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Chapters (71)
  1. Copyright Notice
  2. Dedication
  3. Part One
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Part Two
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-One
  26. Twenty-Two
  27. Twenty-Three
  28. Twenty-Four
  29. Twenty-Five
  30. Twenty-Six
  31. Twenty-Seven
  32. Twenty-Eight
  33. Twenty-Nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-One
  36. Thirty-Two
  37. Part Three
  38. Thirty-Three
  39. Thirty-Four
  40. Thirty-Five
  41. Thirty-Six
  42. Thirty-Seven
  43. Thirty-Eight
  44. Thirty-Nine
  45. Forty
  46. Forty-One
  47. Forty-Two
  48. Forty-Three
  49. Forty-Four
  50. Part Four
  51. Forty-Five
  52. Forty-Six
  53. Forty-Seven
  54. Forty-Eight
  55. Forty-Nine
  56. Fifty
  57. Fifty-One
  58. Fifty-Two
  59. Fifty-Three
  60. Part Five
  61. Fifty-Four
  62. Fifty-Five
  63. Fifty-Six
  64. Fifty-Seven
  65. Fifty-Eight
  66. Fifty-Nine
  67. Sixty
  68. Sixty-One
  69. Books by Barbara Taylor Bradford
  70. About the Author
  71. Newsletter Sign-up

I’m going to have to keep a strong hold on him, Patrick realized. Keep him near me and under my wing. Women will be after him, and women of all ages. A sigh escaped, and Patrick closed his eyes, thinking of his own past and, to be exact, his present. Women. Trouble on two legs. Another sigh escaped: I’ll think about that tomorrow.

Seven

It was deep twilight when Patrick and Blackie disembarked from the train in New Station in Leeds. Both of them were glad to stretch their legs and stride out after the long ride on the train.

“This way, Blackie,” Patrick said, taking his nephew’s arm, leading him to the left. The boy was gaping, looking up above at the vaulted roof above the cast-iron pillars, trains and noise all around. “Once we’re out on the street, it’s only a few seconds away from the tram stop,” Patrick explained.

“I’ve never been on a tram,” Blackie ventured. “I can’t wait. Do they go very fast?”

“No, no, they’re pushing along at a medium speed. You’ll enjoy the ride. I know I always do.”

“How do they work, Uncle Pat?” Blackie, as usual, had the need to know how everything worked. He was a stickler for details, the more obscure the better. Even on the steamship over, despite the journey being cramped and often terrifying, he’d been figuring out how the ship operated.

“The trams run on tracks, on large metal wheels. And there are two levels on some trams, downstairs and upstairs. It’s an easy way to get into Leeds from Upper Armley, where we live now. Comfortable they are too. The great thing is they all come continuously, one after another, with only about fifteen minutes in between.”

He broke off, pointed down the street and said, “Here comes one now, Blackie. It’s a good thing we didn’t waste any time getting over here to the stop, didn’t dawdle about.”

Within several seconds, the double-decker tram came to a stop and the two men got on. Blackie wanted to be on the upper deck and scrambled up. Patrick followed more slowly, smiling at the boy’s excitement and enthusiasm.

Blackie was, quite simply, genuinely astonished as the tram started to move, at first gradually, then increasing its speed as it went along the city street.

Blackie turned to his uncle and asked, “How do we pay our way?”

“There’s an inspector. He punches a ticket and gives it to you, then takes the money.”

“Easy enough,” Blackie murmured. “That was a brilliant idea, whoever thought of it.”

“Indeed,” Patrick answered, wondering about that himself for the first time. He’d have to be on his toes and have his wits about him when he was with his nephew. He was a mountain of knowledge already and filled with questions.