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
“I was thinking ter go”—Finn nodded, putting his bottle down—“but I’m not sure now. Ye see I might go to meet this girl my friend Tommy O’Hara wrote to me about. He’s from near me in Galway, but he’s down now in London. His friend, Moira Aherne, has come to Leeds. He said I’d like her and that she’d like me, said I should look her up and be a friendly face.”
Blackie nodded. “Ye well might, and ye should go. Where does she stay?” Blackie raised a black brow, and said, with a grin, “She might live in Upper Armley, if yer lucky.”
“No, she don’t,” Finn said. “She lives somewhere called the Bank.”
Blackie sat bolt upright, peering at his friend intently. “Are ye sure? What district did he say?”
“The Bank, it’s between the Selby railway line and the river Aire. That’s what he wrote. I’ve got the full address in me room.”
“The Ham Shank,” Blackie pronounced, and shook his head. “Ye can’t go there, Finn. Not alone. I won’t let ye.” His face was suddenly serious.
“Why? What’s wrong with it?” Finn asked, his curiosity aroused.
“It’s dangerous. The police patrol there in threes, and the only person safe to walk alone in the nearby streets is a priest. That’s what it’s like.”
Finn was startled, gaping at him. “But I thought a lot of Irish lived there, and—”
“They do,” Blackie said, cutting across him swiftly. “In fact, it’s a big Irish colony, so ter speak.…” He paused, then lowered his voice. “I had to stay there a couple o’ times in a boardinghouse, when I was working as a navvy. But never tell me uncle about that. There’s a lot of violence and heavy drinking. Also, Saturday would be the worst night of the week in the Ham Shank. Ye wouldn’t stand a chance.” He shook his head vehemently once more. “Ye might be tall, but ye are not as tall as me, and half my weight. They’d be on ye in a minute, tough Irish sods.”
“Why are ye suggesting I might get into a fight? A brawl? I wouldn’t. I’m no outsider—sure, they’d all know me as Irish as soon as I opened me mouth. I’d keep ter meself and just go and see this girl, Moira. I’m a peace-loving person.”
“Drunken men who’ve been hard grafting it all week are often on the edge on a Saturday night. Boozing it up, letting loose … in other words, they might do anything. Their behavior is … unreliable.”