‘He seemed impressed by the bull emasculator. I think you rather oversold it.’
Bobby smiled. ‘Don’t joke. Do you think he’ll take it?’
‘He was definitely interested, but he had some things to arrange first. He’s going to let me know when he’s made a decision.’
Bobby hesitated, wondering how to proceed.
‘It must be galling for you,’ she said. ‘Seeing him making plans to open his own practice. I know how much you miss veterinary work.’
‘I do,’ he said with a sigh. ‘Still, if he takes everything, that’s ten pounds. We’ll be quite rich, won’t we?’
‘Yes,’ Bobby agreed, thinking guiltily of her biscuit tin containing nearly three times that. ‘That’s if he takes it though. He told me he was having trouble finding a partner, with so many vets gone to war. If he can’t find someone then it could be all off, he said.’
‘He told you that?’
‘He did.’ Bobby paused. ‘And he told me… he told me he’d offered it to you. Is that true?’
‘Yes, it’s true. What of it?’
‘I just can’t understand why you’d turn it down, darling. Roger said it was more an advisory role than a practical one, suitable for someone with a lot of experience. I can’t think of anything more perfect. I know you’re unhappy at the bank, and how much you miss your old work. And to be a partner in your own practice too.’
Charlie gave a bleak laugh. ‘He didn’t tell you about the money then.’
‘What money?’
‘The investment money to get the thing started. It’s a hundred pounds, Bobby. Roger’s putting in fifty and he’s looking for a partner to put in another fifty. Where am I supposed to get money like that?’
Bobby almost laughed. ‘That’s what’s stopping you?’
‘You say it like it’s nothing. Even if Roger took my instruments in part payment, where would I get the other forty quid? Reggie doesn’t have that kind of money to lend, and there’s no one else I’d ask. Even if the bank would consider giving me a loan, it’s a big risk. I’d be giving up a guaranteed salary of three pounds four a week – three pounds eight when the baby comes – in the hope this new practice will be successful.’
‘Do you think it will?’
‘I think it’s got a good chance,’ Charlie told her. ‘There’s no practice within ten miles of where Roger will be setting up, which works in his favour.’
‘So if you had the forty quid, and you weren’t worried about bringing in a regular wage to support your family while you grew the business, would you do it?’
He laughed. ‘You mean if I was a completely different Charlie, with no family and wads of ill-gotten cash under the mattress? Yes, Bobby, then I’d do it. Unfortunately I’m this Charlie, which rather puts the kibosh on the whole idea.’
All Bobby’s excitement about the news she had to share, forgotten during the scene between Lilian and Tony, had returned stronger than ever. Because now that news could really make a difference.
‘All right, sit up and brace yourself,’ she told Charlie. ‘I’ve got a surprise for you.’
‘If it’s a secret fortune of forty pounds, you and I are going to have words, Mrs Atherton. The scandal of where your sister got that fur coat would pale by comparison.’
‘You’ll see,’ Bobby said, with a grin she couldn’t manage to suppress.
She went to the bedroom and retrieved the biscuit tin under the bed. When she had taken it back to Charlie, she removed the lid and tipped it out on the coffee table. Bank notes and postal orders, bound together with elastic bands, tumbled out. Charlie stared at them.
‘Well?’ Bobby said after a moment’s silence.
‘Pardon my language, but bloody hell!’ Charlie said. ‘What… where… I mean, how much?’
‘Twenty-five pounds in cash and three pounds in postal orders.’
‘But where on earth did you get it? I hope you haven’t been selling your favours to Ernie King.’
‘They’d never fetch so much,’ Bobby said with a smile. She picked up the bundle of banknotes. ‘This is from my dad. I’m sorry, Charlie, but I wasn’t completely honest about my share of the money from the sale of the house. It was thirty-five pounds, not ten. My dad told me this story about him and my mam that made me think… well, I wanted to put it aside as rainy day money, just in case. I knew it would be too tempting to spend it otherwise. And it worked, you see? Because now we need it, there it is.’
