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A FAMILY’S HEARTBREAK
Kitty Neale
Published by AVON
A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins 2019
Copyright © Kitty Neale 2019
Cover design by Debbie Clement © HarperCollinsPublishers 2019
Cover photographs © Gordon Crabb (figure), Allan Cash Picture Library/Alamy Stock Photo (background)
Kitty Neale 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 ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, 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: 9780008270919
Ebook Edition © August 2019 ISBN: 9780008270926
Version: 2019-07-01
For my dear friend, Elly Sayers.
This is dedicated to you and your lovely mum, Lynda Shaw, who is an avid reader of my books.
Elly – We’ve made such wonderful memories together and I’m looking forward to sharing many more special moments with you. You’re an incredible woman, Smelly, and I love you loads!
Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Acknowledgements
Keep Reading …
About the Author
By the Same Author
About the Publisher
London, Balham, 1961
Jenny Lombard chewed nervously on her thumbnail as she listened to her parents arguing again. They were in the living room with the door ajar, while in the hall and out of sight, Jenny hovered close by. Her mother Lizzie had walked out on them, but still had a habit of dropping in now and then. When she did, all hell would inevitably break loose.
‘What ’ave I told you about coming round here if and when the mood takes you?’ her father yelled.
‘They’re my kids, Henry, and I’ve got every right to see ’em!’ her mother answered defiantly.
Jenny was a grown woman of twenty-two but as she looked through the crack of the door she felt like a child again. She could see her mother sitting on the sofa cradling Peter, aged six, the youngest of Jenny’s four siblings. He had untidy fair hair, and his blue eyes, wide with fear, made his complexion look paler than normal. Jenny wanted to run into the room to comfort him but, scared of her father, she remained rooted to the spot.