Chapters (73)
- Cover
- 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
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Keep Reading …
- About the Author
- Also by Barbara Taylor Bradford
- About the Publisher
Emma stopped abruptly and stared at him, a startled expression on her face. ‘Are they real gold?’
Blackie chuckled. ‘No, mavourneen, they’re not. It’s just a saying folks have. What they mean is that there are jobs aplenty in this great city, and work for everyone. And ’tis the truth. I came to Leeds to live with me Uncle Patrick, and I learned to be a carpenter and a builder. Uncle Pat and me, well, we’ve got a lot of work. We’re a success. I’m building a guesthouse right now for Lord Robert Lassiter of Bolton Manor.’
Emma, looking very impressed, and also extremely interested, asked, ‘Could a girl like me make her fortune in Leeds then?’
Blackie hesitated. The city was no place for a scrawny young girl. He was about to answer negatively when he recognized the passionate gleam in her eyes, the ambition that burned fiercely. ‘Sure an’ ye could, mavourneen. But not now, Emma, not yet. ’Tis a fine city, but dangerous too, for a girl like you.’
‘Hey, what’s that word mean that yer call me … mavourneen?’
‘Ah, ’tis just a word of affection, Emma, like luv, or dear. It’s a nice name. I like ye, ye seem like a nice girl, and I think ye are probably clever, too. Yes, ye would easily get a job in the city. I can guarantee that ye could sell things in stores, for instance, or find work in one of the manufactories making the fine dresses.’
‘If I came ter yer great metropolis, as yer call it, would yer show me the ropes?’
‘Sure, on the heads of the Blessed Saints, I swear I would.’
Emma smiled at him, her green eyes sparkling, and it seemed to Blackie that there was a new spring in her step as they walked towards the crest.
An observer and a fiend when it came to detail, Blackie had taken everything in: the old, worn black coat which had obviously seen better days, but was neatly patched. The old black boots, highly polished, and the old shawls around her shoulders, darned here and there. But all were scrupulously clean. Her face beneath the shawl was scrubbed and shining, but it was those green eyes that caught his attention, and her lovely features. She had a thin, pinched look but, in a year or two, she would be a beautiful young woman. There was no question about that.
Filled with interest, he asked, ‘And do ye have any brothers and sisters, Emma?’