‘No, he’s going out,’ Lilian said. ‘Mary offered to have the children.’
Bobby hesitated, wondering if she should mention what her dad had told her earlier. He hadn’t made any secret of it, so she supposed it was all right.
‘Has Dad said anything to you about housing arrangements?’ she asked.
‘How do you mean?’
‘Only, he was talking about finding somewhere else to live earlier.’
Lilian blinked. ‘Why, has something happened to put him out?’
‘I don’t think it’s that. He just feels guilty about taking up space in that little house.’
‘I know it must be difficult for him feeling as if he’s living under another man’s roof. But he can’t move out, can he?’
‘Why?’ Bobby asked. ‘Has he been any worse lately?’
‘Well, no. Actually he’s been full of buck these past few months. He still has the occasional nightmare, but he never drinks anything other than beer now. Still, he couldn’t live alone.’ Lilian looked at Bobby with burgeoning hope. ‘Could he?’
‘You’d like him to,’ Bobby said softly. ‘Wouldn’t you?’
Lilian sighed. ‘Yes and no. I want to know he’s being looked after by someone who understands his needs, and realistically that has to be one of us. But the cottage is so small, Bob.’ She picked up her knitting, a matinee coat for Annie, and idly worked a couple of stitches. ‘It does feel awkward when we’re practically living in each other’s laps. It makes it difficult for me and Tony to be… intimate as often as he’d like.’
‘It would make a big difference for you two to have a home to yourselves.’
‘It would. But it can’t happen, so what’s the point dreaming?’
‘Perhaps it can,’ Bobby said. ‘I admit that when Dad mentioned it, I thought the same as you. But he says he wouldn’t be alone. He’s got a friend who wants to take a house with him.’
Lilian frowned. ‘What friend?’
‘He didn’t say, but Charlie heard Stan Henderson was looking for someone to share with. Stan was in the trenches too, so I guess he’d understand the way Dad is.’
Hope started to blossom in Lilian’s eyes.
‘Yes,’ she said slowly. ‘Yes he would.’
‘It isn’t confirmed yet, Dad said, but that could solve all our problems, couldn’t it? I’m still cautious, but it could work out best for everyone.’
‘I’ll try not to get my hopes up, but oh, to have a nursery room would make such a difference!’ Lilian glanced towards the bar, where Charlie and Tony were collecting their drinks. ‘Don’t say anything to Tony, though, will you? Not until it’s certain.’
Chapter 10
A sherry soon materialised in front of Bobby, with a second for Lilian. Charlie sat down by Bobby, and Tony stretched an arm around his wife.
‘What were you talking to Pete about?’ Lilian asked him, nodding to Silverdale’s resident rogue-of-all-trades at the bar.
‘Just collecting on a bet and seeing if he’s got any game to sell,’ Tony said. ‘He’s going to bring a hare down when I stop in after parade on Tuesday.’
Lilian shook her head. ‘You shouldn’t. It’s the black market, Tony.’
‘Them nobs who own the land can’t eat all of the beasts running wild on it. Surely us poor peasants are entitled to a bite of meat too.’
‘I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t for Dad. It could get him into trouble if Topsy finds out her gamekeeper’s family have been filling their bellies with animals poached from her land.’
‘She’ll never notice one or two missing.’ Tony gave her a squeeze, and the gentleness that sometimes appeared when he looked at his wife kindled in his eyes. ‘This is for you, love,’ he said softly. ‘The doctor says you’re to keep your strength up. You need good, hearty food for that, not gravy and carrots. Have to look after you, don’t I?’
‘I’m all right.’ Still, Lilian rewarded him for his concern with a peck on the cheek.
