‘Well, anyhow, he didn’t come charging down Victoria Road and take off with me,’ Seymour muttered. ‘I never even thought he would. It was just Mum, carrying on…It was just a waste, a pain in the neck, all this. Three-and-a-half weeks of sticking around inside and not being allowed out…’ He stopped, guiltily conscious that he hadn’t really been doing anything of the sort, and added hastily, ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Mum kept saying she didn’t know what else she would have done if you hadn’t let me stay here. I hope I wasn’t too much trouble.’

‘Well, I can understand it hasn’t been easy for you,’ Thelma said unexpectedly, ‘I told Marie at the time it wasn’t the ideal solution, this house being so small and not much space out the back. Children don’t like being cooped up and you’ve been very good about it, on the whole. Heaven knows, I’m not the ideal companion when I get home from work, either. Too set in my ways. I’m not used to having kids about the place. It’s not much longer, though, only till the weekend, then you’ll be moving out to Carrucan with your mother.’

Seymour gaped at her, for it was the first expression of sympathy he’d heard since coming there to stay. Obviously it paid to rock the boat a little and not always absorb things that happened to you without complaint. He wasn’t sure if it were worth the effort, though. His heart was racing from that uncharacteristic outburst.

‘Well, I suppose I should consult your mother first, but I don’t really think it would do any harm if you went out occasionally during the day,’ Thelma added briskly. ‘Just down to the shops, or there’s a public swimming pool on the other side of the park. Only be careful, mind. Keep a sharp eye out and if you see your dad hanging around, you get yourself back here quickly and phone me at work. Here’s a dollar if you want to go swimming tomorrow.’

Seymour was pleased and grateful, though he still had all the money he’d won at the races carefully hidden in the back room. ‘I can’t take this,’ he protested, embarrassed. ‘You’re still paying off your house, Mum told me. It’ll be okay when we move out to Carrucan, anyhow. I might get a paper round.’

A paper round, he thought wryly, remembering the last time he’d tried that. It had lasted exactly three days, and he’d been so bluffed by the territorial dogs in that area he’d made some pathetic excuse to the newsagency about his bike having been stolen.