When they reached the door the manager dispensed with his assistant and helped the colonel on with his topcoat himself, then handed him his hat and cane before bidding farewell to his new customers. “Do feel free to call me at any time,” were his final words as he bowed once again. He stood there until the three of them were out of sight.
Once they were back on the street the colonel marched quickly round the corner, coming to a halt behind the nearest tree. Becky and Charlie ran after him, not quite sure what he was up to.
“Are you feeling all right, sir?” Charlie asked, as soon as he had caught up.
“I’m fine, Trumper,” replied the colonel. “Just fine. But I can tell you, I would rather face a bunch of marauding Afghan natives than go through that again. Still, how did I do?”
“You were magnificent,” said Becky. “I swear, if you had taken off your shoes and told Hadlow to polish them, he would have removed his handkerchief and started rubbing little circles immediately.”
The colonel smiled. “Oh, good. Thought it went all right, did you?”
“Perfect,” said Becky. “You couldn’t have done better. I shall go round to John D. Wood this afternoon and put down the deposit on both shops.”
“Thank God for your briefing, Miss Salmon,” said the colonel, standing his full height. “You know what? You would have made a damned fine staff officer.”
Becky smiled. “I take that as a great compliment, Colonel.”
“Don’t you agree, Trumper? Some partner you’ve found yourself,” he added.
“Yes, sir,” said Charlie as the colonel began to stride off down the road swinging his umbrella. “But may I ask you something that’s been worrying me?”
“Of course, Trumper, fire away.”
“If you’re a friend of the chairman of the bank,” said Charlie, matching him stride for stride, “why didn’t we go direct to him in the first place?”
The colonel came to a sudden halt. “My dear Trumper,” he explained, “you don’t visit the chairman of the bank when you require a loan of only two hundred and fifty pounds. Nevertheless, let it be said that I have every confidence that it will not be long before we shall need to seek him out. However, at this very moment other needs are more pressing.”
“Other needs?” said Charlie.
“Yes, Trumper. I require a whisky, don’t you know?” said the colonel, eyeing a sign flapping above a pub on the opposite side of the road. “And while we’re at it, let’s make it a double.”
“How far gone are you?” asked Charlie, when the following day Becky came round to tell him the news.
“About four months.” She avoided looking him directly in the eye.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” He sounded a little hurt as he turned the open sign to closed, and marched up the stairs.
“I hoped I wouldn’t need to,” said Becky as she followed him into the flat.
“You’ve written to tell Trentham, of course?”
“No. I keep meaning to, but I haven’t got round to it yet.” She began to tid
y up the room rather than face him.
“Keep meaning to?” said Charlie. “You should have told the bastard weeks ago. He’s the first person who ought to know. After all, he’s the one who’s responsible for the bleedin’ mess, if you’ll excuse the expression.”
“It’s not that easy, Charlie.”
“Why not, for heaven’s sake?”
“It would mean the end of his career, and Guy lives for the regiment. He’s like your colonel: it would be unfair to ask him to give up being a soldier at the age of twenty-three.”
“He’s nothing like the colonel,” said Charlie. “In any case, he’s still young enough to settle down and do a day’s work like the rest of us.”
“He’s married to the army, Charlie, not to me. Why ruin both our lives?”
“But he should still be told what has happened and at least be given the choice.”