Milly shrugged. ‘I suppose I’d better write to Aunt Betsy,’ she said and, glancing up at Lena, added, ‘Actually, she must be your Aunt Betsy too. She’s lovely. I’ll take you to see her sometime. Of all my relatives, she’s the nicest. She may be willing to help. I guess my future rather depends on what she says.’
‘What about Lena?’ Seebold asked. ‘Would she help her too?’
Milly looked a tad uncomfortable. Aunt Betsy was a sweetie but Uncle Neville was rather Victorian in outlook. In fact, she wasn’t even sure if they knew of Lena’s existence.
‘I don’t need anybody’s help,’ Lena said quickly.
‘So you won’t be marrying me then?’ said Seebold.
‘No, I won’t,’ Lena retorted.
Seebold appeared to be shocked.
‘And you needn’t bother looking at me like that,’ said Lena. ‘You don’t want to marry me anyway.’
Seebold grinned. ‘They do say that a man with a wife and children finds it hard to get on,’ he admitted. ‘But keep me in mind if you feels desperate.’
‘And I would have to be desperate,’ Lena chuntered. Milly jabbed her with her elbow, making her sister look up with an innocent expression. ‘What?’
Milly changed the subject. ‘I hope it doesn’t sound rude,’ she began, ‘but I’ve always thought your name is very unusual. How did you come by it?’
‘I found it on the road,’ he quipped.
Lena giggled. Milly blinked.
‘Na,’ he went on, ‘that’s down to my old mum.’ He took a deep breath. ‘When she was a youngster, she was very taken with roller skating. There used to be a ring in the Dome. ’Course back then it was called the Kursaal, and the chap running it was called—’
‘Seebold,’ Milly interrupted. She frowned. ‘So where did he get the name from?’
Actually he was called Carl,’ said Seebold. ‘Carl Seebold.’
They laughed. ‘What about you now, Seebold?’ Milly asked. ‘Are you happy and settled with Rainbow George?’
‘Seebold doesn’t just work for Rainbow George,’ Lena corrected. ‘All the fairground folk like his work. He’s in great demand.’
‘But I think it’s time I branched out on my own,’ said Seebold. ‘I’m planning to create a permanent kiddies’ playground. I’ve been over to Bognor to take a look at the Centre of Happiness.’
Milly and Lena gave each other a quizzical look.
‘It’s run by a chap called Butlin,’ Seebold went on. ‘He’s created a funfair that goes on all year round. They’ve got swing boats, dodgem cars, ghost train, you name it.’
‘But surely it would take a huge amount of finance to get something like that going,’ said Milly. ‘You’d need backers, wouldn’t you?’
‘I’ve got one,’ said Seebold. ‘Me. I’ve been saving like mad. I wouldn’t be able to do what Butlin’s done, but once I get it going, I intend to build it up year on year.’
‘So how would you start?’ asked Milly.
‘I found a plot of land to rent,’ Seebold said. ‘It’s well drained and it’s near the sea in East Worthing.’
Fortunately for Milly and Lena, he was looking at a hole in the toe of his sock and rearranging it so that it didn’t show, which meant he didn’t notice the look of surprise, then the grin the girls shared between them.
‘The agent seems to think he could persuade the owner to let me have it at a reasonable rent,’ he went on.
‘The agent?’ asked Milly.
‘Cooper and Docket,’ said Seebold. ‘They have an office in Broadwater.’
‘Sounds good,’ said Lena.
‘But what about the rides?’ said Milly. ‘Have you got money for them?’
‘Just a while ago, I heard that Mick Jackson is jacking it in,’ said Seebold. ‘He’s let me have a few of his rides at a knockdown price.’
‘Mick Jackson? Are you sure about the quality?’ Lena cautioned.
‘Maybe, maybe not,’ said Seebold, ‘but you know me. I’m a dab hand with a spanner.’
Lena couldn’t sleep. She lay in the darkness listening to Milly’s soft breathing but she was wide awake. She kept wondering what Pa had said to her in his letter. At three in the morning, she could bear it no longer, so she stole out of bed and went into the kitchen. Having lit a candle, she made herself comfortable in a chair and slid a knife along the crease of the envelope.
My darling Lena
I am writing this knowing that when you read these words I shall no longer be here. I consider myself a privileged man both to have loved your mother and to have had you as my child. I have so many happy memories of our times together. I wish things could have been different; that you could have grown up in the same home as your sister Milly, but it was not to be. I made some promises to her mother and if I had broken them, I would have lost her for good. You must never think you meant any less to me.
I am so proud of you, Lena. You are forward thinking and you have already surprised me with your business acumen. I am sure that you will go far. You are your own woman; a woman of the twentieth century, and I feel that you will one day be a trailblazer. Don’t let anyone, even Rainbow George, make you do something you don’t want to do.
It makes me so sad to think that at such a young age you have lost both your mother and your father but I am delighted that you and Milly seem to be genuinely close. I am comforted to know that when I am gone you have each other.
I wish I could have lived to walk you down the aisle, but something tells me that might not happen for a long while, or maybe not at all. Whatever you do in life, I shall be proud of you, my darling. Never forget that you were greatly loved by both Angel and me.