A Dream to Share

  ‘Could yer get a likeness of Tilly for me… please?’

  Eudora smiled. ‘I’ll see what I can do. Emma and her young man were married yesterday and there was a photographer there. I will miss Emma. But I’ve taken her brother and Joy Kirk into my employment. I’ve an idea how I may use their talents.’

  ‘What of Mrs Kirk?’

  Eudora showed surprise. ‘Do you care what happens to her?’

  ‘I’m curious.’

  Eudora hesitated. ‘She’s had a complete breakdown and had to be taken away. Do you feel remorse for what you did to her?’

  Mal appeared to struggle to get words out but managed at last to say, ‘I suppose I am to blame… I punished my second wife for the death of my first when really it was my mother who needed punishing. Mrs Kirk was a good friend to my wife and encouraged her to stand up to me. I couldn’t cope with that… she was far braver than I was… but at the same time I hated her for her religious convictions… so like Mother. When Mrs Kirk confronted me with what I’d done to my wife I lost my rag. I shouldn’t have used violence on her… although, I still think she was an interfering awld besom.’

  Eudora fixed him with a stare. ‘Don’t spoil the confession, Malcolm. They say it’s good for the soul.’

  He returned her stare, letting out a sigh. ‘I overheard a nurse say that the King is dead. How stands his soul with his womanising, drink­ing and gambling?’

  ‘That is between him and his maker,’ murmured Eudora, remember­ing the crowds in front of the town hall after Edward VII had died. The mayor had stood on a balcony draped in purple and black velvet and made the loyal declaration. He had started by saying, ‘The King is dead, long live tbe King.’ George V now stood in his father’s shoes. The Edwardian era had ended and a new one had dawned. She saw unrest and chaos ahead but would say nothing of that to her young friends. Let them enjoy their dreams while they may.

  First published in the United Kingdom in 2005 by Allison & Busby

  This edition published in the United Kingdom in 2017 by

  Canelo Digital Publishing Limited

  57 Shepherds Lane

  Beaconsfield, Bucks HP9 2DU

  United Kingdom

  Copyright © June Francis, 2005

  The moral right of June Francis to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN 9781911591399

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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