Tania beamed with pride; she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she looked lovely today. She felt lovely as well.

Delroy offered Daniel his hand in greeting. ‘You all right, Daniel? What a great day, eh? Your old mum’s like a fucking maniac with it all.’

Daniel Bailey smiled tightly, but his attention was not really on Delroy. He was aware that his brother was somewhere in the vicinity, and that they were unlikely to acknowledge each other except with a brief nod.

Lena had made her way straight to Ria, and Daniel felt irritated for a moment, but he swallowed his anger. Ria and Lena were close mates, and their friendship kept up the pretence that everything was OK between the brothers, even though everyone in their world knew the truth.

Danny was watching his dad closely. He was not going to have even one drink today – he would keep as close to his father as humanly possible, without making it too obvious and, if there was even the slightest hint of a problem concerning him, he would remove his father from the premises immediately. Uncle Peter could be relied on to keep his cool, no matter what. His dad, however, could not. He was trying though, and they gave him credit for that, but it didn’t change the fact that none of his sons believed he was cured of his angry outbursts. A few drinks, and an imagined slight could easily cause World War Three. It was his little sister’s day today, and he was hoping against hope that his father would keep that fact in the forefront of his mind.

Danny glanced around the church grounds; the place was packed out with parents, families and children. He wondered where the fuck his brothers were. Noel and Jamsie were nowhere to be seen.

He saw Liam Bailey arrive with his girlfriend and her little boy; she was a looker all right, and a stripper! He had seen her without her kecks on more than one occasion – they all had. She had been a sight to see, God bless her, all tits and lip gloss. But if Liam didn’t give a fuck, why should he? He was well loved-up by all accounts.

Mandy waved at him shyly, and he smiled back at her, amazed at how she could remove her clothes for money yet still be bashful in male company. That was a melon scratcher all right. Liam winked at him and mouthed hello. Liam had never looked so happy, and Danny was pleased for him; he seemed to enjoy playing the daddy, and the kid adored him, anyone could see that.

His Uncle Peter was walking into the church, and Danny watched as his father acted like he wasn’t bothered either way. He prayed, please God, let the day go without a hitch. He was not in the mood for aggro, and he did not relish his task as unofficial minder.