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Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
The News Building
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain in ebook format in 2019 by HarperCollinsPublishers
Copyright © Cressida McLaughlin 2019
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019.
Cover illustration © May Van Millingen
Cressida McLaughlin 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.
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Ebook Edition © June 2019 ISBN: 9780008332150
Version: 2019-06-03
Table of Contents
Charlie Quilter squinted into the sun that was coming in through the windscreen of the vintage double-decker Routemaster like a searchlight, and ran her palms down her skirt. It was early on a Saturday morning, but already the light was filling the bay of Porthgolow, making the water glitter encouragingly. And right now, in the midst of a meeting that she had called, but which was beginning to feel like a very bad idea, Charlie needed encouragement.
‘Do you want this place to survive, or don’t you?’ said Hugh, the owner of The Seven Stars pub, more impassioned than Charlie had ever seen him.
‘It’s not falling into the bleddy sea, is it?’ Myrtle shot back. Myrtle Gordon, long-standing Porthgolow resident, had taken against Charlie and her bus the moment she arrived in the village, so she wasn’t surprised to learn that her new suggestion wasn’t getting a seal of approval either.
‘No, of course not,’ Juliet said in a calm, even tone. ‘But what Charlie – we’re – suggesting, is simply a way to bring a few more businesses to Porthgolow. A small festival to brighten up the beach. The bus has been well-received, mostly, and this seems like an obvious next step.’
‘Obvious for you, mebbe. You young things, coming here and taking over. Emmets, the lot o’you.’ Myrtle picked up a mini toffee tart and popped it in her mouth, then turned
