‘We had a little windfall today,’ Charlie told her. ‘Reggie gave me five pounds to buy things for the baby. That ought to be a big help, don’t you think? I can order us a cot tomorrow.’
‘That makes two windfalls then,’ Bobby said. ‘My dad gave us ten pounds as well. He’s rather flush after selling our old house in Bradford.’
Bobby had reflected on what her dad had said about the thirty-five pounds, and come to the conclusion it was good advice. She didn’t relish keeping secrets from her husband, but a little money Charlie didn’t know about could be a big help if an emergency befell them.
‘That was what your dad wanted to talk to you about?’ Charlie asked.
Bobby thought about the Military Medal, wrapped in newspaper in her handbag. She wanted to think over what her dad had said about his decoration before she talked it over with Charlie.
‘Mostly that, yes,’ she said.
‘Well, then we’re quite rich, aren’t we, Mrs Atherton?’ Charlie said, leaning a little unsteadily to plant a kiss on her cheek. ‘Tell you what, why don’t we treat ourselves to a night out next week? I’ll take you dancing, and when we’re tired of that we can go tothe pictures. I’ll even buy us fish and chips, just like when we were courting.’
‘I’d like that,’ Bobby said with a smile. ‘We ought to be careful with any extra money, though, Charlie. It’ll soon go once we start buying everything the baby’s going to need. Don’t forget the dressing-down you gave me for the sheer extravagance of spending a few bob on tinned peaches and beer for you.’
‘Ahhhh, but that was when I was an impoverished jobless waif,’ Charlie said with a sweeping gesture, filled with gregariousness and beer. ‘I ought to be allowed to take my wife out and enjoy her once in a while. It won’t be so easy once the baby comes.’
‘True.’ Still, Bobby was glad to think of the twenty-five pounds she had hidden away. The fact that Charlie didn’t know about it would be an inducement to frugality.
‘I suppose you were talking about the magazine when you dragged Reggie off,’ Charlie said. ‘What did he say?’
She sighed. ‘Exactly what I expected. He’s determined that if I so much as lift a pen once I’ve got a baby, Marmaduke will be poking his eye out with scissors or setting fire to his cot. I did think your brother might be willing to at least send a bit of freelance work my way. He says to ask him again when I’m eighty-five and all our great-grandchildren are grown up.’
Charlie slipped his arm around her waist.
‘You could bamboozle him,’ he said. ‘Become Ronald Cosmopolis: freelance writer, gentleman adventurer and all-round man of mystery. I can mail Reggie your articles from Skipton so he won’t suspect.’
‘Ronald Cosmopolis?’ Bobby said, laughing. ‘What kind of pseudonym is that?’
‘A darn good one. I wish I could be called Ronald Cosmopolis.’
Bobby smiled.
‘What are you smirking at, young lady?’ Charlie asked, grinning affectionately at her.
‘You remind me of someone I used to know, that’s all.’
‘Old boyfriend?’
‘That’s right.’
‘What was he like?’
‘Oh, trouble in trousers. Not bad-looking, I suppose, but far too fond of a pretty girl. Still, he could always make me laugh.’
‘Miss him?’
‘Sometimes. But I prefer the man I ended up with.’ She stood on tiptoes to plant a kiss on the white scar across his cheek. ‘Still, it’s nice to have the Charlie Atherton I first fell for pay a visit from time to time.’
Charlie smiled. ‘Well, what do you think? Is Ronald Cosmopolis going to be making his debut on the pages ofThe Tykein the near future?’
She sighed. ‘It’s tempting, but no, I couldn’t lie to Reg. I’m just going to have to find something else to do to stop me going mad.’
Chapter 24
Bobby had worried the time might drag when she was at home all day with nothing to do but scrub and think too much, but the weeks that followed seemed to pass rather quickly. Charlie began his new routine, travelling daily to the bank in Skipton, and things settled into a fresh pattern at Number 4 Church View.
Before Bobby knew it, it was early March – just eleven weeks before they expected to welcome the baby. The days had grown longer and daffodils nodded by the side of the road. It was strange to think that when the trees were once again clothed for summer, she would be a mother.
