Chapters (64)
- Cover
- Title page
- Dedication page
- A Week’s Work in Birmingham
- I
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- II
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- III
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Acknowledgements
- Further Reading
- About the Author
- By the Same Author
‘Oh, they didn’t drink any of that. It’s against the Bible, remember?’ She giggled, then frowned in a confused way. ‘I’ve never understood all that side of it. I’m sure Jesus Christ had a drink or two – He did, dain’t He?’
‘Ooh, I dunno.’ Eb’s eyes were closing. Through an immense yawn, he said, ‘It’s all beyond me.’
‘And did you see the way your man was looking at Annie?’
‘Ummm?’
‘Eb?’ She leaned over and gave his nose a playful tweak with her lips. ‘D’you fancy – you know?’
One eye opened. ‘What – now?’
Harriet giggled. ‘Well – we could . . .’ she said coyly. ‘If you like.’
Suddenly her husband was very wide awake indeed.
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Seven
Margaret was already eating her breakfast the next morning when Uncle Eb came bouncing down the stairs, booming out, ‘Nita! Juanita! Ask thy soul if we should part!’ with a cheerful soulfulness. He scraped out the porridge pot – ‘Lean thou on my heart!’ he finished, head back as if howling at the moon.
Margaret laughed. She was getting used to Uncle Eb and loved his cheerful, optimistic nature.
‘Our mother used to sing,’ she said. ‘You remind me of her.’
Their mother had been the less conventional of their parents, and the one who lived with most joy. Tears filled Margaret’s eyes without her expecting it and Eb saw as he turned to her.
‘Well,’ he said kindly, sitting down with his bowl of porridge. ‘That’s to be expected, I suppose. She was a good’un, your ma. We had some happy times growing up here together, Lil and me. I missed her when she went off and lived over there. But it was what she wanted.’
‘When you’ve got more time, one day – will you tell Annie and me more about when you were young and you worked for your father?’
‘Ar – I’ll have a think.’ He smiled. ‘Memory lane – seems a good while back now. Though when you come down to it, nothing much’s changed – in terms of the job, what we did then is what we do now.’
He set about his porridge, looking up at her with such an appearance of twinkling joy that she laughed.
‘You’re very cheerful,’ she said. ‘Has Herr Schmale definitely put his order in – and the other gentleman?’
‘Herr Schmale?’ Eb plonked his bowl on the table, looking for a second as if he had no idea who either of the German customers were. ‘Oh! Yes – we’ve got started on the design of Freddie’s brooch. Von Titz is sending photographs.’
‘That’s wonderful news.’ She ate her last spoonful. ‘Uncle – may I ask you something?’
‘Umm?’ he said amiably.
‘I don’t quite understand – about the Arts and Crafts people. What’s – I suppose I mean, why do you not see yourself as one of them?’