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Back The Jump Save as PDF
Chapters (52)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgements
  5. BOOK ONE
  6. Chapter One
  7. Chapter Two
  8. Chapter Three
  9. Chapter Four
  10. Chapter Five
  11. Chapter Six
  12. Chapter Seven
  13. Chapter Eight
  14. Chapter Nine
  15. Chapter Ten
  16. Chapter Eleven
  17. Chapter Twelve
  18. Chapter Thirteen
  19. Chapter Fourteen
  20. Chapter Fifteen
  21. Chapter Sixteen
  22. Chapter Seventeen
  23. Chapter Eighteen
  24. Chapter Nineteen
  25. Chapter Twenty
  26. Chapter Twenty-One
  27. Chapter Twenty-Two
  28. Chapter Twenty-Three
  29. Chapter Twenty-Four
  30. Chapter Twenty-Five
  31. BOOK TWO
  32. Chapter Twenty-Six
  33. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  34. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  35. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  36. Chapter Thirty
  37. Chapter Thirty-One
  38. Chapter Thirty-Two
  39. Chapter Thirty-Three
  40. Chapter Thirty-Four
  41. Chapter Thirty-Five
  42. Chapter Thirty-Six
  43. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  44. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  45. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  46. BOOK THREE
  47. Chapter Forty
  48. Chapter Forty-One
  49. Chapter Forty-Two
  50. Chapter Forty-Three
  51. Chapter Forty-Four
  52. Epilogue

‘Of course you can, my little angel. Anything you like.’

Donna licked her lips. ‘Do you think Georgio will get his appeal? Only when I spoke to the barrister today, he sounded, well, a bit offish . . .’ Her voice trailed away.

Pa Brunos wiped his hands on his apron and hugged her to him hard, kissing the glossy brown hair with a smacking sound. ‘Don’t you be a-worrying. My Georgio is an innocent man. The laws of this country will make sure he is released. You probably caught the man when he was busy. We’re all short when we’re busy.’

Donna smiled gently. ‘You’re not.’

Pa laughed, a deep chuckle. ‘I’m not with you, but with Maeve I shout like a lion! I scream at her to leave me in peace.’

‘What does Maeve do?’ Donna responded to the twinkling eyes.

‘What does she do? She gets that Irish temper of hers out of her pocket and she screams into my lughole and I am sorry I ever said one word!’

Donna laughed.

Pa Brunos hugged her again. ‘Don’t you be a-worrying, you hear? Before you can say Jack Robinson my Georgio will be home and this restaurant will be having the biggest party in the world.’

‘Of course it will, Pa. I just wish it was soon.’

Pa Brunos went back to his work and shrugged. ‘I think sometimes that this will do Georgio a bit of good, eh? I think he is a bit too cocky as the Londoners say.’

Donna slipped off the stool and went to her father-in-law. ‘What makes you say that, Pa? What do you mean?’

Pa smiled at her, an ear-splitting smile, showing off his teeth. ‘Never mind, my little Donna. Forget I spoke. Sometimes I say things to the air that I should leave inside my head.’

Donna looked into the big, open, honest face and felt an urge to weep. Not because of what Pa had said, but because he had put into words what she had been thinking on and off since Georgio had been sentenced.

Only, until this moment, she had not admitted it to herself.

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Stephen Brunos was with his close friend Hattie Jacobs. She was fifty-five, big, voluptuous and jolly. When Stephen looked at her he felt happy. Hattie had a way of smiling all over; her eyes smiled even when her mouth was still. She exuded camaraderie, happiness and kindness. It was the last that attracted Stephen to her. Hattie never badmouthed anyone. He knew that his mother would class her as a big blowsy tart - most people would who didn’t know her - the main reason being that Hattie was a tart. Though she no longer walked the pavements of Shepherd’s Market, and only reminisced about the days she strolled along Park Lane; she worked now as a telephone tart.