BooksBarbecue
Back Sisters of Gold
Chapters (64)
  1. Cover
  2. Title page
  3. Dedication page
  4. A Week’s Work in Birmingham
  5. I
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Ten
  16. Eleven
  17. Twelve
  18. Thirteen
  19. Fourteen
  20. Fifteen
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-One
  27. Twenty-Two
  28. Twenty-Three
  29. Twenty-Four
  30. II
  31. Twenty-Five
  32. Twenty-Six
  33. Twenty-Seven
  34. Twenty-Eight
  35. Twenty-Nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-One
  38. Thirty-Two
  39. Thirty-Three
  40. Thirty-Four
  41. Thirty-Five
  42. Thirty-Six
  43. Thirty-Seven
  44. Thirty-Eight
  45. Thirty-Nine
  46. III
  47. Forty
  48. Forty-One
  49. Forty-Two
  50. Forty-Three
  51. Forty-Four
  52. Forty-Five
  53. Forty-Six
  54. Forty-Seven
  55. Forty-Eight
  56. Forty-Nine
  57. Fifty
  58. Fifty-One
  59. Fifty-Two
  60. Fifty-Three
  61. Acknowledgements
  62. Further Reading
  63. About the Author
  64. By the Same Author

‘Margaret.’ His tone was full of gladness and he held out his hand. She let go of Den, feeling no option but to shake his hand in return. He took it gently, lifting it to his lips, and made a little bow over it, before raising his eyes to hers.

She felt dizzy, disorientated, her heart thudding as if to warn of great danger. During those seconds she saw him and nothing but him. Then she returned to the room and was aware of Den and Ivy still close beside her, of Aunt Hatt beaming at the pair of them.

‘How . . . How did you know where we were?’ she asked faintly.

‘Oh –’ Charles stepped back tactfully, releasing her hand. He spoke in a light tone. ‘Your father told me. He said that before I leave for my post, it was time for us to resolve our little difference and part as friends – wouldn’t you agree?’

Our little difference? Her sense of betrayal by her father deepened again into rage. He had promised not to tell Charles, ever, where she and Annie had gone.

‘And besides,’ he said, his eyes looking at her with a humble longing, ‘we have both missed you so very much. Your father is rattling about that house alone except for the housekeeper, and is desperate for you and Annie to return home – though of course he finds it hard to say so. And I . . . Well, we must make peace, Margaret. I know I have done you wrong somehow, for you to have reacted in such an extreme way.’

Again, he made a small bow. Just behind him, Margaret saw Aunt Hatt’s face taking in the look and manner of Charles Barber, the man Margaret had told her she wanted to marry but that her father had opposed it. The man she had wanted to marry . . . Looking at him again now, here, as lively and engaging as he had always been, her heart ached. For a crazed moment she wondered if she had imagined that night in the stables. Had it been him – or another man for whom she had mistaken him? Or was it a dream? He still seemed to have no recollection . . . Had she been mad in some way?

‘Come and sit down, both of you,’ Aunt Hatt was saying. ‘It’s ever so nice that Mr Barber has come, isn’t it, Margaret? Annie won’t be back for a little while yet, but . . .’

‘Of course – how lovely!’ Charles said, with another bow of acknowledgement. ‘I’m so looking forward to seeing little Miss Annie again.’ Charles appeared convincingly as if there was nothing in the world that would give him more pleasure.