Chapters (71)
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- Part One
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Part Two
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Part Three
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Part Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Part Five
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Books by Barbara Taylor Bradford
- About the Author
- Newsletter Sign-up
In actuality, Patrick was not given to self-indulgence, because of his nature and also the need to be frugal, to cleverly manage the money he earned. Nevertheless, he believed he could treat himself to his racing sheet and the newspaper every day.
He was an avid reader of The Daily Mail, genuinely interested in the news, wanting to know what was happening in the rest of the world, as well as in his own country.
Information was important to him, and knowing as much as he could gave him a true sense of security. He wanted always to be prepared … for just about anything. What had happened to his sister and her family, caught in poverty and ill health, had saddened him deeply.
Eileen had talked to him a lot, four years ago, just before Blackie had come to live with them. And Patrick would always be glad she had, because she had had more insight into what the boy’s presence in their lives would mean than he had himself. She had wanted Blackie to come but talked about the ways their life might change—for good and bad—having a lad they hardly knew in their home.
It was true the dynamics of life in their house had gone to a different level, but in all truth Patrick’s nephew had brought nothing but a quiet joy to their home over the past four years.
It had been a big change, but even from the start Blackie was easy to live with. After tea, he mostly went up to his bedroom to read, his appetite for learning about buildings and engineering fed by the library books he borrowed. Although he was garrulous at times, he knew when quietness was required, and would slide off to leave them alone downstairs.
The only time they’d found themselves at odds had been when Blackie turned fifteen. Patrick had not been able to stop him signing up as a navvy, his nephew determined to earn the money that the brutal work paid, and for six long months they had only seen him occasionally. When he did come home he was exhausted and thin from the demanding work on the canal and the harsh life.
Nowadays he was back working for his uncle and no problem at all, studying at night school and still determined to build his way to a bigger life. Blackie was seventeen, nearly a man, and had made many friends, and was blessed with a magnetic personality that attracted people to him.