‘I meant, how did it go with Tony?’ Bobby asked her dad. ‘Did you have a nice chat?’
‘Not bad.’
Bobby gave up, realising this was all she was going to get out of him. Instead she turned to Lilian, who nodded slightly to let her know that all had been well when the two men had come in. It didn’t sound as though they were exactly bosom pals, but nor did it sound as if there had been a row of any kind, which was reassuring.
Bobby wondered how her dad was feeling about the idea of sharing a home with his daughter and her husband now. She hadtentatively raised the topic a couple of times, but had struggled to get him to engage. Nevertheless, she had endeavoured to make him understand that while it might not have been his first choice, the alternatives would be even less preferable – he never could stand to live with a stranger, and leaving him alone wasn’t an option. Was the idea more palatable, now he and Tony had called a shaky truce over their peace-making pints?
As soon as Bobby heard Tony emerge from the parlour, she swallowed the last mouthful of her breakfast and jumped up.
Mary blinked. ‘You’re keen to start work this morning.’
‘Sorry. Things to get finished.’
Bobby darted out into the hall. She was too late to catch Tony, however, who had left by the side door, so she went into the parlour and sat down at her desk.
‘Morning,’ she said to Reg.
‘Aye, morning,’ he muttered, not looking up. Bobby tried to guess from his tone whether her new brother-in-law had found favour in the editor’s eyes, but as usual Reg was giving nothing away.
Bobby took her time arranging the notes she had made for a story on wild flowers. She made a show of scribbling down a few facts from a reference book before nonchalantly observing to Reg, ‘I hear you had Tony in.’
‘Best to get it out the way.’
‘What did you think of his portfolio?’
‘His writing could be a lot sparer, but he’s learnt a bit about what makes a good story. Knows how to train up a newspaperman, does Don Sykes.’ He looked up at her sharply. ‘None of that was yours, was it? I know you wrote under his byline when you worked on the paper.’
‘I doubt it. The only bits he ever asked me to write were about cake sales and things.’
‘Huh. The stuff he showed me was wall-to-wall murders.’
‘That’ll be Tony. He likes the juicy pieces.’
‘Not much juicy around here,’ Reg said absently, skimming a document in his hand. Bobby wondered if it was Tony’s letter of application. ‘Nobbut old traditions, flowers and wildlife. He’ll be bored to tears in a week.’
‘Hewillbe?’ Bobby sat up straighter. ‘You mean you’re going to give him the job?’
He looked up at her. ‘Your sister in the family way, is she?’
Reg was bluff in most matters but not generally about those that concerned women, and Bobby was caught off-guard by the directness of the question.
‘Um, that really isn’t for me to say.’
‘Don’t matter. I’ve got my own eyes to see.’ Reg glanced at the letter in his hand. ‘Where’s he planning to take her if he can’t get work?’
‘Liverpool,’ Bobby said quietly. ‘He thinks one of the shipyards would take him on. He’d be dragging her right to where the heaviest bombing is.’
Reg stared at the letter for a while longer, then sighed.
‘Well, I’ll give him a chance,’ he said. ‘Same terms as I gave you: a quid a week, residence at the cow house and a month’s trial to convince me he can do the job. I hope he don’t make me regret it.’
Bobby beamed. ‘Oh, thank you! Reg, you’re an absolute saint. Really. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.’
Reg flushed at this fulsome praise. ‘All right, let’s not get carried away. Go tell your sister, eh? Don’t take too long, mind. I want plenty more pieces out of you before you leave, so I’ve got summat to work with if Scott’s no good.’
Chapter 24
The weeks passed in a flurry of activity, now arrangements could be made for Bobby’s departure. She tried to make the time stretch, to savour every precious moment with the little family she had built in Silverdale, but there was so much to be done that the days seemed to fly by with scarcely time to draw breath. Before she knew it, it was the 3rd of April – the day before Topsy’s wedding, and Bobby’s last Friday as a civilian. It was also to be her final day in the job she loved.
