Prologue 1951
It was late afternoon when Clara Renard alighted from the coach at Preston bus station. She was totally exhausted both physically and emotionally. She had been travelling for thirty-six hours, and the last thing she had eaten was a sandwich that morning.
As she took in her surroundings, she realized that the town had changed significantly. The bus station was exactly the same as when she had left fifteen years earlier, but otherwise, she found it difficult at first to get her bearings.
She recognized a few buildings, but she couldn’t believe how much the main street had altered, even though Preston had been virtually untouched by the bombings of World War II—most of the bombings had hit East Lancashire.
She crossed the main road and slowly started to make her way home. Her legs felt like lead. She was so tired, having had no sleep the previous night.
She was concerned as to how her mother would react on her unannounced arrival. She could just hear her mother saying, ‘you have made your bed, Clara. Now you must lie in it.’ What would she do then? She had no money, nowhere else to go, and she was definitely not going back.
As she got nearer, her heart started to beat faster. It felt as though it would jump out of her chest.
Clara arrived at the hairdressing salon owned by her parents; they not only managed the business but they also worked in their own areas on the ground floor. The living accommodation above the salon was her childhood home. She tentatively opened the door to her mother’s side of the salon. The tinkling of the bell on the door announced her arrival.
Her mother looked up, taking a double take. “Oh my God! Clara, is that you?” Her mother ran over, taking Clara in her arms. Clara sobbed uncontrollably. “My dear girl, I can’t quite grasp that you are here.”
