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‘I just want to feel it’s my home, too,’ she said, with just the right amount of pathos in her voice. ‘You know, a few things of my own, as well as all the lovely things that belonged to your family.’ She shrugged. ‘It’s not that I’m asking for much, after all. Some new curtains in the bedroom …’ Her voice trailed away. Her smooth blonde head drooped a little.
    â€˜Oh, darling.’ Henry went to her and took her in his arms. ‘I’m sure we could afford some new curtains.’ Could they? Still, it was a bit unfair on her. ‘Tell you what. Suppose you go to Exeter and price a few things. Get an idea of the things that would make you feel more at home. I want you to be happy.’ He stared down at her anxiously.
    â€˜Oh, Henry.’ She smiled mistily up at him. ‘How sweet of you. It would make such a difference.’ She slipped her arms around him and he bent his head to hers.
    â€˜Dinner’s in! Gettin’ cold!’ Mrs Ridley stood at the door watching them.
    â€˜Coming, Mrs Ridley.’ Gillian held firmly on to Henry as he attempted to break away from her.
    The two women’s eyes met and looked for a moment and then Mrs Ridley whisked out. Gillian gave Henry another kiss and they went into the breakfast room together, arm in arm.
    Â 
    JOHN SAT IN THE corner of the bar, his pint barely touched on the table before him. Despite Martin’s assurances that there was no need to panic, John could feel his newly found confidence ebbing gently away from him. The boom was over, the winds of change were blowing
and, outside the comforting structure of the Navy, John felt vulnerable. Even within the safety of his partnership with Martin, in the middle of the excitement of rising prices and big profits, he had seen that life outside was very different to everything he’d known. Going straight from school to Dartmouth he had merely exchanged one establishment’s set of rules and regulations for another’s and civilian life ran on very different lines. John no longer had the rings on his sleeve to show people at a glance where he belonged and what attitude they should adopt towards him. Nor could he read the signals in reverse. Categorising people into upper and lower deck, junior or senior officers had got him into a lot of trouble. Had he not been able to go straight into a partnership with Martin it was doubtful that he would actually ever have left the Navy. Once outside he realised that a partnership wasn’t like being the captain of a submarine. Nobody was terribly impressed: the most unlikely people seemed to own companies, run enterprises. The glory that had eluded him within the service seemed still beyond his grasp in civilian life and John missed the privileges of rank, the shared language, the feeling of camaraderie. He was good with the clients but, apart from Martin, found it difficult to make friends. None of this would have mattered if business had stayed at the same level, fast, exciting, profitable.
    But supposing things went wrong? John took a long swallow at his beer and summoned his common sense. Because the boom was over didn’t mean that they couldn’t make a perfectly adequate living. Perhaps they had been unwise to move the office to larger more expensive premises. The purchase of the lease had taken every penny but there seemed to be plenty more to come. Supposing … ? John finished his drink and stood up. He mustn’t brood; that way madness lay. He must get home to Nell.
    Nell. At the mere thought of her his heart sank again. She had been so against it all and now it seemed unlikely that they would be able to buy their own place. Not that she ever mentioned it. As long as she
had the cottage at Porlock Weir she seemed happy enough, although the holidays were difficult. Jack was growing fast. He had needed new uniform this term and next year the fees would have to be found. The fund