The White Empress by Lyn Andrews Read Free Book Online Page B

sandals.
    ‘Can I help you, luv?’
    She looked up to find a middle-aged man beside her. ‘I’m looking for my sister. I think she’s here. Shelagh Cleary.’ Her voice
     shook a little.
    ‘Is there anyone called Shelagh Cleary ’ere?’ he bawled over the din.
    ‘Who wants ’er?’ a man’s voice replied.
    ‘Over there, in that corner by the window. Go on and then get off home with you or we’ll get our licence taken off us!’
    Cat pushed her way through and saw her sister with Maggie and two other girls sitting at a table near the small window. They
     were surrounded by a group of young men who already seemed to have had enough to drink. The smile instantly vanished from
     Shelagh’s face as she caught sight of Cat.
    ‘What the ’ell do you want? You’ve come spying on me, haven’t you, you little sneak!’ She stood up and grabbing Cat’s arm,
     shoved her into the corner, placingherself between Cat and her friends. ‘Just look at the cut of you, you dirty little slut! You followed me, just to show me
     up in front of them, didn’t you?’
    Her nails were biting into the flesh of Cat’s arm and she yelped and struggled. ‘No, I didn’t! I went to meet you from work
     and Bessie told me you’d come here! You’ve got to come home now!’
    ‘What for?’
    ‘Pa’s lost his job. He came home drunk and broke!’ Shelagh laughed in her face. ‘Is that all! Jesus! I thought Maisey had
     had a heart attack!’
    Cat was furious, not only because Shelagh was laughing at her and taking the catastrophe so lightly, but because she had never
     heard her sister blaspheme and was shocked. She could also hear the titters of laughter behind her.
    Shelagh turned to her friends. ‘She’s run all the way here just to tell me me Pa’s drunk again!’
    Their laughter battered against Cat’s ears and grated on her raw nerves, but she tried again. ‘You’ve got to come home before
     you waste all your wages! You know how we’ll need that money! You’ve got to come home and I’m staying until you do!’ she finished
     defiantly.
    ‘Oh, no, you’re not! It’s my money, I worked for it and I’m not keeping the whole lot of you! That drunken sod can go and
     find another job, I’m not keeping him in booze and you can get out and find a job, too, and so can Eamon! He’s old enough.
     In fact he’s too bloody old to be at school when he could be out earning a few bob! You get out of here, you whinging little
     bitch and leave me alone!’
    Cat stood her ground. ‘No! I’m not leaving without you!’
    ‘Then I’ll have you thrown out, you’re too young to be in here anyway! I’ll call the barman; Kate Boyle don’t stand no nonsense
     and if you make a scene the scuffers will come and we’ll all end up in the nick! Now get out!’
    Cat’s resolve broke under these threats and she darted towards the door.
    ‘Scruffy bloody brat, shouldn’t even be allowed in here!’ Shelagh called after her.
    She didn’t stop running until she reached the corner of Prussia Square and then she sank down in the doorway of an office
     building and began to cry. She had failed and she couldn’t face going back. Everything had gone wrong and she couldn’t understand
     why Shelagh couldn’t see that. But her sister had changed. She’d always been prone to selfishness, but now it seemed that
     she didn’t care about anyone, not even Ma. That thought and the humiliation she had suffered brought on a bout of fresh sobbing.
    ‘What’s up with yer?’
    She rubbed her arm across her eyes and looked up. The figure of a man was outlined against the darkening sky. ‘Nothing,’ she
     muttered, sniffing.
    ‘What are yer whinging for then? I ’ate to see a girl cryin’.’ His voice was slightly slurred and she got to her feet.
    ‘I wasn’t crying!’
    ‘Liar!’
    She could see him more clearly now and she didn’t like what she saw. He was stocky and bull-necked.His hair was plastered down with a sickly smelling oil and