A Fond Farewell for the Tobacco Girls

Lizzie Lane

Description

The FINAL instalment in the bestselling Tobacco Girls series!

It has finally happened! The war is over and Europe rejoices.

May 1945 – VE Day
After battling against the odds, the three friends are uncertain of their futures.
Maisie Miles must wait on tenterhooks for Japan to surrender and for poor Sid to return home. Will they still be sweethearts and have a future together? But tragedy strikes when Maisie's lodger Carole dies leaving 2-year-old Paula orphaned, Maisie is determined to keep the child she has grown to love as her own.
Meanwhile Bridget O’Neill’s husband has been patiently waiting her arrival in America but Bridget’s been struggling to leave her family and friends behind. Will she stay or will she go?
Phyllis Fairbrother receives the devastating news that husband Mick has relapsed and suffering a life changing diagnosis. Their dreams of a new life in Australia lie in tatters, or so she thinks.
With a new dawn, there are high hopes and boundless dreams.
Can the Tobacco Girls unite once more to overcome life’s troubles and find the happiness they so deserve?

Praise for Lizzie Lane:

'A gripping saga and a storyline that will keep you hooked' Rosie Goodwin

'The Tobacco Girls is another heartwarming tale of love and friendship and a must-read for all saga fans.' Jean Fullerton

'Lizzie Lane opens the door to a past of factory girls, redolent with life-affirming friendship, drama, and choices that are as relevant today as they were then.' Catrin Collier

'If you want an exciting, authentic historical saga then look no further than Lizzie Lane.' Fenella J Miller

Sujets

• Vie de famille
• Relations familiales
• Mashups
• Feminist
• 20th Century
• Siblings
• Historical
• Women
• Segunda Guerra Mundial
• Historical romance
• Aftermath of World War II
• Sibling
• General officer
• Historical fiction
• Woman
• World War II
• Feminism
• The Women
• General
• Sagas
• Family Life
• Romance
• Saga
• Fiction
• Seconde Guerre mondiale

Informations

• Publié par: Boldwood Books
• Date de parution: 28 juillet 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781800485372
• Langue: English

