The Company of Rileys.

This is the fifth book following the life and times of Daniel Finbar Riley. Known by most people simply as Paddy, Dan by his wife Rose, and by his closest ex-army friends as Reckless. As in all of the books in this series, all of the dialogue is written as they would say it. This may seem a bit distracing at first, but please persevere with it. It does become more familliar as you progress through the book, and besides, it's more fun. (It helps you to get in touch with each character, too.) If you have read the earlier books in this series, then you will already know how Dan Riley has risen from being a fairly quiet working man, to becoming a partner of a large company. A journey full of unusual and often quite fortunate encounters. This book continues from where the previous one, 'Riley's Startling Success' left off. If this is your first read of the Riley series of books, I would advise you to read the earlier ones to familiarise yourself with the time, place, and environment in which this narrative takes place. All the characters are fictitious, yet believe-able. We all know people just like them. I would like to remind you, my readers, that this tale is set in a period of time when the people in this country were just coming out of a long period of austerity. From the late 1950's onward everyone began to feel generally better off. There was more food in the shops, and more goods in the stores. England was recovering from the shortages that had followed the end of World War II, and this created an optimistic attitude all round.

Chapter 1: Return to his trade. As Dan drove home from the stores that Monday evening he was not in the best of moods. His day had been hi-jacked by an event that had taken him toally by surprise, and also right out of his normal comfort zone. He had been dragged into the grand opening of the Kingfisher Country Hotel. That was enough to unsettle him at that, but there was even worse news to add. On the journey there, his business partner Izzie had informed him that beteween them they had invested in this venture and were owners of almost 60% of the whole complex. To understand Dan's discomfort, you need to know that about six months ago, he was running a simple one-man business restoring furniture, and making them good again. He also made various items from wood scraps to sell, plus doing house clearances. This last string to his bow was often the source of useful timber to re-purpose. Suddenly being propelled from this simple existence into high power commerce was a quantum leap for a man of such a humble background. On this journey he has had to make very many adjustments, which have taken him a long way away from his trade and he has missed his simple former life-style quite badly. So the day was an enormous trial to him. From arriving at the Kingfisher Country Hotel, to leaving it in the middle of the afternoon, he was the centre of attention from all manner of people. The press were all over him like a swarm of locusts, and once they had garnered all the information they could, he had to endure a long parade of people who were keen to involve him and his partner in all manner of investments. Then Izzie and himself had to endure being introduced to a string of supposed celebrities, none of whom were remotely interested in them as people. They were all there as a chance to be seen at a public event, and get a snippet of press coverage. Dan was not impressed. Not one little bit. By the time they were able to break away, Dan's head was spinning and throbbing. It may have been a fairly normal presentation for his partner Izzie, since she had been working these sort of deals for a number of years now; but Dan was out of his depth and he knew it. So much so, that he had told Izzie that he would never attend another event like this. Ever! *** When Dan arrived home he changed out of his suit right away. He was always far more comfortable in casual clothes. No sooner had he done this and put the kettle on than: "Yer got a few crumbs ter fill me tum, then?" Yes, it was Bernie. My regular readers will have seen that one coming... "Kettle's on Bern. Oi'll be right there." Dan repied. "Yer dun't sound too 'appy moosh? 'Ad a bad day then?" Of course, Bernie was concerned. Dan passed the biscuit tin, and made the tea without answering. Bernie just waited. He brought the teas into the front room and sat down heavily. Then he said, "Bernie, me mate, Oi never want ter live t'rough another day like t'day in me life." "Were it as bad as that then?" Bernie asked. Well he would, wouldn't he? Dan gave a tired smile and told him, "Oi've never been amongst such a bunch o' upstarts in me whole life." Bernie crunched on a biscuit and waited. He had been there in the morning when Dan had the call from Izzie asking him to wear a suit to work that day, so he knew there was something out of the ordinary happening that day. 2. He patiently sat back while Dan gathered his thoughts. At that moment, Rose came in from her shift. She sensed the mood in the room right away. "What's botherin' ye ma man?" she asked. Dan replied, "Get yerself a cup o' coffee, an' Oi'll tell yer the tale. Oi've had a bit of a tryin' day, that's all." Rose did as he asked, then she sat on the other side of the table so that she could watch his face as he spoke. From the look on his face, she knew not to interrupt him. So then Dan told them both his tale of woes. Of course, Bernie knew about Izzie's