Rosie James - Lexi’s War - A heart-warming wartime saga to bring hope and happiness in 2018

A family at breaking point. A nation at war…

1914.Young Lexi doesn’t want much – just her family’s happiness. She’s been working all the hours she can at the local sweet shop to help her mother lift her little brother and sister out of poverty. Maybe one day, if she tries hard enough, they can save enough to leave their tiny, cramped flat – and terrifying landlord, Mr McCann – behind. Although Lexi can’t help but wish her friendship with the landlord’s son, Johnny, could turn into something more.

They say it will all be over by Christmas. But with the country still at war when the snow begins to fall, Lexi turns all her attention to making the sweet shop’s windows cheery, and keeping her family’s sprits high. And, with courage, she might one day manage to give her family a magical Christmas, the like of which they never dared to dream of…

On Christmas Day

Rosie James

ONE PLACE. MANY STORIES

Copyright Copyright

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2018

Copyright © Rosie James 2018

Rosie James asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for 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, 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.

E-book Edition © February 2018 ISBN: 9780008282639

Version: 2018-10-26

Born in Bristol of Welsh parentage, ROSIE JAMEShas always been a compulsive writer, her early enthusiasms kept alive by winning the occasional childhood prize, and much later by seeing her articles, short stories and romantic novels published. She is a trained singer, and as a lyric coloratura soprano, her roles include those in opera, operetta and oratorio. She enjoys theatre and eating out with friends, entertaining regularly at home - and when her beloved children and grandchildren are there as well, the party really gets going. Rosie lives in Somerset.

Contents

Cover

Blurb A family at breaking point. A nation at war… 1914. Young Lexi doesn’t want much – just her family’s happiness. She’s been working all the hours she can at the local sweet shop to help her mother lift her little brother and sister out of poverty. Maybe one day, if she tries hard enough, they can save enough to leave their tiny, cramped flat – and terrifying landlord, Mr McCann – behind. Although Lexi can’t help but wish her friendship with the landlord’s son, Johnny, could turn into something more. They say it will all be over by Christmas. But with the country still at war when the snow begins to fall, Lexi turns all her attention to making the sweet shop’s windows cheery, and keeping her family’s sprits high. And, with courage, she might one day manage to give her family a magical Christmas, the like of which they never dared to dream of…

Title Page On Christmas Day Rosie James ONE PLACE. MANY STORIES

Author Bio Born in Bristol of Welsh parentage, ROSIE JAMES has always been a compulsive writer, her early enthusiasms kept alive by winning the occasional childhood prize, and much later by seeing her articles, short stories and romantic novels published. She is a trained singer, and as a lyric coloratura soprano, her roles include those in opera, operetta and oratorio. She enjoys theatre and eating out with friends, entertaining regularly at home - and when her beloved children and grandchildren are there as well, the party really gets going. Rosie lives in Somerset.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Copyright

Chapter One

March 1914At ten minutes to seven, and using her key to open the door, Lexi entered the sweet shop, the familiar, mouth-watering smell making her smile. To fourteen-year-old Lexi, it was like coming home, because during the summer holidays last year she’d been entrusted to run the place during the lunch hour each day so that the owner, Miss Jean Lewis, could have a rest. And the responsibility had been just up Lexi’s street – though she’d had to beg her mother to let her take the little job. Cecilia Martin was very protective of her three children and had tried to dissuade her elder daughter from entering the world of work too soon.

But Lexi had been determined, and had worked for the whole five weeks for a couple of hours each day, learning quickly along the way. Miss Lewis was a generous employer, and soon Lexi’s little cardboard box which held her pocket money had begun to feel quite heavy.

But now Lexi had left school for the last time – despite her mother’s pleas that she should stay on longer. But why, Lexi had argued, why didn’t her mother want her to grow up? Cecilia still had Phoebe, six, and Joe, three, to coddle and fuss over.

Then, as if it was meant to be, Miss Lewis had advertised for part-time help once again – which is why Lexi was back where she felt she truly belonged - behind the counter of the town’s prosperous little sweet shop. And her hours, from 7 to 10 in the morning and again from noon to 2 in the afternoon - plus the occasional extra hour in the evening to help with stock-taking - fitted in perfectly with all the domestic chores which Lexi did each day for her mother. Washing and ironing, sweeping and cleaning, and looking after the younger ones while Cecilia worked three nights a week at the laundry as well as toiling away each day at their scrubbed wooden table with her Singer sewing machine, mending, altering, patching, the turning of bed sheets sides to middle for all the hotels and guesthouses. Cecilia’s meticulous handiwork was how she kept her family fed and the rent paid. Her husband, Albert, a travelling salesman, was away far more than he was at home, his irregular contributions to the family purse leaving Cecilia the main bread winner - a role she accepted without complaint and with certain pride. Unlike many of the poor in the area who would let their children run around all hours of the day and night in hand-me-down shoes, or no shoes at all, Cecilia protected her children with the determination of a tigress, and all in all, she considered herself luckier than most. She was a decent citizen of Bath, never in debt, and bringing up well-mannered children, while many others barely existed, relying on parish relief to just about stay alive. Yet despite that, a lot of the women smoked, their men often coming home drunk