“You do?”
He nodded. “I’ve not really thought about it before, but it makes sense; East End was in all the voices I heard growing up, other than my mother. She spoke like someone from the country. She never told me where, though.” His heart grew heavy, as it often did when he thought of her. “I wish she had. There are so many things about her I never knew.”
Gemma slipped her arm around his and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Whatdidshe tell you?”
He took a breath, not a strained one or a tense one but almost a cleansing one. Gemma had asked him about his mother before, and somehow talking with her about his sorrows was easier than with anyone else. She was a cheerful person and brought excitement and energy to any room, but she could also be peaceful and calming. “I think my most cherished memory of my mother is that she told me every day that she loved me.”
“How could she not love you? I can’t imagine anyone being a better son than you.”
He slipped his arm free and wrapped it around her shoulder,tucking her up close to him. “You always did say rather flattering things about me.”
“I don’t merely say them, Baz. Imeanthem. That’s an important difference.”
“Oi. I always was your chuckaboo, weren’t I?”
The breathtaking joy in her smile filled him. “I do love when you let your East End shine a bit. I know you think you’ve got to keep it tucked away, but it’s part of who you were. And who you were is part of who you are, and you oughta be proud of the man you are.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead, something he’d done often in the past but not once since she’d returned. “I’ll try to remember that, Gemma.”
“I hope you do.”
He leaned back on the sofa, his arm still around his wife, feeling more at ease than he had in some time. “I’m glad Móirín found you a job so quickly.”
“So am I.” She pulled in an excited breath. “Oh, and I met Brogan’s wife.”
“How is Vera?”
“She was in pain but also in good spirits.” Gemma sat up straight and turned, facing him almost directly. “But, also, Baz, I know her!”
“You do?”
Her eyes lit with excitement. “She is from Southwark. We knew each other growing up.”
“How remarkable! Were you friends?”
“As near as any Kincaid comes to having friends.”
In an instant, he knew of a difficulty. “She knows your history.”
“Oi, but I talked with her before I hopped off. She twigged why I’d rather the Donnellys not know what sort of people my family are. She said she’d keep mum on it, but if her husband asked herdirect, she’d not care to lie to him. I told her I thought that was fair enough.”
“I can tell you this: the Donnellys are good people. Even if they discover your past, they’ll not hold it against you. They have ghosts of their own; they know life gets complicated.”
“Do they know about your mother’s ‘complicated’ life?”
He nodded. “Brogan has helped me with some of my rescues. During one of them, I explained why I want to save as many women as I can from the life my mother was forced to live.”
She placed a kiss on his cheek. “You savedmefrom having to live that life. And you gave me freedom I’d never known before.”
“You deserved to be free. You’ll always deserve that.”
Before she could answer, someone knocked at the door.
“Go see who it is,” she suggested. “I’ll put the kettle on.”
She headed for the kitchen while Barnabus made his way to the front door.
Brogan stood on the other side. “Might I steal a moment of your time, Doc?”