Chapter Forty (#uf9146eba-4289-5629-b95e-abee4a657f16)
Chapter Forty-One (#uc6328eed-c4cc-5b9c-beb2-ef64ba474762)
Chapter Forty-Two (#u336862ae-d075-5b5d-ba2a-94c54bf0a1ce)
Chapter Forty-Three (#u4a5145d5-2e51-5dd3-9b2f-b5ccab366e66)
Chapter Forty-Four (#u642c33b2-ce9a-57af-913a-6d1a17d35eb1)
Chapter Forty-Five (#u197e0e4c-88ce-53e5-829c-f5305f1919de)
Chapter Forty-Six (#ub950a67f-c066-5f74-8f88-815593948d9e)
Acknowledgements (#u29335e64-601f-5c73-9845-91bcd6c6546d)
About the Author (#u0d1cad83-2c19-5179-9554-bd05b7556f29)
Keep Reading … (#u90844f22-4e51-58be-a5b6-9a68a37ce8b8)
Also by Molly Green (#u3cc653ea-5594-507d-920e-d163450c049e)
About the Publisher (#u49fe9183-96d6-57a7-90b5-eb5b27c4b6a8)
Before … (#u55d91cfa-aeb5-5365-b6d5-01115efd9321)
Mellanby, North Yorkshire
Lana read Dickie’s letter for the umpteenth time. It was dated 23rd August 1941.
My darling dearest girl,
I hated leaving you for yet another tour but I’ll be home before you know it. I can’t wait to see your lovely face again, to bury myself in that wonderful hair of yours, but all I have at the moment is your photograph. I’m gazing at it now as I write this.
I miss you so much, Lana. When I get my next shore leave we’ll go on long walks, hand in hand.
Keep safe for me, darling. I long to hold you in my arms again. I love knowing my grandmother’s ring is nestling between your breasts, but it’s hidden, and I want to put it on your finger to let the whole world know we’re engaged to be married – the sooner the better. I know you prefer to wait so we can tell your parents together, but it’s so frustrating with this damned war.
Give my love to them, and if you get time, I know mine would love you to call in at number 10. You’re always welcome – you know that. If you let them know ahead, Mum will make your favourite liver & bacon dish.
Will close now and try to get a couple of hours’ kip before the next shift. Will write again soon.
I love you so much.
Dickie xxx
Lana blinked back the tears. Her dearest love. He’d worked in their special code – created by them because of the severe censoring of all letters between members of the armed forces and their parents, wives and girlfriends. She loathed liver, but it meant he’d be docking at Liverpool, and his parents’ address at number 10 meant he’d be home in the tenth month – October. She couldn’t help smiling as his parents’ number had changed more than once to suit his homecoming date.
Her hand automatically touched the ring – Dickie’s ring that she’d put on a fine gold chain and worn around her neck ever since he proposed to her on her birthday, 6th August. Today was 4th October, the month he said he’d be home. As usual, the letter had taken several weeks to arrive. This was October, yes, but the year was now 1942. Fourteen months since his proposal, she calculated, and the diamond and ruby ring was still around her neck.
Chapter One (#u55d91cfa-aeb5-5365-b6d5-01115efd9321)
February 1943
‘Is there something wrong, dear?’ her mother said, her voice anxious.
‘The ATS won’t accept me for driving,’ Lana said dully, as she slid the sheet of paper back into the envelope.
Her mother’s eyes widened. ‘Why not? An intelligent young woman – healthy—’
‘Seems I’m not.’
‘What—?’
