The September Girls [antikvár]

Chapter 1 September 1920 It was raining. It had been raining when they left Ireland that morning, had rained on the boat and still rained now that they were in Liverpool waiting for Paddy to arrive and take them to the place where they were to live. Brenna moved impatiently from one foot to the other. Before the night was out, the Caffreys would have a proper house of their own where water would come out of a tap instead of a communal pump outside. And they'd have a lavatory to themselves where all you had to do was pull a chain and everything disappeared — no more emptying buckets in the cart that came around once a week and smelled to high heaven. Where was Paddy? she fretted. He was desperately late. He'd promised to meet them at Princes Dock. The sky, already full of black clouds, was getting darker and, although it was only September, it was unseasonably cold. The big hand on the clock of the gracious building across the way had moved around twice: two hours. They'd been waiting two hours. 'I'm tired, Mammy.' Fergus pulled at her skirt. 'Your uncle will be here soon, darlin'.' At first, Fergus, six, and Tyrone, two years younger, had been enthralled by the startling sight of the never-ending stream of tramcars that came hurtling around the corner, sparks exploding from the overhead lines, headlights reflected blurrily in the wet road. But now they were bored. Brenna had been impressed enough herself, not just with the tramcars, but the buildings, bigger than any she'd ever seen, bigger even than Our Lady of Lourdes where they'd gone to Mass on Sundays. And so many people! Hundreds and hundreds of them scurrying about underneath their black umbrellas, but getting fewer now as they climbed on to the trams and were whisked away to God knows 3