Lesley Scott was eating a small plate of sandwiches and she felt like she was chewing on sawdust. The fact that her son, her Lenny, had been able to inflict that kind of damage on another human being had really hit her hard. As she looked around the Irish club in Ilford, at the young ones dancing, and the older ones settled at tables with large drinks before them, she felt the urge to scream. Oh, Ivy Conway would be loving this! She had not wanted this wedding, but then, neither had Lesley really. But Lenny was besotted with young Sharon, and she was a good girl – she couldn’t take that away from her. Hopefully she would be a steadying influence on her son. Like her husband, Lesley blamed the drink for Lenny’s actions. Lenny was like her: she had never liked alcohol, not the taste nor the feeling of abandonment it gave to a body. Coming from Irish stock, she knew the trouble it could cause if you got a liking for it. It destroyed people’s lives.

She looked around sadly. Her husband was propping up the bar with Jack Johnson and his other cronies. He had a large Scotch in his hand and he was laughing loudly. It was as if last night had never happened. She was pleased to note her son was drinking a shandy. She had not been looking forward to this day; if she was honest, she didn’t hold out much hope for these two. For all their proclamations of undying love and affection, they were just kids playing at grown-ups, as Ivy Conway had succinctly put it. But Lesley nailed a smile on her face – after last night’s debacle she was determined to front this out. She saw young Sharon slip her arms around her new husband’s waist, and watched as he smiled gently and kissed her, holding her to him tightly. For some reason the sight made Lesley feel tearful. She was a nice lass, young Sharon.

The Irish club was packed by eleven o’clock, and even though he hated the fact, Lenny could see he was being hailed as a hard man for his antics the night before. Keith Smith wasn’t a popular guy – he’d rubbed too many people up the wrong way.