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Back Time to Say Goodbye Save as PDF
Chapters (76)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Prologue
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Chapter Twenty-One
  26. Chapter Twenty-Two
  27. Chapter Twenty-Three
  28. Chapter Twenty-Four
  29. Chapter Twenty-Five
  30. Chapter Twenty-Six
  31. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-One
  36. Chapter Thirty-Two
  37. Chapter Thirty-Three
  38. Chapter Thirty-Four
  39. Chapter Thirty-Five
  40. Chapter Thirty-Six
  41. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  42. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  44. Chapter Forty
  45. Chapter Forty-One
  46. Chapter Forty-Two
  47. Chapter Forty-Three
  48. Chapter Forty-Four
  49. Chapter Forty-Five
  50. Chapter Forty-Six
  51. Chapter Forty-Seven
  52. Chapter Forty-Eight
  53. Chapter Forty-Nine
  54. Chapter Fifty
  55. Chapter Fifty-One
  56. Chapter Fifty-Two
  57. Chapter Fifty-Three
  58. Chapter Fifty-Four
  59. Chapter Fifty-Five
  60. Chapter Fifty-Six
  61. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  62. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  63. Acknowledgements
  64. Also by Rosie Goodwin
  65. About Rosie Goodwin
  66. Welcome to the world of Rosie Goodwin!
  67. A Letter from Rosie Goodwin
  68. Cissie’s Roast Chicken
  69. An extract from Rosie Goodwin’s next novel
  70. Prologue
  71. Chapter One
  72. Love Rosie Goodwin?
  73. The Days of the Week collection
  74. Mothering Sunday
  75. Tales from Memory Lane
  76. Memory Lane Advert

As the noise from the street outside his bedroom window grew louder, Ben groaned and pulled the covers over his head in an attempt to shut it out. His head was throbbing, and his mouth felt like the bottom of a bird cage, as he tried to lose himself in sleep again. But it was no good. The noise was growing louder as the workers tramped towards the docks, so he dragged himself to the edge of the bed and peered at the thin curtains through narrowed eyes. For a moment he felt disorientated, but then gradually the night before began to come back to him, and he groaned again. He had no idea how many pints of beer he must have drunk – he’d lost count after ten – but he was certainly paying for it now. Glancing down, he saw that he was still fully dressed, and shame coursed through him. He’d done well to get back to his room, he supposed, considering the state he must have been in. He could remember going into the Dog and Duck and ordering a beer then getting into conversation with some chaps in army uniform. After that everything was blurry.

Suddenly something occurred to him and he reached down to feel for his wallet, which had been in the back pocket of his trousers. It was still there but a quick examination when he opened it revealed that it was empty. There had been twenty pounds in there at the beginning of the night and now every penny was gone. Whether he had spent it, or it had been stolen he had no idea, but he knew that he couldn’t go on like this. Thankfully the majority of the money he had swindled from his stepmother was safely locked away in the bank but even so he was aware that it wouldn’t last long if he went on the way he was.

A sharp rap at the door had his hands rising to his head, which felt as if it was about to burst, as the rasping voice of his landlady sailed through the door. ‘Mr Brannin’. Yer breakfast is ready. I ain’t keepin’ it warm so if yer want it yer to come down right now!’

He gulped. Just the thought of food made his stomach revolt. ‘Thanks, Mrs Jennings. I’ll give breakfast a miss this morning, if you don’t mind.’

‘Huh! Yer could have told me last night. All that good food goin’ to waste.’