Christmas to Come: a heartbreaking coming of age saga set in London's East End Carol Rivers (best sales books of all time .txt) 📖

'I wish I had brothers,' Ashley replied enviously. 'It was my bad luck to have six blooming sisters! Always dolls to play with. No wonder I'm like I am. It's a miracle I don't dress up in frocks.'

Sean giggled. 'We could always try it one night.'

'I might keep you to that.' Ashley opened his arms and a little awkwardly Sean moved into them. They looked into one another's gaze and Ashley stroked Sean's cheek softly. 'I don't care what you wear, Seany. Put on the grey, it don't matter to me. You've got more clothes in those suitcases than a Petticoat Lane spiv.'

Sean grinned. 'I know. They're all knocked off from Cox Street. Some fly boy up there sold me them cheap. I couldn't resist a bargain.'

'Oh, and I suppose you couldn't resist him either!'

Sean looked into Ashley's eyes. 'You're the only one for me and you know it. Oh, Ashley, I wish we could tell everyone the way we feel about each other.'

'We'd land up behind bars if we did. And our lives wouldn't be worth living.'

'One day it won't be like that for people like us.'

'That day's a long way off, in my opinion, but until then, we've got to be - ' Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door downstairs.

They leapt apart. 'Gawd almighty!' Sean slapped his hand on his chest, 'I nearly had a heart attack then. Who is it?'

Ashley went stealthily to the window and looked through the lace curtain. 'Looks like Henry, Ronnie's doorman.'

'What's he doing here?'

'Dunno.'

'I thought we wasn't going to be disturbed?' Ashley backed away, fear filling his soft brown eyes.

'I didn't think we would be. Ronnie's at the club and Micky's over at the still.'

'So what shall we do?'

Sean checked the buttons on his shirt and confirming they were in order, walked to the door. 'Answer it, I suppose.'

'Shall I come with you?'

Sean looked back and smiled. 'Any time, big boy.'

The two young men giggled and went downstairs together. As Sean opened the door, Henry was about to knock again and Sean grimaced at the raised fist.

'Give us a chance, Henry,' he said a little coyly as Ashley stood by him. 'Your hand will come through the door any minute if you go on like that.'

'I thought you was out,' Henry said breathlessly as he looked into the hall behind them. 'Where's Micky?'

'Not here, obviously.'

'Oh Christ,' Henry cursed, 'there's just you two, then?'

'Yeah, and so what?' Sean felt annoyed at the intrusion. It was the weekend after all. Even he had a day off once in a while. For the last six months he had been working solid with Ashley, making deliveries to the clubs at night for Micky and the markets for Ronnie by day. True he just had to collect the takings, but it was all leg work. His private time alone with Ashley was rare. He was just about to say so when Henry pushed the door back and stepped in.

'Hey, what's this in aid of?' Sean demanded as Ashley gripped his arm. Sean knew that Ashley was terrified of big men like Henry. Having had no brothers to protect him, he had been bullied to the extreme all his life and it had left his scars.

'There's aggro at the Blue Moon,' Henry explained rapidly, his big ears standing out from his bald head as if he was receiving radio signals. Nervously glancing over his shoulder, Henry said in a low voice, 'Ronnie wants you and Micky there on the double.'

'What sort of trouble?' Sean began to feel as nervous as Henry looked.

'A couple of geezers from the Indigo turned up. Ronnie thinks they're up for a bundle. He needs reinforcements.'

Sean felt Ashley melt away from him. Ashley's horror of violence was a strong as his need for love. And Sean knew that when push came to shove, the former came first. He was on his own here and yet Micky would kill him if he divulged where he was. He'd been on at Micky forever to bring Ronnie up to date on the still. Cursing Micky for landing him in it with Ron and Ronnie for expecting him to drop everything, excluding his trousers which he now could not do, Sean reached out reluctantly for his jacket on the hall stand.

'You're not going with him?' Ashley asked incredulously.

'Ronnie's on his own,' Sean said impatiently. Unlike him, Ashley was never called on by his sisters to do anything more than baby sit one of their kids. Micky and Ronnie only had to crook their fingers in his direction and he was expected to jump to it. 'You could come with me of course?'

'I couldn't fight my own shadow,' Ashley declared. 'Why don't you just go over for Micky and – '

'How can I?' Sean cut his friend short. 'We don't know where he is.' He didn't want Ashley to say anything that Henry could take back to his older brother. If Ronnie found out about the still, there would be world war three.

'Look, we're wasting time,' Henry interrupted irritably. 'You'll have to do for now, Sean. Taking your pal here, they'd only die laughing.'

Ashley glared at the big doorman, then snatching his jacket from the stand, he strode out of the front door.

'Thanks very much,' Sean muttered after Ashley had gone. 'You've got a real bedside manner, Henry, that's for sure.'

'Yeah, well, as long as it ain't his bedside, I don't bloody well care. Now hurry up and get in the motor. Or your brother will have our guts for garters.'

Sean tried to put the thought of garters tied around Ashley's slender legs out of his mind and slouched moodily towards the car in the road. No one understood what it was like to be a sensitive like Ashley. Especially his brothers. Now his friend would be in a strop and it would be days before he came round again.

'What are these?'