warned. ‘I bet he doesn’t know that you are still only a schoolgirl.’
‘I shan’t be for much longer,’ Lynn told her, tossing her head defiantly.
‘Oh yes you will be, for quite some time yet,’ Megan assured her. ‘If you pass your exams this summer then you can go on to technical college …’
‘You can forget that right away,’ her sister exploded hotly. ‘And don’t go putting any of those stupid ideas in our mam’s head either. I’m leaving school at Easter.’
‘You can’t do that!’
‘Oh yes I most certainly can. In fact, it might even be earlier. I’m going to ask if I can leave on my birthday.’
Long after she was back at her desk, Megan was haunted by their conversation. Although she was only two years older than Lynn, Megan had always been made to feel responsible for her younger sister and the habit was hard to break.
When Lynn had first started school, she had been expected to make sure that no one bullied her. With her fair, wavy hair, enormous grey eyes and round, pretty face there had been very little likelihood of that ever happening.
Even at five, Lynn had been gregarious. Making the most of her wide, cheeky grin and dare-devil nature she easily made friends.
In fact, Megan recalled, she’d been the one who had been bullied at school, often by Lynn and her playmates. And if she ever complained about it her mother refused to listen.
‘Picking on Lynn because you are jealous of her is a waste of time as far as I am concerned,’ Kathy would scold. ‘You’ll do a lot better if instead of burying your nose in a book you go out and play with your sister and her friends.’
That hadn’t been easy because Lynn and her friends didn’t want her around. Now, though, with Lynn’s birthday only six weeks away, Megan felt she ought to try to talk to her and make her see sense.
The trouble was, Lynn hated taking advice. It wouldn’t be easy convincing her that she might be ruining her future prospects if she left school too early and without any qualifications.
It was not only a matter of her leaving school, either. It worried her that Lynn was still visiting the Stork Club even though they’d both been told not to do so. Equally worrying was the fact that she was still meeting this boy called Flash.
None of them had met him, and Lynn didn’t even seem to know his proper name or where he lived. He was obviously a reckless sort of character to have earned a nickname like Flash.
She didn’t like telling tales about her sister, but she felt her mother and father ought to know in case Lynn landed herself in some sort of trouble.
Chapter Eight
WATKIN WILLIAMS WAS extremely concerned when Megan told him that Lynn was planning to leave school as soon as she possibly could.
‘Don’t you worry about it, I’ll have a quiet word with her,’ he promised.
Lynn was almost a replica of what Kathy had been like when he had first met her and it seemed to him that history was repeating itself.
He would never forget the first time he had met Kathy. It had been a bitterly cold, wet November night. The crowd of sailors he had come ashore with had decided to go into a pub called the Angel. Kathy’s smile had been so warm and friendly when she came over to take their order that he had fallen for her on the spot.
When the others decided to leave, he had stayed on, smoking a cigarette, waiting for her to come and clear the table so that he could talk to her.
By the time the Angel closed he had won her interest and knew he was madly in love with her. The thought of sailing on the morning’s tide, and perhaps never seeing her again, filled him with despair.
He had taken her to the State Restaurant for a meal, the only place that was still open. When that closed, they sheltered against a corner of the building , his greatcoat shielding her from the cold drizzle as they made love.
His ship had sailed before dawn but, when he returned to Liverpool six months later, the moment they
‘I shan’t be for much longer,’ Lynn told her, tossing her head defiantly.
‘Oh yes you will be, for quite some time yet,’ Megan assured her. ‘If you pass your exams this summer then you can go on to technical college …’
‘You can forget that right away,’ her sister exploded hotly. ‘And don’t go putting any of those stupid ideas in our mam’s head either. I’m leaving school at Easter.’
‘You can’t do that!’
‘Oh yes I most certainly can. In fact, it might even be earlier. I’m going to ask if I can leave on my birthday.’
Long after she was back at her desk, Megan was haunted by their conversation. Although she was only two years older than Lynn, Megan had always been made to feel responsible for her younger sister and the habit was hard to break.
When Lynn had first started school, she had been expected to make sure that no one bullied her. With her fair, wavy hair, enormous grey eyes and round, pretty face there had been very little likelihood of that ever happening.
Even at five, Lynn had been gregarious. Making the most of her wide, cheeky grin and dare-devil nature she easily made friends.
In fact, Megan recalled, she’d been the one who had been bullied at school, often by Lynn and her playmates. And if she ever complained about it her mother refused to listen.
‘Picking on Lynn because you are jealous of her is a waste of time as far as I am concerned,’ Kathy would scold. ‘You’ll do a lot better if instead of burying your nose in a book you go out and play with your sister and her friends.’
That hadn’t been easy because Lynn and her friends didn’t want her around. Now, though, with Lynn’s birthday only six weeks away, Megan felt she ought to try to talk to her and make her see sense.
The trouble was, Lynn hated taking advice. It wouldn’t be easy convincing her that she might be ruining her future prospects if she left school too early and without any qualifications.
It was not only a matter of her leaving school, either. It worried her that Lynn was still visiting the Stork Club even though they’d both been told not to do so. Equally worrying was the fact that she was still meeting this boy called Flash.
None of them had met him, and Lynn didn’t even seem to know his proper name or where he lived. He was obviously a reckless sort of character to have earned a nickname like Flash.
She didn’t like telling tales about her sister, but she felt her mother and father ought to know in case Lynn landed herself in some sort of trouble.
Chapter Eight
WATKIN WILLIAMS WAS extremely concerned when Megan told him that Lynn was planning to leave school as soon as she possibly could.
‘Don’t you worry about it, I’ll have a quiet word with her,’ he promised.
Lynn was almost a replica of what Kathy had been like when he had first met her and it seemed to him that history was repeating itself.
He would never forget the first time he had met Kathy. It had been a bitterly cold, wet November night. The crowd of sailors he had come ashore with had decided to go into a pub called the Angel. Kathy’s smile had been so warm and friendly when she came over to take their order that he had fallen for her on the spot.
When the others decided to leave, he had stayed on, smoking a cigarette, waiting for her to come and clear the table so that he could talk to her.
By the time the Angel closed he had won her interest and knew he was madly in love with her. The thought of sailing on the morning’s tide, and perhaps never seeing her again, filled him with despair.
He had taken her to the State Restaurant for a meal, the only place that was still open. When that closed, they sheltered against a corner of the building , his greatcoat shielding her from the cold drizzle as they made love.
His ship had sailed before dawn but, when he returned to Liverpool six months later, the moment they
Similar Books
