Spoils of War Read Free Page A

away somewhere, and I force him.’
    ‘Do you want me to call round some time tomorrow with the car?’
    ‘Would you, Beth? I told Mrs Harding we’d be there at two o’clock. Charlie’s always listened to you. If you tell him it’s a good idea to move, between the two of us we just might persuade him.’
    ‘I’ll be there. Judging by that noise it sounds as though everyone’s arriving at once, we’d better go back upstairs. It would be bad form to arrive after the bride and groom.’
    Andrew sat watching the door intently; only half listening as Tina’s sister, Gina, and her husband, Luke, enquired after Charlie’s health and business. He tried to recall everything he’d heard about David Ford as he waited for the man himself to appear.
    Tall – or had he heard that from the children? – in which case tall could mean anything over five foot four. Old – or again was that Rachel? To a child anything over twenty would seem ancient.
    A slim, blond man in an American officer’s dress uniform of olive-drab tunic, light khaki trousers, shirt and tie walked through the door and headed straight for his table. He extended his hand.
    ‘Dr John, forgive me for introducing myself. I recognised you right away but then I lived with your photograph for almost a year. I’m happy I finally have an opportunity to thank my absent host. I’m David Ford.’
    Andrew rose to shake David’s hand. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this tall, youthful, direct man with a shock of blond hair and blue eyes. Every colonel he’d met had a rather off-putting air of self-important arrogance, presumably cultivated in an attempt to communicate their superiority over lesser ranks and beings.
    And in the main it worked. He’d met none who could be remotely considered agreeable, charming or approachable – all adjectives he’d heard applied to David Ford and, now he’d finally met the man for himself, understandably so.
    ‘I’ve heard a lot about you,’ Andrew acknowledged guardedly.
    ‘Likewise. That’s quite a family you’ve got there. How are Bethan, Rachel, Eddie and the Clark girls?’
    ‘Well, thank you. Bethan is around here somewhere.’
    ‘I’d like to pay my respects.’
    ‘As you’re in Pontypridd again you must visit us.’
    ‘I couldn’t impose on your hospitality a second time.’
    ‘Bethan would be upset if you didn’t. Are you staying in town tonight?’
    ‘No, I’m stationed in Cardiff. I have a room in the officers’ club there.’
    ‘It would be bad form to miss any of this party by returning early. The top floor of the house is still full of your furniture …’
    ‘I’ve been meaning to contact you about that.’
    ‘It can wait. Please, you really must stay. Bethan!’ He hailed her as she returned with Alma. ‘Come and help me persuade the colonel to stay the night with us.’
    ‘My name is David.’
    ‘And I’m Andrew, but then you’d know that.’
    ‘It’s nice to see you again, David, and looking so well.’ Bethan glanced uneasily from David to Andrew. The tension between them was palpable. After a moment’s hesitation she offered David her cheek, watching Andrew as the colonel stooped to kiss it. ‘You’ve recovered from your wounds?’
    ‘A1 fit for duty.’
    ‘David was seriously injured during the invasion,’ Bethan explained.
    ‘Not that seriously,’ he corrected, anxious to change the subject. He looked across to the top table where Diana was putting the finishing touches to a flower arrangement.
    ‘From what I saw this morning my old army cook is settling down well here.’
    ‘A couple more months and my Aunt Megan will have turned him into a Pontypriddian, accent and all.’ Bethan’s face was beginning to ache from the strain of smiling.
    ‘He certainly looks happier than I ever recall seeing him before.’ David had meant the comment to sound light-hearted but with Andrew’s attention fixated on his every word it held a