Emma trotted after him. “Why are you in such a mood”, she said breathlessly as she reached his shoulder.
“’Cos.”
“’Cos why?” Emma persisted.
William stopped suddenly and turned on his sister whose cropped brown hair barely reached his chest. “’Cos of our Father”.
“Pa”, Emma echoed, taking a step backwards. “What’s Pa done”.
William stood for a moment, gazing into two grey eyes that he knew were too young to understand. “Ma was crying over Father not your dress”, he said finally. “Now you know. So come on or we really will be late and get the cane”.
As they turned into London Road whose pavements bustled with the early morning rush to work and school, neither spoke. Emma paused at the sweetshop window to gaze longily at the brightly coloured wrappings and sugary confections as she did every morning, but this morning her brother was too preoccupied to even notice that she had stopped. Instead of joining her, he marched back and took hold of her hand sharply and dragged her away. Emma remained puzzled and confused, even as they turned through the enormous brick gateposts that guarded the entrance to the Sharrow Vale School. Glancing at Williams’ hard edged expression underlined by the thin line of his mouth, her heart sank.