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Back Goodnight Lady Save as PDF
Chapters (60)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Praise
  4. Dedication
  5. BOOK ONE
  6. Prologue 1989
  7. Chapter One
  8. Chapter Two
  9. Chapter Three
  10. Chapter Four
  11. Chapter Five
  12. Chapter Six
  13. Chapter Seven
  14. Chapter Eight
  15. Chapter Nine
  16. BOOK TWO - 1925
  17. Chapter Ten - 1925
  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. BOOK THREE - 1947
  41. Chapter Thirty-three
  42. Chapter Thirty-four
  43. Chapter Thirty-five
  44. Chapter Thirty-six
  45. Chapter Thirty-seven
  46. Chapter Thirty-eight
  47. Chapter Thirty-nine
  48. Chapter Forty
  49. BOOK FOUR - 1968
  50. Chapter Forty-one - 1968
  51. Chapter Forty-two
  52. Chapter Forty-three
  53. Chapter Forty-four
  54. Chapter Forty-five
  55. Chapter Forty-six
  56. Chapter Forty-seven
  57. Chapter Forty-eight
  58. Chapter Forty-nine
  59. Chapter Fifty - 1970
  60. EPILOGUE

Now, though, they had a subject they could discuss freely: the events of the night before in Victoria Park.

‘Our Briony’s got it all now, Kerry. She’s number one, the business as they say.’

Kerry nodded. ‘Yes, our Briony is up there with the hard men. Jesus wept, I never thought she’d stoop to murder! I thought she was strictly a good-time girl, a madam. Oh, Bernie, what on earth will all this come to?’

She shook her head.

‘Our Briony was always a law unto herself, you know that. It’s why she got as far as she did and took us with her. We’ll just have to hope she can take on contenders for her crown, because there’ll be plenty of them, once the novelty wears off. She’ll spend her whole life looking over her shoulder now.’

Kerry looked down at the dress she was holding and bit her lip. If Briony looked over her shoulder and saw Evander, what would happen then?

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

St Martin’s Church was full. Ginelle’s coffin was closed, the lid screwed tightly down. Briony stood at the front of the church with Tommy, Ginelle’s mother and her elder children taking the second pew. Briony’s eyes strayed constantly to the coffin, knowing exactly what was inside it. She heard the muffled sobs of her girls, and the vicar’s droning voice.

Unlike a Catholic Mass, with its pomp and ceremony, the Church of England service seemed very shallow and unfeeling to Briony. The vicar, a dour man in his sixties, kept referring to Ginelle as ‘the young lady’, as if frightened to admit any kind of association with her. There were no hymns, no real prayers, and as far as Briony was concerned, no emotion. She grasped Tommy’s hand for warmth. He squeezed it tightly, as if knowing the battle raging inside her, the guilt she felt. Ginelle’s death was her fault. Ginelle had become a valuable asset, appearing in the films with Jonathan la Billière. She had been the girl of everyone’s dreams. Bolger had killed her because she was worth money to Briony, a lot of money. If Briony hadn’t decided to branch out into the films, Ginelle would have still been just a Tom. Would still be walking around with her phony accent and her outlandish clothes.