Extrait

A FOND FAREWELL FOR THE TOBACCO GIRLS


LIZZIE LANE
CONTENTS



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


More from Lizzie Lane

About the Author

Sixpence Stories

About Boldwood Books
1
MAY 1945 – VE NIGHT

Carole Thomas laughed and laughed, danced and twirled as she was passed from one outstretched male hand to another. Feeling happier than she’d ever felt in her life, she kept on dancing her way around the joyful circle until she’d danced her way back into Joe Shaw’s welcoming arms.
‘You’ve come back to me,’ he laughed, and looking up into his warm brown eyes, she laughed with him. All was gaiety. All was relief. The war in Europe was finally over and everyone who could was out celebrating.
The streets, squares and thoroughfares around Bristol city centre were packed with people. The night was warm and dry, though it wouldn’t have mattered if it had been pouring down with rain. The city, and the country at large, had been waiting for this moment for five years. Nothing was going to stop them from dancing till dawn if that was what they wanted.
Dancing in the streets was like playing sardines, though the crush in this case was taking place outdoors, the air alive with noise, laughter and a lot of drunken singing.
A woman enveloped in the arms of a sailor bumped into Carole, breath smelling of drink, her hat tilted at a jaunty angle. ‘Isn’t it bloody marvellous,’ she shrieked. ‘It’s over. It’s over at bloody last.’
Joy was infectious. Laugher was infectious. Carole danced on, caught up in the excitement of the crowd who bustled and sang, shouted and swigged from upturned bottles of brown ale.
Midnight. It was the beginning of summer and always a reason to celebrate, but this year the end of the war made it doubly so.
Carole was as happy as anyone, more so because she was looking up into the velvet brown eyes of Joe Shaw. She’d only known him for a few months, though long enough to be going steady. They saw each other when he was home on leave, which wouldn’t be appreciated as much in peacetime, but in war, sweet moments between serving one’s country and seeing your girl were snatched and savoured.
‘All over,’ he whispered as he ruffled her hair and smiled down at her from his greater height. He was broad in comparison to her slight frame and dark in contrast to her near white blonde hair that owed nothing to a bottle of peroxide dye but was, rather, Carole’s natural colour.
‘All over,’ she whispered in breathless response, her eyes fixed on his and feeling as though she could drown in his smile.
His battledress strained across his chest when he heaved a big sigh. He licked his lips as though in preparation to say something very profound, or at least something very important.
After readying himself, hugging her closer and kissing her until she was breathless, he spoke. ‘Now we can make plans.’
Small words that said a lot.
‘Plans? Ah yes.’
‘For you and me. For our future together.’
For a second, her smile faltered, was recovered and her aspect of surprise laughed off. Once she had regained control of her expression, she gazed at him with undisguised affection. ‘Our future? You and me?’
‘Well, we have been going steady. Might as well make it permanent and put a ring on yer finger.’
Her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes sparkled. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Of course I am.’
He pretended to be offended, but his smile and the warmth in his eyes told her the truth.
Her cheeks couldn’t have coloured up any more than they were already and her feelings confused her. She felt surprised and embarrassed, but excited too.
‘That’s lovely. Really lovely.’
Drinking in his good looks was accompanied with a nervous tightness in her chest. He was the one, the man of her dreams, and he seemed as much in love with her as she was with him. But he didn’t know that she had a child. Paula was not born of love, but Carole loved her.
‘You all right, darling?’ he asked.
Carole pushed away the sombre thoughts and laughed. ‘Course I am. Tonight of all nights! Old Adolf is gone and good riddance too.’
There had been several times when she’d almost told him about Paula, who was now a robust toddler of two and a half. Once she did, he might change his mind about getting married.
On reflection, she decided the nervousness had been there from the moment they’d met. It had been love at first sight. He was the one for her and it seemed also that she was the one for him. Such a brief time together, but such a wonderful one. She couldn’t believe it when it so happened that he was as in love with her as she was with him. He’d exclaimed with unfettered exuberance that she was the girl he’d been seeking all his life and that he knew her better than he knew himself.
The trouble was that he didn’t know as much about her as he thought, there was much more to know. He knew the address where she lived, but she’d never invited him inside. He also knew nothing of the circumstances that had brought her to living in Totterdown. She’d mentioned Maisie as being her aunt and she was living with her because her mother had remarried and lived up north. She’d lied to him that her father was dead. So far, they had not bumped into Eddie Bridgeman who insisted the role was his. Not only would he declare her his daughter but he’d likely take Joe to one side and, in as fatherly a manner as he knew how, warn him not to mess with her. He’d probably also mention her daughter, Paula, a bonny toddler with her looks and the same head of off-white hair.
She’d told herself that if he did ask her to marry him, she would instantly tell him the truth. That moment had come but still she couldn’t bring herself to tell him. Like most men of his generation, he wasn’t likely to countenance taking on another man’s child. It wouldn’t matter that the father had got her drunk and raped her. Society, not just men, always seemed to take the view that it was the girl who’d been flaunting herself and invited what happened. It hadn’t been that way at all, but for now at least she was keeping the truth to herself.
And it didn’t stop there. He’d asked her where she worked.
‘I keep house for my aunt. She works at the tobacco factory. I used to work there meself but…’ She’d shaken her head. ‘I’m keeping house for now until I get something better.’ She’d made it seem as though Maisie was incapable of running both a house and holding down a job. It couldn’t be further from the truth and Carole hated herself for taking that line. But until she could bring herself to tell the absolute truth, she let it be.
He hadn’t quizzed her further, hadn’t asked why she’d never joined one of the armed forces.
‘I love you, Joe.’ She said it softly and with feeling, an appeal to stab at his heart. It was hard to keep her secret. Harder still to hope and pray that he wouldn’t cast her aside once he knew of her past and Paula. People had histories they preferred not to mention and she was certainly no exception. If she’d been a widow, it might not have mattered. But she wasn’t. Paula was the result of an older man taking advantage of her, a night she’d prefer to forget but couldn’t. Paula reminded her of it every day.
Life was cruel and the truth would likely destroy this sudden semblance of happiness and Carole so craved that happiness.
‘Do you really mean it?’ she asked him.
He was about to answer when a band of merrymakers crashed into them, forcing them together.
His voice whispered into her ear, ‘I’ll get down on bended knees here and now if you want me to. Do you know what I’m saying?’
Yes, of course she did.
A space cleared, although the crowd continued to whirl around them, jostling until they were pushed together again. The crush was greater now, more people pouring into the city, thronging the streets. She smelt his masculinity and that of his battledress – heavy wool alongside the tang of Brylcreem and shaving soap.
His arms wound around her protectively, his lips whispered into her ear: ‘I’m going to marry you, Carole Thomas.’ His voice was heavy with emotion and his breath warm in her ear.
Declining to answer, she buried her face against his shoulder so he wouldn’t see the fear in her eyes and her unsmiling lips.
One hand clutched at his sleeve and the other thoughtfully fingered the epaulettes on his shoulders and the insignia that proudly declared he was a member of His Majesty’s forces – a tank commander who had served at El Alamein in North Africa.
‘Are you sure?’ she asked pensively.
‘That’s a daft question. Of course I’m sure.’
‘But we haven’t known each other very long.’
He leaned his shoulders away from her. She raised her head and looked up at him.
‘I’ve known you long enough to know that you’re the girl for me.’
She shook her head, and despite the joy reverberating the very air, she couldn’t get that shared joviality to return. ‘You know nothing about me. Not really.’
His furrowed brow was accompanied with a disbelieving smile. ‘ I know everything about you. I did from the very first time I saw you. In fact, I said to myself, that’s the girl, the sweetest woman in the world, so Carole Thomas has got to be the one for me.’ His frown deepened. ‘There’s nobody else is there?’
She shook her head. ‘No. No, there isn’t.’
‘So you’ll marry me?’
Her heart filled with joy. ‘If you’ll have me, I’ll marry you. But give me a little time to adjust. There’s a load of things I need to sort out first and more things you need to know about me. Please be