‘Not to Lieutenant Cartwright. It’s…’ She pressed her eyes closed. ‘It’s Tony. Tony Scott. You remember me telling you about him?’
‘I remember. One of your old pals from theCourier. He helped you build a portfolio as a writer, didn’t he?’
She snorted. ‘That’s one way of looking at it. Another is that he got me to write reams of his copy without a byline while he bunked off work to take out girls. If you look up “feckless” in a dictionary, you’ll find a picture of Tony.’
Charlie’s lips moved on from her right ear to give her left its share of attention. Bobby felt like she ought to ask him to stop when she had such weighty things to discuss, but his closeness was both comforting and exciting in a way she found hard to resist.
‘Doesn’t waste time, your sister, does she?’ Charlie said, his voice deep and breathy against her ear. ‘She only just finished with the last fiancé.’
‘Yes, it was a fast engagement. It’ll be an even faster wedding. Next week, probably.’
‘As soon as that! Why?’
She looked over her shoulder. ‘Come on, Charlie.’
It was a second or two before the penny dropped.
‘Oh,’ he said. ‘I see.’
‘It wasn’t her fault.’
‘I didn’t say it was. Is this friend of yours definitely the one responsible?’
‘Of course he is, if Lil says so,’ Bobby said, shooting him an indignant look. ‘My sister isn’t some pick-up girl. It was one mistake.’
‘Yes, all right. I didn’t mean to suggest anything.’
She twisted round so she could look into his face, or what she could see of it in the gloom. Only the thin pinprick of light from a blackout-dimmed streetlamp over the wall prevented them from being in complete darkness. ‘Are you shocked?’
‘Of course not. I’m a man of the world – a bit of the world anyhow.’ He sighed. ‘Poor lass. That’s some bad luck.’
‘I’m so worried about her,’ Bobby whispered. ‘I know the wedding has to happen, but… to a man like that.’
Charlie reached up to caress her cheek, and she pressed her hand against his.
‘You think he’d mistreat her?’ he asked softly. ‘Knock her about?’
‘I don’t think he’d do anything like that. It’s not that Tony’s bad, exactly, but he’s a million miles away from the sort of man I’d have wanted for her. He’s irresponsible, flirtatious, out of work since Don let him go, spends money twice as fast as he earns it, and he’s far too fond of a good time.’
‘I remember you once accusing me of similar besetting sins.’
‘Tony isn’t like you. He so rarely thinks of anyone besides himself. I can’t see how he’d ever be able to provide for Lil, or love her as she deserves.’ Bobby swallowed a sob. ‘She’s my sister, Charlie. I know she made a mistake, but should half an hour of foolishness really mean she has to sign her whole life away?’ A degree of bitterness crept into her tone. ‘It’s so easy for men.’
‘Huh,’ Charlie muttered. ‘You think so? Tell that to the hundreds being shot down every day.’
His tone had altered suddenly. Bobby tried to make out his expression, but it was too dark to see.
He could be such a puzzle these days. Before he had gone to war, she thought she’d known Charlie Atherton inside out and back to front. Now she didn’t know how to interpret his moods.
‘I don’t mean in general,’ she said. ‘I mean when it comes to love and… and the things that go along with love, or with desire anyhow. The world lets your sex do as they like about it. If they want to walk away from the consequences of their actions, they can. While a woman has one moment of weakness and every choice she’s presented with seems terrible.’
‘You’re right, it is easy for us to walk away. Which means that if this Scott fellow has stepped up for Lilian, he can’t be all bad. Maybe you’re wrong about him just like you were wrong about me.’
‘Even if that’s true, she doesn’t love him.’ Bobby paused. ‘And yet it’s still the best outcome. She did so want the baby. I wish I could stay at home, and do what I can to help when the little one comes. Between worrying about her and worrying about my dad, my brain’s aching.’
‘You said there was a hardship loophole.’
‘There is, but…’ She nestled her face into the collar of his RAF tunic and dampened it with tears. ‘Even if I did apply, do I have that right?’ she whispered. ‘Others have to go.Youhave to go. That’s why I needed to see you tonight.’