phone call, but it was news to Rose. Then he told them of how Izzie had a large car waiting to take them both to the Kingfisher Hotel. The news that they had almost sixty percent interest in the complex between them took both of them by surprise. Dan said, "Oi was knocked back by that as well." He continued his tale with the bombardment of the press, but he left out his confronation with the man from the Daily Telegraph. He would tell Bernie that bit another time. Then it was the session in the Hotel conference room, and another round of questions. Plus a number of people who had wild ideas that they hoped to persuade them to invest it. Of course, Izzie handled all of these, while Dan was merely there as evidence that there was a geniune business partnership involved in the deal. Then there was a further reception to meet and greet some of their potential customers to the various amenenties that the Kingfisher was now offering. Following this there was a tour of all the various sections; the golf club-house, the country club, the health spa, and gymnasium, and then back to the conference room. Another round of questions and answers after that. When Dan mentioned the train of 'celebrities', Rose's ears pricked up and she asked for some of the names. Dan looked up at her and said quietly, "Oi never knew a single one o' them, an' Oi can't remember any o' their names either. Anyway we finally made an escape from all o' that halfway through the afternoon, and that was when Oi told Izzie me very last words on such an event, an' Oi was very firm, "Never again!" Bernie was the first to speak, "Oi reckon yer goin' ter need a drop ov summat t'night, moosh." Rose gave him a look, then said, "Aye, fine though, but Ah think that will have tae wait untill Ah've taken care of somethin' else first. Hey no?" Bernie grinned. Instead of coming back with a ribald comment, he said, "Oi think yer right, an' Oi'll soon be out ov yer way, then." That took Rose by surprise, but she just smiled. Dan just sipped his tea quietly. Bernie soon took his leave, and Rose said quietly, "Ah think we need tae take a bit o' personal time in the other room, mah man. Are ye comin'?" Naturally, Dan didn't argue... Of course, we won't go into any details here, but suffice it to say that the cares of the day were very soon consigned to history, and when they returned to the front room they were both a lot happier people. Rose had worked her little bit of magic, and it worked very well. They sat with another drink each. Then Dan began to tell Rose about his latest job of fitting out a double decker bus like a travelling holiday touring caravan, but first class throughout. Rose was genuinely interested, and said, "D'ye ken, Ah'd kindae fancy something similar when our twins are big enough tae get some fun out of it. What d'ye think?" Dan grinned, and replied, "Oi'm not sure Oi would want someting the size of a bus. Maybe a bit smaller. Then yer goin' ter be able ter share the drivin', right?" She nodded. "We'll see." she said. Dan said, "Tis a long way away yet, but Oi like yer tinkin', me sweet." Then they moved into ideas of where they might travel to in such a vehicle, and Rose was very keen to return to Scotland and show Dan the beauty of the Trossachs with it's 3. many lochs and the glorious countryside surrounding them. "Ye'll be amazed, mah man," she said, "Ye may never want tae come home again, hey no?" Dan grinned, "Oi wouldn't bet on that." he said. Then the inevitable happened; "Are yer busy? Or are yer ready fer some ov me magic potion?" "Come on in Bern, we're decent." Dan called back. Bernie came in with a bottle in each hand, closely followed by Helen carrying two more. Rose smiled, and went to find some glasses. Helen was full of chatter about the Kingfisher Hotel, and how she had found it all "Very posh, look you," and wondered how much it would cost for all the ameneties there. It was quite obvious that Bernie had briefed her well, because she carefully avoided any talk about Dan's experience there that day. Rose steered the conversation back to her idea of going to Scotland for a holiday, and that train of thought led the theme for the evening. So it was a fine relaxing time for them all, and just what Dan needed. *** The next morning dawned with a pink sky, and an air frost which left all of the hedge-rows festooned in a furry coat of hoar frost. Very lovely to look at, but for Rose it meant an early start on her journey to her shift at Silbury General Hospital. She was always very cautious in conditions like today, and very much aware of the risks because of the number of road accidents, and increase in the number of patients in the hospital because of this. So she was long gone before Bernie arrived with his shout; "An 'ard workin' bloke lookin' fer a bit ov good company, an' some grub. Are yer there?" "Kettle's on Bernie." came the reply. Bernie came in, after picking up the biscuit tin on his way. Well - you knew he would, right? "So you'm workin' at yer trade again t'day, then moosh. 