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hard-earned cash the way the pub landlords do.’
    ‘I wasn’t talking about pimping. High class has high overheads. And, to go back to your question about the trade I’m aiming for, it’s men of means who like to watch pretty girls dancing and singing while they enjoy a drink and a flutter. Some of them might be happy to pay – and pay handsomely – to be entertained in private afterwards.’
    ‘And you’d want a finder’s fee.’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Then you’d allow us to use this club of yours – if you open it –as a free pick-up point?’
    ‘No, I want to run a clean place, publicly that is. The kind of place a man could take his sweet aged mother to, if the mood took him. Privately is different, but I’ll talk to you again, if and when I find the right place. But I warn you now, if you and your girls ever want to visit you’ll have to look top drawer, Anna.’
    ‘You cheeky sod,’ she said indignantly. ‘You suggesting I look anything less?’
    ‘Not me, Anna. I know who paid the rent on my mother’s room the week she died. And I haven’t forgotten that gold sovereign you gave me when I sailed out. You told me to hang on to it because I could cash it anywhere in the world if I needed to.’
    ‘And did you?’
    He felt in his pocket and laid the coin on the table. ‘I’ve pawned it once or twice but I marked it so I could always redeem it.’
    ‘Sentimental sod underneath that hard-baked crust, aren’t you?’ Anna said fondly.
    ‘I’ve never had much to be sentimental about.’
    A slim young girl, who looked barely out of childhood, walked into the bar and made a beeline for their table. She had a prominent nose, strong dark features, olive skin, black hair, and was dressed in an even lower-cut, skimpier, more transparent frock than Anna’s. ‘Lend us a tanner for a drink, will you, Anna?’ She turned a pocket inside-out in the skirt of her dress. ‘It’ll save me a walk back to the house. A bloody pickpocket’s just nicked my purse.’
    ‘Was there a lot in it?’ Anna asked.
    ‘A bob. I’ve more sense than to bring out more on carnival day.’ She saw Aled eyeing her and gave him a practised professional smile.
    Anna looked from Aled to the girl. ‘Gertie, this is Mr James, an old friend of mine. Aled, meet Gertie, my youngest. She’s been living in my house for six months but she’s a quick learner.’
    ‘How quick?’ Aled continued to study the girl.
    ‘How long have you been at sea?’ Anna asked.
    ‘Long enough,’ Aled answered. ‘Put your purse away, Anna, I’ll buy Gertie a drink. In fact, how about I buy a bottle and we go back to your room, Gertie?’
    ‘It’ll cost you,’ she retorted boldly.
    ‘How much?’ Aled grinned in amusement.
    Gertie flashed a quick glance at Anna who gave an almost imperceptible nod. ‘Two bob, and a bob for the barman,’ she said boldly.
    ‘For the rest of the afternoon?’
    ‘If you want to stay that long,’ Gertie answered carelessly.
    Aled put his hand in his pocket and pulled out two half-crowns. ‘A bob for the barman, the rest is for the brandy, make sure it’s the best French and I’ll expect change.’
    ‘Can’t I keep it?’ Gertie pouted.
    ‘We’ll finish negotiating after you’ve delivered the goods, Gertie, not before,’ Aled said firmly.
    ‘I’ll be as quick as I can.’ Gertie left the table and went to the bar.
    ‘You’ll find her accommodating enough.’ Anna produced a small printed card. ‘My telephone number.’
    ‘You’re ahead of the times.’ Aled took it and stowed it into his top pocket.
    ‘Second telephone to go into a private address on the Bay, after the doctor and before the vicarage. Call in any time, and don’t think I’ve forgotten about that dinner you promised me in the Windsor. I’ll hold you to it.’
    ‘Tomorrow night, eight o’clock?’
    ‘I’ll be there.’ She left the table.
    Aled watched her walk to the door. A middle-aged man staggered in before she opened it.