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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

Tommy was not to realise that the feeling of closeness was the only part of sex that Briony enjoyed. So carried away was he in his own excitement he did not notice her mechanical responses. But that night, it didn’t matter anyway. It sealed their fates. The coupling of their bodies was just an extension of their partnership.

At least, that was how Briony saw it.

BOOK TWO - 1925

BOOK TWO

1925

‘My sister and my sister’s child, Myself and children three’

- William Cowper, 1731-1800

‘Affection beaming in one eye,
Calculation shining out of the other’

- Martin Chuzzlewit, Charles Dickens

Chapter Ten - 1925

Chapter Ten

1925

‘Oh, for Christ’s sake, Tommy, what the hell has got into you?’ Briony’s voice was hard and Tommy clenched his fists in an effort to keep his temper.

‘I don’t like it, Briony. For one thing it’s expensive, for another you can’t guarantee you’ll make any money out of it.’

Briony laughed out loud.

‘Oh, can’t I? Listen here, Tommy Lane. On the continent these pictures are all the rage, mate. The French are shipping them over here like they’re going out of fashion. Private viewings are bringing in a fucking fortune! I’ve more than looked into all this believe me. That “useless ponce”, as you call Rupert in your more friendlier moments, is the goose that’s going to lay us some golden eggs. Tomorrow I put up a quick grand, then we sit back and rake the money in. We can show the films in the houses, have our own private screenings. We can get in on the bottom of the market before it takes off. And quite frankly, Tommy, whether you come in with me or not, I’m having some of it. It’s the thing for the future, it’ll make us untold money, I guarantee that.’

Tommy looked at the girl opposite him. Her face was alight, as it always was when she was talking about money. In fairness to her, he knew she had really done the groundwork on the films, she was too astute not to, but the thought annoyed him. Inside himself, Tommy actually found the thought of filming couples having sexual relations distasteful. He voiced this.

‘I think it’s perverted.’

Briony really did laugh now. A contemptuous sound that grated on him.