Peter closed his eyes in distress. Nothing could justify what had happened, what this son of his had done. He held his hand up to stop the flow of treachery in its tracks. ‘Are you trying to justify having me over? Are you that fucking stupid?’

Petey didn’t answer. He knew when to keep a low profile.

‘Danny was trying to do you a favour and, because of you, he nearly got stabbed. Why would you rob your own, eh? You were taking money off me and my brother. Two earns, you jammy fucker, and it still wasn’t enough for you, was it, eh? If you weren’t my son, Petey, you would be a fucking dead man.’

Petey was a realist and he knew when he was beaten. He was aware that his father knew exactly why he had done this. He was just waiting for him to come clean and throw himself on his mercy. It was pathetic. Petey was a grown man, and his father still treated him like a fucking child. ‘You know why, Dad. I owe money.’

Peter looked at his eldest son, his namesake, and felt sick with shame. ‘You owe gambling money again? Have you learned nothing at all? I have earned off weak people like you all my life, and a gambler is the weakest of the weak. You know what gamblers are, don’t you? Fucking fools, mugs. They are the reason we own betting shops. We can’t fucking lose, you imbecile! If gambling was such a fucking doddle, don’t you think bookies would be few and far between? They’re on every high street in the country, waiting for fucking mugs like you to throw your money at them. Well, this is your last warning. You can’t go to any of the card venues around here. I’m making you persona non grata, my son. I’m making this personal to me and, believe me, there ain’t a person living who will give you a fucking chair anywhere. I’m giving you six months to get your act together. If you don’t sort yourself out, me and you are finished. You need a wife, a family – you need responsibilities, son. You need to fucking grow up!’

Petey saw that his father was right, but he resented that his father did not pay his boys anywhere near what Daniel paid his sons. His father felt that they should live within the means he provided for them, yet he, himself, lived like a king.