Chapter 4

Eileen Ryan knocked on the bedroom door: invited to come in, she entered the room carrying assorted bags. Billy and Karen had been dozing, but they sat up in bed. Although of course neither of them had ever had many personal possessions, they were nevertheless intrigued by the contents of the bags.

"How are you feeling now, Karen?"

"Much better, thank you, Eileen. I'm much stronger and we had a walk in your lovely garden. May we see what you've bought, please?"

Eileen smiled: she remembered when she was Karen's age, and how much fashion played a part in hers and her friends lives at that time. Karen had not had that early socialisation and contact with girls of her own age, but apparently that had not affected her interest. Even after all this time since her Freddie had died, it still saddened Eileen a little that she had missed out on the possibility of having a daughter of her own to talk about such things with, but she felt that she and Karen had already established a rapport with each other, as well as Billy, which she hoped was something that would continue to enhance all of their lives.

It was pretty much the average teenage fare of denim jeans and T-shirts for Billy, while Karen had the same with the addition of a denim skirt. Eileen had bought underwear for both, but only a half-dozen pairs of bikini briefs for Karen and boxer shorts for Billy.

"This is what they call a sports bra, Karen: it can also be worn as a top on its own if you want to. There's also a few other bits and pieces I thought you'd both need at some time."

Billy and Karen both smiled and Karen held her arms out to Eileen, who moved around the bed to give her a hug. Billy made it a three-way, and they all seemed oblivious that two of them had no clothes on.

"I think I'll go down and get us all something to eat," Eileen announced, "Why don't you try some of these on and come down when you're ready."

It was less than thirty minutes later that Eileen heard the stairs creak. Karen and Billy were holding hands as they entered the kitchen. Karen was wearing the skirt and a pretty cotton top; Billy had on a plain T-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. Neither wore anything on their feet. Eileen picked up a DVD case and showed it to them.

"I got this while I was out; it might answer some of your questions. It's intended for younger children than you two, but I'm sure that you'll still find it interesting. Why don't you watch it while the meal's cooking and I'll answer any questions you've got later, if I can." Eileen led them into the sitting room, placed the disc into the player, then quickly explained the controls on the remote control handset. Karen and Billy snuggled together on the sofa and Eileen stood in the doorway for a minute or two, watching, before she returned to the kitchen.

Eileen waited until the sex education film had finished before she called the other two into the kitchen to eat. Although Eileen was interested in Billy and Karen's reaction to human reproduction, in truth, they were probably more interested in the food that they were eating. After the meal was eaten, however, all three returned to the comfort of the sitting room.

"So, any questions?"

"No, not really. I thought the bit about conception and the stages of pregnancy was very interesting; but I think we worked out a lot of it for ourselves, on the island," Karen said.

"So ... I suppose you'll be wanting to ... er ... practise now. I suppose I should have got you some contraceptives as well as clothes." Karen and Billy looked at each other in their knowing way and smiled.

"Actually, Eileen, it's a bit late for that..."

It didn't take that long for Karen to recover completely, but she and Billy discovered that they were in no hurry to return to their previous lifestyle. They still had each other, but Eileen had quickly become the parental-figure that Billy had never known and Karen had long since forgotten. Eileen had a full-time job and was out of the cottage for most of the week during the day, so when the weather was good her two house guests spent hours outside, either working on the garden or relaxing. They both had rudimentary cooking skills, but Eileen built on that, so apart from the weekends, she was catered for and also rarely needed to do any housework. And although they still preferred their own company and the privacy of the cottage, Billy and Karen occasionally went into town with Eileen, who thought it was a good idea to gradually reintroduce them to civilisation.

She was also happy to support them, in exchange for their companionship, but she was also thinking of ways by which they could have a degree of financial independence. Ever since she had first heard their story, it had occurred to her that a way might be found to record it. Eileen had no wish to exploit them, but her work involved contact with literary agents and publishers, so she started making subtle enquiries. She loved reading and she had the ability to write, so she proposed the idea to Karen and Billy of a story based on their lives. She promised that she would be very discreet and would discuss it at every stage with them. They, of course, were happy to go along with her idea: they considered that they owed her so much and they would do anything that they could to help her.

Work on the novel had begun and was progressing nicely, when Karen said to Eileen one day: "I think I'm pregnant."

This was not in itself a problem: Karen had naturally talked to Billy about it, and they decided that it must have been a result of that first time in the garden; but what they both knew was that now Karen would need the help of healthcare professionals, who would want to know more about her medical history. That might be a problem, as neither she nor Billy had their birth certificates, or had, as far as they knew, any National Health Service records. They therefore needed a way to get the necessary help, but without drawing attention to themselves. They were now old enough to think and act like adults, but they didn't want to have to answer lots of bureaucratic questions about their pasts.

"Let me have a think," Eileen said, "I might need to talk to Doctor Morrison about your situation, though. Don't worry about that: Edward is a family friend and I'll be careful what I tell him."

"Karen and I aren't worried, Eileen; we know you'll be looking out for our interests. I'm sure whatever you do will be the right thing!"

Eileen arranged to meet Edward Morrison away from the cottage.

" ... So I'm afraid that I wasn't absolutely truthful with you, Edward, Billy isn't my nephew: they came to me for help, but in the short time that I've known them, we've become quite close. Neither of them has a family and they've grown up together and are now inseparable. They have somehow survived outside the system, and as a consequence they don't appear on any records. Karen has become sexually active since you last saw her and she is also now pregnant: we have carried out a couple of home tests, which seem to confirm it, but so far she hasn't been seen by anyone else."