30
HARRY KNOCKED ON the carriage door, strolled in and took the seat opposite Old Jack in first class.
During term time at St Bede’s, Harry had only been able to see Old Jack regularly on Saturday mornings. Jack had returned the compliment by attending Matins at St Mary Redcliffe, where from the back pew he enjoyed watching Mr Frobisher and Mr Holcombe beam with pride at his protégé.
In the school holidays, Old Jack could never be sure exactly when Harry was going to turn up because he treated the railway carriage like a second home. Whenever he returned to St Bede’s at the beginning of a new term, Old Jack missed the boy’s company. He was touched when Mrs Clifton described him as the father Harry never had. In truth, Harry was the son he’d always wanted.
‘Finished your paper round early?’ said Old Jack, rubbing his eyes and blinking, when Harry strolled into the carriage that Saturday morning.
‘No, you just dozed off, old man,’ said Harry, passing him a copy of the previous day’s Times.
‘And you’re getting cheekier by the day, young man,’ Old Jack said with a grin. ‘So, how’s the paper round working out?’
‘Good. I think I’m going to be able to save enough money to buy my mum a watch.’
‘A sensible present, considering your mother’s new job. But can you afford it?’
‘I’ve already saved four shillings,’ said Harry. ‘I reckon I’ll have about six by the end of the holidays.’
‘Have you chosen the watch you want?’
‘Yes. It’s in Mr Deakins’s display cabinet, but it won’t be there for much longer,’ said Harry, grinning.
Deakins. A name Old Jack could never forget. ‘How much is it?’ he asked.
‘No idea,’ said Harry. ‘I’m not going to ask Mr Deakins until the day before I go back to school.’
Old Jack wasn’t sure how to tell the boy that six shillings wasn’t going to be enough to buy a watch, so he changed the subject. ‘I hope the paper round isn’t stopping you from studying. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that the exams are getting closer by the day.’
‘You’re worse than the Frob,’ said Harry, ‘but you’ll be pleased to learn that I’m spending two hours every morning in the library with Deakins, and another two most afternoons.’
‘Most afternoons?’
‘Well, Giles and I do occasionally go to the flicks, and as Gloucestershire are playing Yorkshire at the county ground next week, it will be a chance to see Herbert Sutcliffe batting.’
‘You’ll miss Giles when he goes to Eton,’ said Old Jack.
‘He’s still working on his father to let him join me and Deakins at BGS.’
‘Deakins and me,’ said Old Jack. ‘And be warned, if Mr Hugo has made up his mind, it will take more than Giles to shift him.’
‘Mr Barrington doesn’t like me,’ said Harry, taking Old Jack by surprise.
‘What makes you say that?’
‘He treats me differently from the other boys at St Bede’s. It’s as if I’m not good enough to be a friend of his son.’
‘You’re going to have to face that problem all your life, Harry,’ said Old Jack. ‘The English are the biggest snobs on earth, and most of the time without reason. The lesser the talent, the bigger the snob, in my experience. It’s the only way the so-called upper classes can hope to survive. Be warned, my boy, they don’t care for upstarts like you who barge into their club without an invitation.’
‘But you don’t treat me like that,’ said Harry.
‘That’s because I’m not upper class,’ said Old Jack, laughing.
‘Perhaps not, but my mum says you’re first class,’ said Harry, ‘so that’s what I want to be.’
It didn’t help that Old Jack couldn’t tell Harry the real reason Mr Hugo was always so offhand. He sometimes wished he hadn’t been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and witnessed what had really happened the day the boy’s father died.
‘Have you fallen asleep again, old man?’ said Harry. ‘Because I can’t hang around chatting to you all day. I promised my mum I’d meet her at Clarks in the Broad because she wants to buy me a new pair of shoes. Not that I can see what’s wrong with the pair I’ve got.’
‘Special lady, your mum,’ said Old Jack.
‘That’s why I’m buying her a watch,’ said Harry.