Don had stopped writing and was staring at her. So was Tony.
‘What is it?’ she said.
‘Nothing. I’m just impressed,’ Don said. ‘Hell of a brave thing to do, Bobby.’
Tony nodded. ‘Never would have thought you had it in you.’
‘I would,’ Don said. ‘But I’m still impressed. Are you sure you don’t want a mention? “Lady ARP warden mounts life-saving Dales rescue mission” is a decent headline too.’
‘Please don’t. I really didn’t do anything except tell people there’d been a crash. It was the doctors and Charlie who saved the lives, and the men who carried the stretchers down. My part of it wasn’t much more than waving a rattle about.’
‘You’re being modest, clearly. But if it’s going to embarrass you then you can remain a nameless warden who sounded the alarm.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Personally, I think our heroic former colleague deserves a drink after all that,’ Tony said, standing up. ‘Are we going to play darts? I’ll buy you a half as your reward, Bobby.’
She laughed. ‘How brave do I have to have been for you to make it a pint?’
‘With the price of beer these days? Nothing less than being dropped in the heart of Germany would do.’
‘All right, since Bobby’s here we can finish early,’ Don said, standing too. ‘Freddie’s out covering a WVS jumble sale, but he knows to come and find us at The Swan if we’re not in the office.’
Chapter 25
The Swan was the same as ever: a lively, merry city pub filled with workers of both sexes enjoying a drink after the toils of the day were over. It made a change from the Hart with its sombre, mostly male patrons sipping their pints in near silence. Bobby hadn’t realised how much she’d missed the place.
The new cub – Freddie – was lounging against the bar with a drink in his hand, flirting with the barmaid, when they arrived. He was only seventeen, but it was clear he was as unlike shy, bashful Jem as he could be: confident, charming (at least, he clearly thought so) and with an eye for the girls. He smiled lazily at Bobby when she approached with his two colleagues to be introduced.
‘Hullo,’ he said to her. ‘You must be the fragrant Miss Bancroft. I say, thanks for the holiday. Don says it’s in your honour that we’re finishing early today.’
He took her hand and kissed it, something she supposed he’d seen at the pictures and thought looked effective. She laughed and drew it away. ‘All right, sonny, don’t get cheeky.’
Tony pushed the boy with his shoulder.
‘I told you before, Freddie, you’re too young for that Errol Flynn stuff,’ he said. ‘Girls can’t take it seriously from you. Stick with me, kid, and I’ll give you the benefit of my years as a ladies’ man.’
‘If you’d been listening properly, Valentino Junior, you might remember that I didn’t say you could finish early,’ Don told Freddie sternly. ‘I said I might dismiss you early. How long have you been here? You ought to have come back to the office if you finished that job with time to spare.’
‘I’ve just got here, I swear! This is my first drink.’
The barmaid rolled her eyes at Don, clearly indicating this to be a fib.
‘All right, we’ll talk about it in the office tomorrow,’ he said. ‘You and Tony go have a game of darts. I need to have a word with Bobby.’
Bobby smiled as she and Don made their way to their usual table. ‘So now you’ve got two lady-killers on your staff, have you?’
‘That boy is the bane of my life. A juvenile delinquent with the sexual appetite of the Roman emperors. He’s going to earn himself a thump from a jealous husband one of these days, especially with Tony acting as his mentor. That ought to knock some of the swagger out of him.’
‘You must be paying him too much if he can afford to drink beer at that speed.’
‘More than he’s worth, the lazy little beggar.’ He sat down, and Bobby pulled up the chair opposite. ‘Well? What was all that on the phone this morning about needing advice?’
‘Tell me about you first.’ She nodded to his face. ‘Moustache is gone, I see.’
‘Aye, I got permission from the wife to shave it off. I managed to convince Joanie I was never going to be Clark Gable, no matter how hard I tried.’
‘And Sal’s still at home?’
