Afterwards (28 page)

She smiled at him and Joseph remembered something Jarvis had said. About another Corporal he’d served with,
a bit older than him. He’d been in Ireland, early in the seventies, and after he’d finished his twenty-two years, he went back there. Got himself a job selling advertising on beermats, with a company car and a hospitality budget. Drove around the province from pub to pub, and after he’d got through his business with the landlord, he always stayed for a couple and tried getting into conversation with the locals. Sounded like the worst idea to Joseph. But Jarvis said he went to all areas, loyalist and nationalist. Always told them he used to be in the army.
Didn’t get into as many fights as you might think.

Alice was still sitting, but pulling her bag and jacket onto her lap, and the box, and it occurred to Joseph that she’d been gathering her things together for some time. He stood up, to let her go, and then she smiled. Alice went ahead of him down the hall, and she nodded goodbye after he’d opened the door, backing the first few paces down towards the stairwell.

Joseph stepped out onto the walkway and looked over the side, waiting for her to get to the bottom of the stairs. It was a bright day, and the air was warm on his face, but the concrete still felt cold through his socks. The courtyard below him was full of sun, only the stairwell door was in shadow. Alice came out and he thought she might look up. She crossed the courtyard, into the sun, a brief flare of red, and then she was gone.

Toby Eady and all at Orme Court. My editors Dan Frank and Ravi Mirchandani. Dr Claire Fyvie and colleagues at the Rivers Centre in Edinburgh, and especially Richard, Michael, Stuart, William, Mark and Pauline for letting me sit in, and being patient with all my questions. Dr Robert Hunter at Gartnaval Hospital in Glasgow, Angela Preston at the Arndale Resource Centre in Drumchapel, and Jayne Herriot for all her time.The Imperial War Museum film archive.The Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. The RAF Museum at Hendon. The 49 Squadron Association, and particularly Stewart Kaye and John Galloway, for photos, articles and long conversations. Willy Maley, Adam Piette, Paddy Lyons, Kate McLoughlin, Paul Welsh and Caroline Knight for all the reading. Gretchen Seiffert. The Arts and Humanities Research Council and the University of Glasgow.

Special thanks to DW for reinforcing the corners.

Although some of the events described in the novel are based on fact, this is a work of fiction, and the characters are of my own invention. I am enormously grateful for the help I have received from those listed above. Any mistakes that remain are my own.