'Ow d'yer feel about that'n, then?" Bernie was keen to keep the chat up-beat this morning. Dan smiled. "It feels real good, Bernie," Dan replied, "Oi've been looking' forward to startin' this job fer ages. Ever since Freddy dropped it on me. That's why Oi was so annoyed about yesterday." "Well Oi weren't goin' ter bring that up," said Bernie. "Tis 'istory now, en't it?" Wise words, but Dan said quietly, "Oi'll be takin' a bit o' time ter get over it, Bern. Yer right o' course, but tis goin' ter stay with me fer a bit yet. There are a few tings about how it all came about that bother me mind a bit, an' Oi need ter be havin' words with Izzie at some time ter clear up some o' me tinkin' or this is goin' ter trouble me fer a while." Then he told him about his exchange with that press man from the Telegraph. This tickled our Bernie, and he laughed out loud. "Good on yer, moosh!" he said, "Oi might just 'ave 'it 'im." "Oh Bernie, me boy," Dan said, "Oi was sore tempted ter do just that." Bernie nodded his head, then he said, "Well Oi reckon tis a good job yer got a complicated job ter be workin' on. Thass goin' ter take yer mind off ov the crap yer 'ad yesterday, en't it?" Dan grinned and said, "Oi can always rely on yer ter put things in there proper perspective, tanks." Then Bernie began to ask questions about how this bus job was going to work out. He seemed genuinely interested, so Dan outlined some of his plans, and how he was going to put all of this into some sensible order. Bernie smiled, and nodded in all the right places. He had diverted his mate from the previous day's troubles. Mission accomplished. Then, as he was ready to go about his work for the day, he said, "Yer, 'ave yer sorted out 'ow yer goin' ter be paid fer this'n, moosh? Tain't part ov yer own firm's work, is 'un?" Dan grinned and said, "Yer right, Bern. Tank yer, an' all, Oi needed remindin'. Oi need ter keep track of everyting Oi spend on it, an' all me time too. Oi need one o' me note books just fer this, an' Oi'd about forgotten, so yer saved me some grief there." 4. Then Bernnie was on his way, and Dan went to his drawer and brought out a new note pad. He kept a stock of these in, and for once he was glad he had them handy. On the cover he wrote in biro: Freddy's Bus. Tuesday 17th Feb. 1959. Then he opened it to the centre page, and turned the corner of one page down. On the left hand page he wrote: Time to book. Work involved. Then he went back to the first page and at the top of the page he wrote: Materials. Cost. Application. He put the note pad in his pocket, and after quickly washing the cups they had just used, he headed for town. When he got to Freddy Deed's he found three rather annoyed people waiting for him. Freddy spoke first. "What the bleedin' 'ell happened to you yesterday?" He called, "You've had a pile of stuff delivered, and we had to leave our work to unload the stuff!" Dan held up his hands. "Oi can only say Oi'm sorry ter all of yer. Oi was hi-jacked by Izzie ter be at that hotel we were at on Saturday. Oi didn't find out about it all until we were on our way there in a hired car. Then she tells me that we have financed a big slice o' the whole ting, and we are in it ter the tune of nearly two t'irds o' the entire complex. Oi had ter be there ter bear out that Izzie had not been operatin' on her own, an' had a legitimate business partner. Oi was caught off balance, an' that's why Oi didn't get ter phone yer ter let yer know what was goin' on. Sorry again, lads." The three of them stood there open mouthed for almost half a minute. Then Freddy said, "Paddy, can you say that again? I didn't quite get it all first time." Dan sighed, and said, "Yer all know Oi wouldn't lie to yer's. Oi had a phone call at home before Oi left in the mornin', an' tis Izzie. She tells me ter wear a suit ter come in, an' says no more. Oi got ter the stores, an' theres a big fat car sittin' there. Izzie tells me we're goin' in it, and while we are on out way she tells me the whole tale. Oi had a half hour car ride ter try an' make some kind o' sense out o' the ting before we got there." Freddy stepped forward and said, "Sorry to have had a go at you, mate, but we got caught a bit flat-footed here yesterday. We weren't expecting to have this lot to deal with." He waved his arm towards where the bus was, and along the side of it were two stacks of wood, and half a dozen large cardboard boxes. Freddy said, "There's a lot more we put inside the bus as well. I bet your ears were burning yesterday, mate. We were calling you all sorts." Jan spoke up; "Is not really you fault. Is just happen, yes?" Freddy grinned. "There speaks the voice of reason." he said. "Shall we call a truce?" "Vass is truce?" Jan asked. Freddy said, "We will all be friends again, right?" Jan smiled and said, "Yes. Is good. We all stayin' friends. I like it truce." Shifty looked at Freddy and said, "Do you think we can spare a few minutes to hear the rest of this story, or are you taking the whip to us to get us back to work?" "It has to be worth a listen," Freddy said, "So go on Paddy, tell us the rest of it." With a sigh, Dan told them the tale of his adventures yesterday. When he mentioned the reporter who had given him some grief, and how he had reacted, they all laughed. Of course. Shifty said, "I'm surprised you didn't just drop him." Dan gave a tired smile, and replied, "Sure Oi was tempted ter do just that, but Oi t'ought it might reflect badly on me partner Izzie. Mind yer, if he ever gets in me way again, Oi might do tings differently, right?" They all had a chuckle at this. Then Dan told them the rest of his story. When he had finally done, Freddy said, "I bet you're glad to be here today, then. Away from all of that rubbish. Have you made the peace with Izzie yet? Or are you saving it for another day?" Again, Dan sighed. "Oi gave her a fair dose o' the verbals on the way home," he said,