A Liverpool Song (57 page)

‘No,’ chorused all who remained.

At last, Anya and Andrew were alone. Natalie had gone home with Gran to prepare for her move. The bungalow, usually occupied by tenants but now uninhabited, was to be
Natalie’s home. She would share it with another student, one who was feeling the pinch in these grey days when education was no longer free.

Anya sighed. ‘So. Just the two of us at last, Mr Sanderson.’

He nodded gravely. ‘I noticed.’

‘What do we do now, Andrew?’

He winked at her before lifting her in his arms. ‘Do you mind?’ he asked.

‘No.’

He carried her upstairs and placed her on his brand new mattress. ‘Anya?’

‘What?’

‘I think it’s time I invaded Warsaw.’

Ruth Hamilton is the bestselling author of numerous novels, including
Mulligan’s Yard, The Judge’s Daughter, The Reading Room, Mersey View, That Liverpool
Girl
and
Lights of Liverpool
. She has become one of the north-west of England’s most popular writers. She was born in Bolton, which is the setting for many of her novels, and
has spent most of her life in Lancashire. She now lives in Liverpool.

Also by Ruth Hamilton

A Whisper to the Living

With Love From Ma Maguire

Nest of Sorrows

Billy London’s Girls

Spinning Jenny

The September Starlings

A Crooked Mile

Paradise Lane

The Bells of Scotland Road

The Dream Sellers

The Corner House

Miss Honoria West

Mulligan’s Yard

Saturday’s Child

Matthew & Son

Chandlers Green

The Bell House

Dorothy’s War

A Parallel Life

Sugar and Spice

The Judge’s Daughter

The Reading Room

Mersey View

That Liverpool Girl

Lights of Liverpool

A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My family, God bless them. With me as mother and grandmother, they need all the help they can get.

Billy and Gill, my stalwarts.

Carol Smith, once my agent, now a good friend and author who loves my poetry – she’s biased.

Dorothy Ramsden, researcher, always supportive and ready to listen and to help.

Brendan Doherty, who should be published.

The readership – I thank you all.

I must mention my animals, since so many ask about them. Treacle (chocolate Lab) is as good as gold. Blazer (half yellow Lab and half red mastiff de Bordeaux, ie Hooch) no
discernible improvements. I refused to suffer alone, so the main character in
A Liverpool Song
is endowed with Blazer’s double, named Storm. Oscar, ring-necked parakeet, no comment
– I can’t think till he shuts up.

Ruthie

First published 2013 by Macmillan

This electronic edition published 2013 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-0-230-77200-7

Copyright © Ruth Hamilton 2013

The right of Ruth Hamilton to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital,
optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be
liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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