Jack waved his hand in dismissal. ‘Nothing – yet. I don’t trust him. He has been away a long time and he holds grudges. I had a few run-ins with him years ago.’

Lenny and Reggie exchanged glances.

‘Keep an eye on him, and find out what he’s up to, will you? You know the old adage, forewarned is forearmed? Well, armed is exactly what you will need to be if Frank comes looking for you.’

‘Do you want us to pay him a friendly visit on your behalf, Jack?’

Jack Johnson smiled at the loyalty Lenny had to him. He had chosen well with this lad – he’d never had a moment’s doubt about that.

‘Nah. Just keep an ear out – see what he’s up to.’

Chapter Fifty-Nine

‘God, I missed this, Reg.’

Reggie was sitting on the edge of his bed and they were having the egg sandwiches and coffee he’d made for them.

‘I know the feeling. How was it really?’

‘I can’t believe what I did to her, Reggie. Every time I looked at her poor fucking boat race I felt terrible. The kids were scared of me . . .’

Reggie sighed. ‘Well, you can’t blame them. It ain’t something they can brush off, is it? I mean, you really fucking lost it, Lenny.’

He nodded. ‘It was so hard, Reg, trying to win them back, you know? But I did it and I even managed to do a bit of business on the side.’ He laughed.

Reggie grinned sadly. He pushed Lenny’s hair back off his face and caressed the back of his neck.

‘I thought you might want to stop this.’ He motioned around his bedroom. ‘After what the Carters said, especially.’

Lenny bit into his sandwich with gusto and said through his chewing, ‘No way. Fuck the Carters and the Wilsons. Fuck them all.’

Reggie was glad to hear him say that.

Lenny finished his sandwich in two bites and placed the plate on the floor. Leaning back against the pillows, he said seriously, ‘I never would have believed that this would ever be me. But I am glad we have each other, Reggie.’

Reggie smiled. This was the nearest Lenny would ever get to saying, ‘I love you’.

Reggie changed the subject, as he knew that Lenny found it difficult to talk about feelings, particularly their feelings. He still had the innate fear of homosexuality that was present in many men, especially those who denied their true natures.

‘I wonder what Jack and Frank Barber got up to in their day?’

Lenny was lighting them up two cigarettes as he said, ‘I wondered about that too. We will have to ask about, see what we can find out. Jack can be very close-mouthed when the fancy takes him.’

‘I know. I heard a while back that he was a right handful when he was a young man.’