Mrs Postlethwaite calls in on Mr Brown, the billeting officer on their way out of town, and gives him the receipts for the clothes she’s purchased. “What in heaven’s name have you done to him!?” Mr Brown blurts when he recognizes Billy as one of the two ‘girls’ waiting by the garden gate.
“I told you I’d willingly take two girls and since you only had one, I had to compromise.” Mrs Postlethwaite sternly stated.
“Is that what you call a compromise!” Mr Brown asked her. “He’s a little boy for heaven’s sake!”
“As I said, I’m willing to take two girls.” she retorted. “Now these are the receipts for his clothes… I’d like a chitty please,” she tells the billeting officer who’d allocated young Billy into her guardianship. With no laws or written guidelines broken, there’s nothing Mr Brown can do but accept the receipts and arrange for Mrs Postlethwaite’s expenses to be reimbursed.