‘We’ll talk about it later,’ Charlie said, taking her arm. ‘Let’s get your brother on a train first, then I can have you to myself again.’
Bobby felt nervous as the four of them made their way to her dad’s cottage afterwards.
She couldn’t help thinking about the awful row she’d had with her father the day she’d broken the news that Lilian was not only married to Tony Scott but also several months pregnant with his baby. Yes, Lilian was a girl and her father naturally more protective. Yes, Tony had seemed a poor choice for a son-in-law at the time. But weighed against that was Rob’s affection for Lilian, which Bobby had been confident would ultimately overcome his disappointment. He had never been as close to Jake, for exactly the reasons she and her brother had discussed last night.
Her dad was there to greet them when they knocked on the door of the cottage by the beck that was his new home. Maimie was beside him with Norman in her arms, and Lilian, who hadgone over earlier to smooth the way, was next to her: cradling Annie in much the same way as her stepmother was cradling her pet goose. If Bobby hadn’t been so anxious, she wouldn’t have been able to avoid laughing at the scene. But her anxiety was alleviated when her dad stepped forward and shook Jake vigorously by the hand.
‘Good to see you, son,’ he said in his heartiest voice. ‘Why don’t you write, eh? But never mind that now. Your sister tells me congratulations are in order.’
Jake looked dazed by his father’s enthusiastic greeting. ‘Um, well, I got married this morning.’ Kathleen was gripping his hand, and he gave her a little nudge. ‘This is Kathleen Brady, my— no, that’s not right, is it? Kathleen Bancroft, now. My, um, my wife.’
‘Welcome to the family, love.’ Rob pressed her hand warmly.
‘It’s very nice to meet you,’ Kathleen said. ‘Jake told me he had a lovely family. I thought he must be exaggerating, but he wasn’t a bit.’
‘Here, come and meet another Mrs Bancroft. That’s my missus.’ Rob guided Kathleen proudly to Mrs-Hobbes-as-was, who smiled and nodded with utmost affability. Marriage seemed to agree with her almost as well as it did with her new husband.
‘Is that the Sunday dinner?’ Jake asked, nodding to Norman in her arms.
‘Nay, young man, that’s your new stepbrother,’ Maimie told him. ‘Say hello, Norman.’
Norman honked in disgust, making Bobby laugh. He was the only resident of Silverdale who never changed. Jake laughed too, and consented to be brought forward by his father for an introduction to his stepmother. Bobby exchanged a smile with Lilian as she followed the others into the house.
‘Well, lad, I think we’ve time for a smoke before we eat,’ Rob said to Jake, putting an arm around his son’s shoulders. ‘We’llleave young Charlie to squire the women while me and thee have a little talk, father to son.’
‘I’d like that. Ta, Dad.’ Jake smiled gratefully at him. ‘I mean, really, thanks for everything.’
Lilian nudged her sister as they watched the two men disappear into their dad’s study.
‘Straight to bed, I think,’ Charlie said when he and Bobby arrived home. ‘I don’t care if it’s barely five o’clock. I’ve never felt more in need of an early night.’
They had seen Jake and his new wife safely on board the bus into Skipton after dinner, the envelope containing Jake’s share of the money from the house sale now stashed in Kathleen’s purse. The girl couldn’t have looked happier if she’d married into the royal family, with this unexpected windfall, the warm welcome she had received from the Bancroft clan and of course her long-desired new surname.
‘All right but don’t get any ideas,’ Bobby warned her husband. ‘I’m so exhausted I think my knees have stopped working.’
‘What I had in mind wouldn’t have involved your knees.’
She smiled. ‘I can manage a cuddle. That’s all I’m good for today, I’m afraid.’
Charlie massaged his forehead. ‘I think it might be all I’m good for as well, sadly.’
‘I ought to make tea first,’ Bobby murmured. She felt like she barely had energy to open her lips after all the drama of the last few days.
‘Why, are you hungry?’
‘Not really. I ate plenty at dinner.’
‘Then rest first. I can make sandwiches later for a supper.’
Bobby glanced around the parlour. It felt strangely bare, now Jake had gone. As dramatic as it had been, she had rather relished having a little brother who needed her help. She had always thrived in a crisis, and it had given her something to focus on other than worry about having the baby.
‘It feels quiet without the children, doesn’t it?’ she said dreamily.
Charlie smiled. ‘I’m not sure how your brother and his wife would feel about being called “the children” at twenty-one.’
‘I can’t help it. Jake feels like such a boy still. I suppose mothers always do feel that way, even after their children are grown up.’
‘Go and lie down, darling. You look dead on your feet. I’ll bring you a cup of tea.’
