‘No,’ she said. ‘I miss him, naturally. But I’m all right.’
‘You’re not all right. You look tired and low in spirits.’
‘I’ve not been sleeping so well, that’s all. Please don’t worry about me.’
There was a noise outside the room, as of something being dragged. Captain Parry was due to visit them for a few days’ leave on Sunday – the day after tomorrow – and Mary was all of a fluster as she cleaned the house and prepared Charlie’s old room for him. Her efforts weren’t assisted by the ‘help’ she was receiving from Ace. The little puppy was contributing to proceedings by running around her in circles and barking his head off whenever she rearranged the furniture, which he clearly considered a species of wooden sheep.
‘Your old man tells me you do nowt these days except work or sit in that tin hut down in the village,’ Reg said to Bobby, ignoring the noise outside. ‘Don’t sound like much of a life for a young lass.’
‘Well, did you think I could just bounce back?’ Bobby asked, frowning at him. ‘Take two weeks to mourn and then skip off with some other young man to go dancing? That isn’t the way it goes, Reg – not for me, at least.’
‘You turned the lad down, didn’t you?’
‘That doesn’t mean I didn’t care for him. I did, a great deal – I do still.’
‘Aye, I know.’ He patted her shoulder. ‘I miss him too. Don’t tell him, though, eh? It’ll only make him cockier.’
She smiled sadly. ‘I couldn’t anyhow. He’s forbidden me to write to him. Says it’ll only hurt.’
‘Look, Bobby, if you’ve said no to Charlie for my benefit, because of what I told you about your future here—’
‘I didn’t.’ She sighed. ‘My job was a consideration, yes. God knows I don’t want to leaveThe Tyke. My work on the mag is the most important thing in the world to me, besides family. But…’
‘But?’
‘It was really the men on the mountain who made up my mind. Now is no time to be marrying and starting a family. I could never get Charlie to understand it but… would you want to bring a child into a world like this?’
‘I did bring a child into a world like this,’ Reg said quietly. ‘And she was gone just when I had hope she’d be growing up in a better one.’
‘Yes, I suppose you did. I’m sorry, that was a thoughtless thing to say.’
‘Well, happen you made a sensible decision. Our Charlie never could see further than the end of his nose, and you’re right, if we can’t claw our way back and win this thing then the world’ll be no place for bairns. It’s up to those of us with a longer range of vision than my brother to make the hard choices, I suppose.’ He took the envelope she was holding out of her hands and put it down on the desk. ‘What you ought to do is throw yourself into your work. That’ll get you sleeping at night again.’
‘I am working, aren’t I?’
‘Filling envelopes. You need to be using that brain of yours. Where’s the Bobby Bancroft who badgers me endlessly to send her out getting stories, eh?’
Bobby smiled tightly. ‘She’s on holiday.’
‘Aye, very funny. Well you’ll go out to get me a story this afternoon, whether you want to or not. I spoke to her ladyship on the phone this morning to arrange for you to visit Sumner House. That young Polish pilot’s in good enough fettle for visitors now, I’m hearing. I want you to frame yourself up there and find out how him and his mate are getting on after their ordeal, plus anything else interesting they can tell you. Get some quotes if they’re willing to have them in print.’
‘You mean you want me to write up the Bowside crash forThe Tyke?’
‘Damn right I do. I’m not going to waste an eyewitness on my own staff, am I?’ He stomped back to his desk and gave her a censorious look as he sat down again. ‘I noticed they had a big piece about it in theCourier, including several details only someone on the spot would’ve known about. Ran straight to your pal Don Sykes with it, didn’t you?’
‘Well, it was news. It’s not the sort of thing we usually carry inThe Tykeso I didn’t see why not. Besides, I only really gave him the bare bones of it.’
‘And now I’m asking you to give me the meat of it.’
‘People before things?’
‘Right.’
She squinted at him. ‘You’re not doing this for my benefit, are you? Trying to stop me brooding?’
‘I wouldn’t sacrifice precious paper rations just for that, would I? The stuff’s like gold dust nowadays.’
She smiled. ‘Well, that I can believe.’
