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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

‘But you were unwell. You . . .’ She stopped. ‘You were not fit.’ It sounded too cruel. But she felt for him, felt his misery and sense of disgrace, when she knew him to be gifted and devoted. And yet . . . How could such a man, a man who had attacked her, be allowed to . . .

All the darkest of thoughts invaded her mind. Thoughts she had forced away, tried to deny. The things her father had said, his blame of her . . . It was she who had been made into the problem! In a career otherwise unblemished, it had only been with her that Charles had run aground. Only with her – because of something in her – had he become an animal who could not be trusted. A twisted, self-hating sense of guilt welled in her. The curse of Eve! Father said . . . He said she was to blame . . . In those moments, she was infected with self-disgust . . . But then had there not been a mention of something else happening – another incident . . . ? She had never been told what.

‘Ah, well – yes,’ he was saying. ‘It’s true – I was a little exhausted.’

He became gentle suddenly, smiling again, touching her hand for a moment. ‘I have to remind myself not to be impatient. Or ambitious, for that matter. The Lord sees and measures our achievements very differently from the world.’

‘Yes, indeed – though I’m sure He sees your dedication,’ she said. The words sounded trite, even to her.

Charles glanced out of the window. There was the beginning of a town. Turning to her, he spoke very softly. ‘It would all be so much easier to bear if I had you at my side, as before.’ He looked down, apparently tormented and contrite. ‘Margaret, my dear Margaret,’ he murmured softly. ‘I know I have wronged you. I have caused hurt and confusion between yourself and your father. I . . .’

A spasm of pain passed over his face. ‘I still do not know of what I am accused. I woke and found myself lying in a bed in your house and since then all has been confusion and desolation. Whatever it is – I . . . I regret to the very heart of my being that I have no memory of it.’

They were moving so close to it, to that night, and her pulse was uncomfortably fast, blood banging in her ears. Rage boiled up in her. Rage and shame and confusion. Not remember? Had the blow Annie gave him genuinely injured his memory? How could he not remember? And if he did not remember, how could he take responsibility?

‘I don’t . . .’ she began to say. But the pound of her blood, the distraught tears which wanted to pour from her, her longing to beg him to remember, to apologize properly, to be honest and true, all stopped her speech.