Free Battles Lost and Won by Beryl Matthews

favourite subject and would be a good way to start.
    The morning flew by. Not only was Lilly a bright child, but she continually bombarded him with questions. Her reading was good for one so young, and he realized she must have an excellent tutor. Although he had never met him, Bob hoped one day to have a talk with him. It was a challenge keeping a lively child’s mind off what was happening, but he felt he was doing a reasonably good job. Perhaps he should see if he could become a teacher after all. He knew he was reaching for the impossible because he had only received an elementary education at school, but it didn’t hurt to have something to reach for. One teacher had encouraged him by taking the trouble to give him homework on subjects not covered in class. Not many teachers working in the slum areas bothered very much with the children, and he would always be grateful to that man. School would have become boring for him otherwise, because he was always way ahead of the other children. The extra work kept his mind stimulated.
    They took a break when lunch was brought up to them, and they were just about to resume lessons when the captain entered the schoolroom.
    Lilly rushed up to her father. ‘Is my brother here yet?’
    ‘Yes, darling.’ The captain swung his daughter up, smiling broadly. ‘Your mother and the baby are resting now, but they are both well, and it is a boy.’
    She grinned at Bob as her father put her down again. ‘I told you, didn’t I?’
    ‘You did. Congratulations, sir.’
    ‘Thank you, Bob, we are both delighted. Now, Lilly, have you been a good girl and studied your lessons?’
    ‘Yes, Daddy. We’ve had a lovely time. Bob knows ever such a lot of things. He’s the best teacher I’ve ever had – just like you said he would be.’
    Bob frowned. He hadn’t questioned why he had been called upon to teach Lilly, because someone had to keep the girl occupied and they had always got on well together, but now it did seem strange that a stable boy had been given the task. ‘How did you know I could do this, sir?’ he asked quietly.
    ‘Your daddy told him,’ Lilly burst out, gazing up at her father. ‘Can I see Mummy and the baby now?’
    The little girl’s excited chatter faded into the background. ‘Has he been here, sir?’ Bob asked.
    ‘No. I told him I didn’t think it would be a good idea for you to meet yet.’
    ‘You tracked him down?’ Bob didn’t want to believe that, but when he looked in the captain’s eyes he saw the truth – and it hurt. He had liked and respected this man, but he had no right to interfere in this way. He should at least have told him what he’d wanted to do! Without a word, Bob walked out of the room, down the stairs, and out of the house. And he kept on walking.
    ‘Green!’ Ben shouted at the top of his voice, and the butler arrived out of breath. ‘Look after Lillian for me.’ Then he was running down the stairs, intent on catching Bob.
    He was nearly at Mrs Trent’s lodging house before he saw the boy, and called for him to stop.
    Bob turned to face him, his expression thunderous. ‘I only told you about my family so you would see the damage excessive drinking could do. You had no right to do this without telling me. I trusted you to keep what I’d told you to yourself, and you’ve broken that trust.’
    ‘You asked, but if you remember, I never agreed. But trust – that’s the important thing to you, is it?’
    ‘Yes. I believed that when Dad came home he would take care of Mum. I’d done my best during the war, but I was only a kid, and he was big and strong. The man I remembered never came back.’
    ‘We were all changed,’ Ben told him quietly.
    ‘I soon realized that, Captain, but I couldn’t trust him to stay sober long enough to get a job so we could pay the rent. When Mum died I felt he had betrayed both of us.’
    ‘It must have been devastating for a young boy, but I’m not going to apologize. I met some very kind