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Back After the War Save as PDF
Chapters (74)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. About the Author
  4. Also by Anita Frank
  5. Note to Readers
  6. Dedication
  7. Part One
  8. Chapter One
  9. Chapter Two
  10. Chapter Three
  11. Chapter Four
  12. Chapter Five
  13. Chapter Six
  14. Chapter Seven
  15. Chapter Eight
  16. Chapter Nine
  17. Chapter Ten
  18. Chapter Eleven
  19. Chapter Twelve
  20. Chapter Thirteen
  21. Chapter Fourteen
  22. Chapter Fifteen
  23. Chapter Sixteen
  24. Chapter Seventeen
  25. Chapter Eighteen
  26. Chapter Nineteen
  27. Chapter Twenty
  28. Chapter Twenty-One
  29. Chapter Twenty-Two
  30. Chapter Twenty-Three
  31. Chapter Twenty-Four
  32. Chapter Twenty-Five
  33. Chapter Twenty-Six
  34. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  35. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  36. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  37. Chapter Thirty
  38. Chapter Thirty-One
  39. Chapter Thirty-Two
  40. Chapter Thirty-Three
  41. Chapter Thirty-Four
  42. Chapter Thirty-Five
  43. Chapter Thirty-Six
  44. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  45. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  46. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  47. Chapter Forty
  48. Part Two
  49. Chapter Forty-One
  50. Chapter Forty-Two
  51. Chapter Forty-Three
  52. Chapter Forty-Four
  53. Chapter Forty-Five
  54. Chapter Forty-Six
  55. Chapter Forty-Seven
  56. Chapter Forty-Eight
  57. Chapter Forty-Nine
  58. Chapter Fifty
  59. Chapter Fifty-One
  60. Chapter Fifty-Two
  61. Chapter Fifty-Three
  62. Chapter Fifty-Four
  63. Chapter Fifty-Five
  64. Chapter Fifty-Six
  65. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  66. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  67. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  68. Chapter Sixty
  69. Acknowledgements
  70. Extract
  71. Chapter One
  72. Chapter Two
  73. Chapter Three
  74. About the Publisher

And then, what Gwen has been fearing comes to pass. His gaze drops to the boy clutched to her side and even as the car eases away, there it stubbornly remains.

Chapter Thirty

Jack

August 1939

‘I didn’t mean to kill him. Or maybe I did. I don’t know.’ Jack lets out a ragged sigh. He dares to lift his eyes to Gwen; the new wariness in her expression breaks his heart. ‘I didn’t think I was a violent man, Gwen, but maybe it’s there in all of us. I had a rage on me like never before, and I hadn’t got the self-control to stop it.’ He shakes his thoughts loose. ‘I just couldn’t stop myself.’ He pauses for a deep breath. ‘But anyway, the point is this: I’ve killed a man, and I reckon the coppers must have a pretty good idea it was me that did it. I had enough witnesses when I had a go at him in the pub. I’ve tried to cover my tracks, but I’ve not done a decent job. Did you know Iris Jennings’ brother is a detective – in Newcastle? Apparently, he’s coming here. I can’t help but think he’s coming for me.’

‘You don’t know that.’

‘Iris told Ted he was coming down for work.’

‘If he was coming for you, he’d be here by now, wouldn’t he? He’d have got Vic to arrest you. Your own sense of guilt is making you leap to conclusions,’ Gwen adds quietly.

‘Maybe. Oh, Gwen, I don’t know. All I know is … I can’t stay here. This damn war can’t come soon enough. I reckon no one’s going to ask too many questions about a man willing to give up his life for his country, not when his country needs every willing man she can muster. And I reckon I should let fate decide what happens to me next … perhaps I will survive. Perhaps fighting this war will be my redemption. But even if I do live, I can’t see how I can come back here, to England. I’d spend my life looking over my shoulder, waiting for my past to catch up with me. I can’t live my life in the shadow of the hangman’s noose, Gwen.’

‘But what will you do?’

‘If I survive the war, I reckon I’ll hop on a ship somewhere, start afresh. America maybe. Or maybe I’ll stay in Europe and just not come home – there are many ways a man can disappear and start again. But if you let me do this for you, Gwen – marry you, I mean – you’ll be able to keep your bairn, without disgrace, without fear. Your dad’ll look after you. And if I don’t survive, you’ll at least have a widow’s pension, and that’ll help down the line.’