Jamie glared at the boys then whispered, ‘Tell you once they’ve gone.’ He picked up the swag bag beside him and flung it over towards them. It landed at Jack’s feet. ‘It’s all just my stuff in there, you can check.’

‘Stop being petty, Jamie,’ said Fiona, flushed. She turned towards Tom and Andrew. ‘You can go home now. Jack, can you phone your dad and thank him for going to the funfair for us, but say Jamie’s safely home.’

Andrew and Tom headed for the door. Jack turned to go then stopped. ‘Sorry, Jamie, I didn’t mean what I said.’ He slunk out the door, his head hung low.

Fiona watched him go then sat down on the sofa beside her son. ‘So?’

Jamie frowned, his brow furrowed. Fiona smiled; he looked so like his father, he used to make that same face while poring over drawings in his studio, his forehead a mass of lines as he concentrated.

‘Well, Jack called me a schemie, said all the boys in my class were schemies, and…’

‘Is that what it was all about?’ Fiona shook her head. ‘Just leave it, ignore him Jamie, not worth it.’

Jamie shrugged. ‘He’s called me that before but he thought it was big to call me that in front of the big boys. Think he forgot they don’t go to his posh school either.’

‘So where did you go?’

Jamie bit his lip. ‘I wanted to get back at him so I ran along to Ben Conti’s house in Step Row but there was no one in. House was all dark. So I hung around that end of the Green for a bit, eating my sweeties and watching the trains from Fife on the bridge. Saw the seven forty-five and the eight ten, then I just came home.’ He gave her a forlorn look. ‘Sorry, mum.’

Fiona gave her son a tight hug and patted his hair. ‘Never ever do that again, Jamie. I thought something horrible had happened. I was so worried. Thank goodness Granny and Pa weren’t here, they’d have had at least one heart attack between them.’

She turned and stroked her son’s hair then kissed his cheek. ‘Remember, Jamie, you’ve got to ignore stupid remarks like Jack’s. It really is more grown-up not to rise to it. Try laughing at him next time he says it or even better, just ignore it.’

Jamie nodded and popped another sweet into his mouth.

‘And that’s enough of the sweeties, Jamie. Come on, upstairs and let’s get your teeth brushed.’

‘Can I take some of the toffees to the football tomorrow? I think Martha likes them.’

‘Good idea. Right, come on, let’s get that face paint scrubbed off.’

CHAPTER 41

Chapter 41

Thursday 8 January 1880