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Back A Man of Honour Save as PDF
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 knows that; she took a plan she’d made to Mrs Wainright,’ Cook explained. ‘I suppose I should call it a schedule – it were a “timetable”, she called it, for doing the housework in a better way. Mrs Wainright was right impressed, so Emma told me. It was then that Mrs W. found out about Polly being sick.’

‘That must be her plan with a capital P, as she called it when she spoke to me.’

Mrs Turner chuckled. ‘Aye, it was. She’s a right one, that Emma.’

Murgatroyd arrived in the kitchen ten minutes later, carrying the empty dessert plates on a large tray. He took it to the sink, looked at Cook and asked, ‘Where’s the girl? She can wash these.’

His manner infuriated Mrs Turner.

‘Nobody gives orders in my domain, Mister Murgatroyd,’ Cook said in a stern voice. ‘Emma is still finishing upstairs and it’s almost two o’clock. She will sit down and eat summat when she finishes the bedrooms. And that’s that. It’s none of your business.’

‘She’ll be getting too big for her britches if you spoil her, Mrs Turner.’

Mrs Turner decided it would be wiser to remain silent. It would only bounce onto Emma if she wasn’t careful. Moving across the kitchen floor to a small corner, she tapped the silver coffeepot with a spoon, and said, ‘You can serve coffee now, Murgatroyd, and I’ll see to the washing up.’

When they were alone, Blackie said, in a furious tone, ‘I wouldn’t mind running into him on a dark night. He wouldn’t know what hit him if I got me hands on him.’

‘Yer not the first ter say that, lad. Murgatroyd is a lazy bugger, and I think he’s run his course here.’ Lowering her voice, she said, ‘Mrs W. will soon notice he doesn’t pull his weight. She is not here for just a few days, yer knows. She’s come ter stay, in my opinion.’

‘Oh, do ye really think that’s true?’ Blackie gaped at her. ‘How did ye arrive at that conclusion, Cook? Come on, ye can tell me, sure and ye can.’

‘The luggage. A lot of it,’ Mrs Turner said in a low voice. ‘Also, the Squire likes having her here. For company. The missus is … three sheets to the wind most of the time,’ she whispered the last few words.

‘Sure and I know that,’ Blackie whispered back, and sat up straighter as Emma walked into the kitchen.

FIFTY-THREE

The minute Blackie set eyes on Emma, he jumped up and rushed across the kitchen. She was carrying two buckets, and he took them from her immediately, worried by her apparent tiredness.

‘Let me get you a cup of soup, Emma,’ Cook said, also alarmed by the whiteness of the girl’s face, the strained expression in her eyes. ‘Ye look done in, luv.’