‘Do you get good grub at your billet?’ Bobby asked, reaching for the toasting fork propped by the fire.
‘Better than we got as civilians. There’s not much meat in it though. I suppose that’s the same everywhere. That grouse pie last night was a real treat.’
‘Mmm. Shame it was illegal grouse pie.’
Lilian put a finger to her lips as the door opened and their dad entered, looking rather comical in his dressing gown and boots. He stooped to take them off so he could swap them for his slippers, which Lilian had placed by the fire to warm for him.
‘Morning, Dad,’ Bobby said. ‘Lilian’s made us tea.’
‘Aye, she’s a good lass.’ He went to pat Lilian’s shoulder before he took a seat on the other side of the fire to start putting on his slippers. ‘It’s nice to have you home again, love.’
Lilian smiled and bent over his chair to kiss the top of his head. Their father wasn’t a man who found it easy to be demonstrative, so when he expressed affection for them in word or deed, they knew that he meant it.
‘So are you coming around to the Silverdale way of life, Lil?’ Bobby asked. ‘Perhaps we might see more of you now you know what’s waiting for you here.’
‘I’ll always be a townie but it was rather nice last night, sitting by the fire playing cribbage with the children,’ Lilian said, passing her a slice of bread to toast. ‘Reminded me of when the boys were small. Mind you, I’d be bored out of my wits if every day was like that. What do you do for fun around here?’
Her dad shrugged. ‘Go to t’ pub. Play dominoes.’
‘I mean, what do the young people do?’ She glanced at Bobby. ‘I hope Charlie takes you somewhere more exciting than the village pub for a game of dominoes when you go out together.’
Bobby speared the slice of bread her sister had handed her and held it to the blaze in the hearth. ‘There’s the Nuvic, the cinema over in Settle. Charlie bought a little pony and trap so we don’t need to rely on the bus to get us there.’
‘Huh,’ their dad muttered. ‘You’re at the place a bit too often for my liking. That lad keeps you out far too late at night, Bobby. Folk’ll talk.’
Bobby had heard this a thousand times and ignored him. ‘There’s a dance hall there too, and a concert hall,’ she told Lilian. ‘And sometimes there’ll be a hop here or in one of the other villages, in a barn usually. They’re a lot of fun.’
Lilian curled her lip. ‘A barn dance? How very rural. Doesn’t it stink?’
‘You get used to how things smell out here. Actually, I quite like the smell now.’
‘Really? You like the stench of cow dung when your young man takes you dancing?’
‘Maybe “like” was the wrong word, but I feel sort of safe when I smell it. Like I’m where I ought to be.’ She smiled awkwardly. ‘That sounds mad to you, I suppose.’
‘Utterly potty.’ Lilian sniffed the air. ‘This place smells bad enough. You don’t share it with a horse, do you?’
‘It’s probably a hundred years since Cow House Cottage was used for animals, but there does seem to be a lingering smell,’ Bobby said. ‘Some of that’s from Charlie’s surgery though. Every day after he’s been working in there, the whole place smells of chemicals and wet dog. But you—’
‘You get used to it. Yes, I know.’
Bobby smiled at her father. ‘We’ll soon talk her round, won’t we, Dad?’
‘We’ll give it our best try,’ he said jovially. ‘Coming to t’ show, are you, our Lil?’
She pulled a face. ‘Yes, I said I’d keep Bobby company. Apparently a country reporter’s work is never done, even on the day of rest. Just what I want to do with my precious leave: look at the back ends of sheep all day long.’
‘You asked to come,’ Bobby pointed out. ‘Besides, it isn’t only about the animals. It’s the social event of the year out here. Everyone goes, from the villages miles around. You’ll enjoy it, I promise.’
‘I am quite interested to see you doing your job, although I bet it’ll take me until next week to wash the smell off me.’ She glanced at their father. ‘Are you going as well, Dad?’
‘Aye, meeting Pete up there for a few pints later,’ he said. ‘You two girls look after yourselves in that mob, all right? I hear them farmers can be a rough lot when they’re full o’ beer. If there’s any trouble, come find me.’
‘It’s all right, we’ve got a chaperone,’ Bobby said. ‘Reg is coming too. He was worried about me going there alone.’
However, when Bobby and Lilian called at the farmhouse for Reg to drive them over to Kiltford in his car, it was Mary who met them at the door.
‘I’m sorry, girls,’ she said, pulling an apologetic face. ‘Reg can’t go to the show with you after all. He turned his leg on the stairs this morning and it’s giving him a lot of pain. I’ve put a mustard plaster on it and told him in no uncertain terms that he’s going nowhere today but bed. Do you think you’ll be all right making your own way there? It’s only a two-mile walk.’
