Child on the Doorstep

Child on the Doorstep
Anne Bennett

The heartbreaking new novel from the bestselling author of The Forget-me-not Child and If You Were the Only Girl.Angela McClusky is haunted by the young baby that she left on the steps of the workhouse. Born out of wedlock and the result of a traumatic assault, the child has grown up away from the loving arms of her mother and only has a locket to remind her of the family she never knew.Angela, meanwhile, has carried the guilt of her actions with her for almost a decade, now widowed and alone, she is courted by a new suitor, Eddie, who seems to offer her the happiness she craves.When Angela’s teenage daughter, Constance, discovers that Eddie is not all he seems to be, it drives a wedge between mother and daughter. But her secrets won’t stay hidden and now Angela must face up to her past…

ANNE BENNETT

THE CHILD ON THE DOORSTEP

Copyright (#u3f88f5e8-fea6-53cd-95da-310a16346593)

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2018

Copyright © Anne Bennett 2018

Cover photographs © Gordon Crabb (Girl); Tony Charnock/ Alamy Stock Photo (houses)

Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018

Anne Bennett 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 e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, 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: 9780008162337

Ebook Edition © February 2018 ISBN: 9780008162344

Version: 2018-01-05

Dedication (#u3f88f5e8-fea6-53cd-95da-310a16346593)

In loving memory of Denis Bennett

Table of Contents

Cover (#u7cda4d34-47a8-5328-aad3-521308933328)

Title Page (#u1f57c6f1-7bb9-54a8-934e-9126db516e9b)

Copyright (#ub85b141f-3ca1-559b-84f1-8f0b77d548b3)

Dedication (#u106edba4-71c8-514e-8645-00a3676884cc)

Chapter one (#u57af36d6-f456-5169-891d-b2b4b9458c0f)

Chapter two (#ub5f5d3e2-eea7-54fe-afef-8283ec4148e9)

Chapter three (#u610a5e91-a14b-5091-83d8-32fb210f31b2)

Chapter four (#u950db41a-4536-506c-9957-71b86e2f3c4d)

Chapter five (#ufe36d016-4b20-5cd9-bcde-e70a208acb4a)

Chapter six (#uc6cd0810-a10d-58fd-9c57-cf0813ec5354)

Chapter seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter twenty-one (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter twenty-two (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter twenty-three (#litres_trial_promo)