The bondage of love – Catherine Cookson

Only after returning from his well-attended funeral did Fiona Bailey realise just how much she would miss Davey Love. Despite her initial doubts and prejudices about this rough-hewn Irishman, towards the end of his life she had discovered qualities about him she had previously overlooked; and that she could talk to him and appreciate his considerable wit. Above all, though, it was his inherent kindness that she had failed to discern when she and her husband had first met Davey and his wayward son Sammy.

The Baileys, Bill and Fiona, lived in the Tyneside town of Fellburn where Bill was a successful building contractor. Years before he had met and married Fiona, a young widow with her own lovable family, to which they had shortly added by adoption the orphaned Mamie. Then, when one of Fiona’s children, Willie, acquired a new friend, Sammy, it was he and his father Davey who, by one means or another, were able to make a special contribution to the lives and fortunes of the Bailey family.

Now with Davey gone, there would be new challenges to face. It had been agreed that Sammy would live with them but would this formidable lad with his colourful language fit in as a fully-fledged member of the Bailey family? As for Fiona, it was she who bore the brunt of the arguments and disagreements that were an inevitable part of life in the Bailey household. Whatever life had in store, however, she knew she could always rely on Bill, that rock of a man with a rough tongue but a heart of gold.