Part 20 (1/2)

'Not all of it.' A wry smile tilted a corner of his mouth. 'Fire brigade managed to get it under control before it spread upstairs. The tenants renting the place fell akip on the sofa and let sparks from the grate set the rug alight. They all got out safely, so that's the main thing; two kids under five were carried down the stairs by firemen. The other three were able to get themselves out with their parents' help.'

Kathy digested that for some moments. 'Thank G.o.d it didn't end in a tragedy. I'm sure those poor people wish they'd not been so careless. They're all homeless now, I suppose.'

'They've moved into the rooms I was going to let Ruby have. Just as well she didn't need 'em after all. That house is in Shadwell and it's a bit smaller than they've been used to. Bit of a squash for them but it'll do fer now till the other one is repaired and they can go back.'

Kathy continued staring at his profile. Suddenly he looked her way, catching her quietly studying him.

'What?' He raised a quizzical eyebrow.

'Nothing,' she said softly, settling back again in the seat and closing her eyes.

'I like a girl with a good appet.i.te.'

'Are you hinting I'm greedy?' Kathy put down her knife and fork, feigning indignation. She'd certainly been enjoying her dinner, and a throng waiting for tables to become vacant was proof that many other people also liked the meals on offer. The grill in Wapping that Nick had chosen was teeming with people yet the atmosphere was buoyant rather than rowdy. Somehow he'd managed to jump the queue; Kathy reckoned it was because he and the Greek proprietor were on first-name terms.

'Eat up.' Nick laughed. 'I'm just saying I like a girl who appreciates good food.'

Kathy again tucked into her juicy steak, wondering if his wife had been a picky eater. She put Blanche Raven from her mind; she'd vowed to herself when Nick called for her earlier that she wouldn't pry about his wife and seem jealous. 'I've no intention of leaving a morsel on the plate,' she said airily.

'You'd like my mum's cooking. She does a cracking Sunday roast.'

'I love roast lamb; not that we could afford to have it very often, but it reminds me of being at home ... always plenty of mint sauce with it,' Kathy said. 'Mum used to grow a big pot of mint out the back.'

'Roast beef and horseradish.' Nick mentioned his favourite with a slow nod then sat back patting his stomach. 'Not sure if I've got room for apple pie and custard. How about you?'

Kathy sighed. 'Wish I could but I'm full to bursting.'

'Another drink?' Nick crooked a finger and a waiter was hovering close in seconds, pad and pencil in hand.

'Nothing for me, thanks,' Kathy said.

'Sure?'

Kathy gave a smile of confirmation, sipping her port and lemon.

Nick ordered himself another beer and sat back, gazing at her.

'Hope Ruby and the children are settled for the night.' Kathy had been musing on the family while enjoying her blow-out supper, and feeling rather guilty as they were sure to have very little food. Whatever Matilda had she'd share with them, even if it were just bread and dripping. Before leaving the Bunk, Kathy had tried to press a ten-s.h.i.+lling note on to Matilda when they'd been alone. The woman had refused to take it to help out with the cost of keeping the family.

'They'll all be tucked up in bed by now,' Nick said. He laid a hand over her fingers, curled on the tablecloth. 'You've done as much as you can, for now, Kath,' he said softly.

'I know ...' She felt sorry when he withdrew his stroking touch. 'So you were going to tell me a bit about yourself,' she reminded him.

'What do you want to know?'

'Is there anything I should know?' Kathy returned.

Nick received his beer, immediately taking a swallow, his slate-grey eyes meeting Kathy's over the rim of the gla.s.s. He put it down abruptly. 'Do you believe me now when I say I'm getting divorced and don't have any children?'

'Yes ...'

'That's a good start ...' He sounded wryly amused. 'I live in a house close to Victoria Park and I've got a work yard off Commercial Road so spend most of my day there or at a storage shed down by the docks.'

'You said you rent properties out to families. Is that your living then?' Kathy asked interestedly.

'Yeah ... plus a bit of this and that.'

Kathy's ears p.r.i.c.ked up at that throwaway comment. It sounded like something her father might say when explaining how he spent his working life. 'By the looks of things, you've been successful at this and that,' she remarked a touch acidly.

'Had some lucky breaks along the way. I've not always been my own boss. A few years back I used to drive a lorry for Wes Silver. Heard of him, have you?'

Kathy frowned. The name seemed vaguely familiar and she told Nick so.

'I was driving one of his lorries towards Birmingham when it got hijacked and the load went missing. It was about the same time my wife told me she'd been having an affair with Wes and was thinking of leaving me.'

Kathy blinked, moistened her lips. 'What did you do?' she murmured, astonished that he sounded amused rather than angry at such misfortune.

'I jacked in my job with Wes and kicked Blanche out.' The corners of his mouth had turned down in ruefulness. 'Didn't seem right to carry on with either of them in the circ.u.mstances. Anyway, it turned out I did the right thing: I've never looked back on either score.'

'You bounced back from it all that easily?' Kathy asked.

'Yep ...'

'You're very ... resilient then.'

'Yeah ... that's the word. Ready to go?'

Kathy nodded, standing up.

'I'd ask you in for a hot drink but Dr Worth might get to hear about it from the neighbours and ...'

'Yeah ... I know.' Nick turned off the engine then tapped a hand idly on the steering wheel. 'Anything else you want to ask me, Kath?'

She shook her head, glancing at him through the dusk. They'd driven home in virtual silence but it hadn't been an uncomfortable quiet she'd felt compelled to fill with aimless chatter. She'd enjoyed the evening but now she sensed the atmosphere between them changing ... electrifying, if a way that was both exciting and terrifying.

He laughed softly. 'You think I'm a callous b.a.s.t.a.r.d for not making an effort to keep my wife.'

'I don't ... honestly ...'

'Good ... because with someone else ... someone like you perhaps ... I might have taken it all far more seriously. With Blanche and me it was no great love affair. She makes out now it was, because she wants me back since Wes returned to his wife.'

'You got her pregnant ... you must have been keen on her once,' Kathy pointed out.

'We lived quite close in Bethnal Green as kids, on Cyprus Street. She's a few years younger but we'd hang about in Victoria Park together. She's an only child, same as me. We'd talk about missing having brothers and sisters to muck about with at home. We didn't have much else in common, come to think of it.'

'You could be a bit more gallant, you know.'

'I was extremely gallant ... I married her.' Nick stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

Kathy knew he'd said as much as he was going to about his marriage. Considering this was their first proper date, she couldn't blame him for thinking he'd done more than enough explaining.