‘It is lovely, Daniel, even if I say it myself. She will be the best dressed there, I know that for a fact.’

Daniel was pleased to hear Lena; he wanted his daughter to be dressed as he saw fit. She was a good-looking child, and he wanted her to be perceived as he felt a daughter of his should be – well dressed and a cut above the other kids. He remembered Imelda’s Communion years before; Ria had decked her out like a fucking society bride. Peter had told him the price of the dress and, at the time, he had thought they were fucking mad to pay that much for a child’s outfit – an outfit that she would only wear once at that. Now, though, he could understand it. A girl was a different kettle of fish when it came to these occasions – they were special because they could be dressed up like miniature brides.

He would make sure that his daughter, his only daughter, would look expensive and classy if it was the last thing he did. He was learning, at this late stage, how to play the game and he was determined to play it better than everyone else.

‘Who wants to hear my good news, then?’

Tania hugged his neck tightly and squealed, ‘I do, Daddy! Tell me!’

Lena was smiling happily; she assumed it was about the Communion, it being all she thought about these days.

‘I have bought us a new house. A big detached house, and you, my princess, will have your own bathroom! What do you think of that?’

Tania was not sure what to think, and it showed. Laughing loudly, Daniel hugged her once more. ‘You will be able to have a bath in your very own bathroom!’

‘Really, Daddy? My own bath, just for me?’

‘Your own bath, princess, nothing is too good for you!’

Lena was watching him warily now. ‘You’ve bought a house without telling me?’

Placing his daughter on the floor, Daniel nodded. ‘Yes, I have, Lena, and not before time. We have the money and I want this little one to have everything we can give her.’

It was the right approach and he knew it. Lena would move heaven and earth for her daughter, she would gladly move if it meant Tania would get the benefit. He wondered how they had coped with the boys in such a small space. But, then again, he hadn’t cared in those days, one way or the other.

Chapter Sixty

Tommy Barker was very happy with Theresa – she suited him perfectly. His mother was Irish, and his father had been Scottish, so he had been brought up with the best of Catholic intentions and, as big a rogue as he had eventually become, he had never really left his Catholic upbringing behind.