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It had been a special day for Maddie. The rekindling of her optimism. The reason was simple, not profound: one kind gesture on the part of the ward sister and the staff at Redruth hospital that morning, as she picked up her suitcase and waved them goodbye. A card wishing her good luck, and the

Had they forgotten her? Maddie had been left in the lying-in room for hours now. Just her and the black cloud of despair that hovered around her. One of the girls had smuggled a little food into her: brittle toast with a scrape of jam. Hard, unappetising food that stuck in your throat. When what

Although the journey back was downhill, it was harder than the outward one. If it hadn’t been for them practically dragging her, Maddie might not have made it. Not on her own. Her saviour was Alice, who chivvied her along. This was Alice Wainwright’s second baby, and she had a straightforward way of explaining the

Her uniform was lying on the bed. The on-duty nurse had brought it, told her to change into it quickly. The jacket wouldn’t pull together, and Maddie had had to pin the blouse where her bountiful bust had threatened to rip it asunder. The skirt had always been a generous fit, but even it was

They found Rudi’s photograph under her mattress. That was the lowest point of her stay, the day they took him away from her. There was the promise that she would have it back when she left, along with her uniform. She didn’t believe it. Because the nurse who’d found it had searched the bedding on

It soon became obvious that the underlying philosophy of the home was that the women who ended up there deserved their fate. Deserved to be punished. It was not a place of joy. But Maddie did her best to spread cheerfulness among her fellow inmates. She’d taken to thinking of herself and those around her

She followed the matron up the sweeping, majestic staircase. It must once have been impressive, the gilding on it glistening in the light from many fancy candelabras hanging from the high ceiling. Maddie only imagined the candelabras. There were none, and the gilding had worn off in most places. But it would have been a

BE BRAVE FOR ME by ELAINE JOHNS Free Novel Chapter 22 ‘’Tis a friendly place, St Agnes,’ the man sitting next to her on the train had told her. He’d gone on to tell her about how people pulled together, helped neighbours out with the harvest and stuff. Brought vegetables to those who needed them

It hadn’t taken Maddie long to remove all traces of herself from the bedroom that she and Molly had shared. They’d laughed in this room, cried, sung the most ridiculous songs and talked about love and romance. The thought of returning to Cornwall again sent a small shiver of expectation through her. Surely it was

Factories, roads, railway lines, people’s homes. And 300 civilians. They all vanished in a single night in London: the night Maddie lost her best friend. The final goodbye to Molly Peters had been sad and brutal, and surreal. One mass funeral with hundreds of coffins laid side by side, in hastily dug trenches. It didn’t