‘Oh well. Serves ’em right for taking the piss out of us, Queen.’

‘Exactly! And me other gossip comes from the Huntingdon-Browns.’

Viv had never met Queenie’s employers, but loathed them anyway. They spoke to her sister like shit, she knew that much. But Queenie insisted she needed the money. Viv couldn’t think why, given that Vinny provided for her so well, but then she had no idea that Queenie was still saving to pay Patrick O’Leary back the eight hundred quid she’d borrowed. ‘Go on. No, let me guess. The old man’s having an affair?’

‘Nope. Even better than that. I told you that brat of a daughter of Pearl’s had vanished off the face of the earth, didn’t I?’

‘Yeah, about six weeks ago, wasn’t it?’

‘Yes. Well yesterday, I came across a letter. I wasn’t prying in drawers or nothing like that. It was lying on top of the desk in Basil’s office.’

‘And?’

‘Training to be a vet, my arse. Only got herself up the spout, didn’t she? They’ve carted her off to one of those mother and baby homes. Bound to get it adopted to save face.’

Viv clapped her hands. ‘Brilliant!’

‘Ouch.’

‘What’s a matter?’

‘It’s my leg. It’s hurting me, Viv.’

Viv laughed. ‘You were attacked by a kitten, not a bleedin’ tiger, Queen.’

Back at Victoria Park, Vinny was still getting nowhere fast.

‘Drink some more of that champagne, darlin’. That’s not the cheap stuff, ya know. It’s proper. Only the best for you,’ Vinny lied. It was actually Pomagne, but he’d ripped the label off, pretending it was the nuts and had fallen off the back of a lorry.

‘I’ve drunk most of it, Vinny. You have some now,’ Bonnie took a gulp and then handed the lad she’d already decided she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, the bottle.

Vinny took a couple of sips, then handed it back to Bonnie. ‘I’ve got some important business meetings tonight, so I can’t turn up sozzled. That’s why I can’t take you out tonight.’ Vinny had no meetings, but he’d arranged to play snooker in the club near their home with Roy and his pals.

‘You haven’t answered my question yet.’

‘What question?’ Vinny asked, as if he didn’t know.

‘Are we boyfriend and girlfriend now?’

Vinny pulled the blanket over himself and Bonnie. ‘I’ll tell you soon, but we need a cuddle first.’

Vinny put up with her dodgy kissing for a minute or so, before grabbing Bonnie’s hand and shoving it on his cock. He was as hard as a rock.

Bonnie rubbed her hand against Vinny’s penis and then quickly pulled it away. Nobody apart from her mother knew about the back-street abortion she’d had to endure, and her mother had told her afterwards, if she ever got pregnant again before marriage, she would disown her.

‘That felt nice. Carry on, babe,’ Vinny groaned, undoing the zip of his trousers.

Bonnie wanted to, she truly did. But her mother had given her another talking to over Vinny. ‘You’ve got a good un there, Bonnie. That lad is going places in life. Don’t balls it up. Lads such as Vinny Butler won’t marry slags. Keep your hand on your ha’penny and two legs in one stocking, girl. Once you’ve got his wedding ring on your finger, the world will be your oyster.’