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Back A Man of Honour
Chapters (73)
  1. Cover
  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. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  70. Keep Reading …
  71. About the Author
  72. Also by Barbara Taylor Bradford
  73. About the Publisher

‘I kept a secret from ye, lass, and it was real stupid of me, faith and it was. So now I shall tell ye. Is that all right?’

Laura simply nodded, wondering what on earth he had been keeping from her. Could it be another woman? She hoped not. She sat rather tensely in the chair, expecting the worst.

Blackie said in a quiet tone, ‘I took a job once, some time ago, and it was only for the money. Ye see, I wanted to build me nest egg, and I couldn’t resist the offer. It were ten shillings a day, and—’

‘But there’s nothing wrong with that,’ Laura interrupted, filling with relief.

‘No, there wasn’t,’ Blackie said. ‘Let me just tell ye, Laura, and don’t interrupt me, or it’ll never get told.’ He stared at her intently.

She nodded and sat back in her chair, remained silent.

Blackie commenced. ‘The money meant everything. But the hours were difficult, hard to keep from dawn ’til dusk. The job had to be rushed to meet the deadline, so the manager of the building came to me. He said, “In at four o’clock every morning, and finish at five o’clock. Five other builders to help ye. Ye’ll be the foreman and ye’ll live in lodgings in Leeds. No time for travelling home.”’

Blackie paused, took a sip of tea and went on with his story. ‘All that was no problem for me. I’m strong, long hours don’t bother me. But the lodging house did. It was in the Bank, the Ham Shank. The most dangerous place there is in Leeds. Still an’ all, I risked it. I wanted the work – it were good building experience, more than Uncle Pat could offer at the time. And for the money, ye see. Work building the last top floor. An office building it were, near Briggate. And tough to do, but we made it.’

Again, Blackie paused and, as Laura started to speak, he held up his hand. ‘Not quite finished yet, love. I lied to Uncle Pat. I didn’t dare tell him about the job, and living in the Ham Shank, so I told him I had a chance to go to London, to stay with Tommy O’Hara, my old friend from Ireland. A little break from work, a short holiday, and he agreed. Ye see, I knew Tommy had gone back to Galway to see his sister, so I was safe … in lying, I mean.’

Blackie let out a long sigh. ‘I never did confide in Uncle Pat, not to this day, not even when we went there to fetch Moira out. But oddly, keeping this secret from ye has been troubling me, Laura.’