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
‘Yes. And what’s more, Father wouldn’t believe Margaret and he made us have Charles in our house until he recovered. That’s why we left. But when he did come round he swore he couldn’t remember anything because he’s a liar and a hypocrite. And now she’s gone with him again because no doubt, knowing Maggs, she’s got some idea about forgiveness and everything being all right again . . . For pity’s sake – anything could happen.’
Once Annie had got through to them, her uncle and aunt swung into action. Just waiting was not enough, Annie commanded. Somehow Charles Barber had discovered where she and Margaret were.
‘If it was Father who told him, then he’s got to come and help sort this out – and find them. He never believed us about Charles – he can’t face the fact that underneath all that flannel of his the man’s a lunatic.’
Though Uncle Eb and Aunt Hatt were finding it difficult to take all this in, Eb hurried out to send a wire to William Hanson, asking him to come immediately. Once home again, he paced up and down, clutching at his hair. ‘Should we be going to Banbury?’ he said. ‘Getting on a train instead of sitting here?’ He took another turn along the hearthrug. ‘I don’t know the place, don’t know where to begin. We could go to the police station . . .’ Raking his hair again.
‘Don’t you think all this might be a bit hasty?’ Aunt Hatt said. ‘They might come back and no harm done.’
‘He should never have been told where we were!’ Annie turned on her. She was alight with worry and anger, though even she could see that dashing off after Margaret and Charles was not guaranteed to get them anywhere. ‘The least Father can do is come and face up to all this. Why should we go back there after all this, as if we’ve done wrong when he can never, ever apologize for anything? He’s so arrogant – he’s always got to be right about everything. Maggs might be a little mouse when it comes to Father, but I’m damned if I’m going to be!’
‘Well – you’ve learned a thing or two in that factory,’ Aunt Hatt said, very taken aback by the force of Annie’s bottled-up rage.
‘Not just there, either,’ Annie retorted. ‘I’ve always been the one who’s stood up to Father.’