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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

‘Oh, Bri, they’re lovely, thanks, thanks!’

Briony turned and hugged them, while Molly hastily wiped her eyes.

‘Keep your noise down now, Eileen’s not feeling well.’

Kerry jerked her head towards Eileen and frowned. ‘Will I sing you a nice song, our Eileen? To cheer you up.’

Eileen nodded weakly, trying to smile.

Kerry put her new shoes on the bottom of the bed and, pushing back her thick black hair, began to sing.

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Isabel Dumas watched her husband closely as he cosseted his niece. He had pulled the little girl on to his lap and was caressing her blonde hair as he whispered endearments to her. Isabel felt a sickness inside herself as she watched him. She glanced at her husband’s sister and saw that she was smiling benignly at her brother and daughter. Isabel dragged her eyes from the scene and, excusing herself on the pretext of seeing how dinner was progressing, went up to her room.

Standing in their brand new bathroom, a marble and brass affair that she thought vulgar in the extreme, she splashed cold water on to her face and looked at herself in the mirror. She was twenty-five years old and had been married to Henry Dumas for seven years.

Her dark brown eyes took in the slight droop of her generous mouth and premature lines under her eyes from sleepless nights. Nights when she tossed and turned until she saw the daylight creep under her heavy bedroom curtains and intrude on her private world. She had long thick brown hair that had lost its gleam; her whole appearance was dull. It broke her heart every time she looked too closely at herself. She fancied sometimes that she was getting so sad and grey that eventually she would pass through the world completely unnoticed. Her mind went back to her husband caressing his five-year-old niece and she felt a wave of nausea engulf her.

It was true about Henry, she knew it. There was nothing for her with him any more, she couldn’t hide from that fact. Her marriage was a lie, a blatant lie that she was beginning to regret with all her heart. All the long, lonely nights!