“Dennis, you little wretch,” he said. “You ought to have been asleep long ago.”
Dennis laughed.
“Oh don’t be silly,” he said. “You didn’t think I was going to sleep without saying good night to you on my last night, did you? Come and sit down for two minutes.”
Dennis wriggled away to the middle of the bed, leaving room for his father to sit on the edge of it, and put up his knees to form a back for him.
“I expected you to be snoring,” said Colin.
“I never snore!” said the indignant Dennis. “As for being asleep, I didn’t want to go to sleep.... Finished your jobs?”
“Pretty well. I can leave the rest till morning.”
Dennis sniffed, wrinkling up his nose like a young terrier.
“Where have you been?” he said. “Your coat smells of Roman Catholic churches.”
“Rot, my dear. Cigarettes.”