After a while scurrying steps could be heard. The door opened and a young, black-haired, attractive girl in a plain black dress with a white apron appeared.
“Yes?”
It wasn’t a very good welcome. Martin swallowed.
“May I speak to Mrs Williams, please? Or… or Miss Williams?”
“Who shall I say it is?”
He was unused to dealing with domestic staff. There were now few to be found anywhere in Britain, besides which he was a farmer’s son. Indeed, most girls who might have been candidates for such positions had found during the war that there were more interesting jobs open to them.
“Please can you tell her it’s M… it’s Mr Rawle, from Loft Island, Salcombe.” This last was a sudden inspiration. He was sure the family wouldn’t know his surname, yet the address would tell Dolly and Bronwen who he was.
“Mr Rawle from Salcombe,” she repeated, looking appraisingly at him before turning away. He waited at the door.
Steps approached. Male steps. Martin’s heart sank. A tall, thin, ascetic man appeared.
“Yes?”
A girl is imprisoned by her father
In this sequel to Loft Island, we find Mr Jones, pillar of the community, who is not a man to be denied. His wife and daughter have had no option but to accept his domineering ways, but his reaction to Martin Rawle’s friendship with Bronwen is the last straw. Mother and daughter leave the family home to seek refuge on Loft Island and in Salcombe, leaving him alone with the young housekeeper.
The repercussions cause ripples in all their lives.
Then Martin’s father is found dead, and a home is needed for his orphaned sons, Martin’s brothers. They add light relief to events, but also display emotions and show that they are very capable of independent thought and actions.
Matters calm down, eventually. At last compensation for the losses suffered in the flood (described in Loft Island) is received by Mary Beale who lost three of her family and her home and farmland; and by the Lofts, father and son, who lost land. They can now start planning their joint futures; but there are still some surprising twists and turns.
A book of families, incidents, and the mindsets and attitudes of 1950s society.
Paperback, 6 x 9 inches, 33 chapters, 315 pages
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