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
‘I can’t wait!’ Patrick picked up Blackie’s suitcase and said, ‘See yon door, on the left, Blackie? Open it and go upstairs. That’s the bedroom floor above us.’
Blackie did as he was told, and bounded up the narrow stairs, which were actually covered in a patterned runner held down with brass rods. At the top he stood on a cramped landing, waiting for his uncle to arrive.
‘This is your room,’ Patrick announced a moment later, opening a door. It was a small room, but Blackie liked it at once. There was a single bed along one wall, a chest of drawers against another, a rag rug on the wooden floor and a small polished desk under the window. It gleamed in the light of the gas lamp on the wall, and caught Blackie’s eye.
‘I can see you like the room,’ his uncle said, and placed the suitcase on the bed. ‘This door opens on a cupboard,’ Patrick explained. ‘And your boots can go on the floor in there as well. I think you’ve plenty of space for your belongings, don’t you?’
‘Oh, I do, I do, Uncle Pat. Lots. I don’t own much, ye know,’ he confided and sounded rueful as he spoke.
‘You’re only thirteen, Blackie. I didn’t own much at your age either.’ Walking over to the window, Patrick smoothed his hand over the desk. ‘I noticed you were impressed with this piece,’ he said. ‘It shines in this way, looks extra glossy because it’s been French polished. That’s a special method I will teach you later on.’
‘It does look nice, Uncle Pat. And thank ye for everything.’ For once, words failed him.
‘Pleasure, lad. Now, tucked in here is a lavatory and a bath.’ He went out of the room.
Blackie sounded surprised when he said, ‘I’m used to an outhouse.’ He followed his uncle as he spoke.
‘Everyone is, and I decided I would take a narrow slice out of that room …’ Patrick stepped forward on the landing and opened a door. ‘I did the work in here myself, including the plumbing, all of it. So we are comfortable now, and there’s no reason for an outhouse.’
Blackie went inside, guided by Patrick, made a mental note of everything he saw and grinned. ‘What a luxury,’ he murmured. ‘Well, life is full of surprises.’
Patrick chuckled. ‘Wash up, Blackie, and then come on downstairs. Don’t be unpacking now. You can do it later.’
EIGHT
‘I’m not a fancy cook,’ Eileen confided to Blackie when he peered into the small kitchen behind the parlour. ‘But I try to make my specialities tasty.’