They made their way back home afterwards as two pairs. Finlay walked beside his father, discussing the cricket scores from the day before. Ursula could hear him talking about ducks, and there always seemed to be so many numbers. She and Ann followed on behind.

‘Tell me what you are thinking,’ said Ursula.

‘There were a lot more people than I thought there would be.’

‘In the procession?’

‘No, on the pavements. I expect that’s because he is so famous. When you die, or Father dies, I don’t expect there will be many people. Finlay has a lot of friends but I don’t suppose even he will have a big funeral.’ Ann kicked a small stone into the road. ‘And when it’s my turn I’ll be dead so it won’t matter anyway. I won’t see it.’

Ursula was so shocked she didn’t know what to say.

‘I’m not going to go and see Mother any more.’

‘I beg your pardon?’

‘When we go and put flowers on the grave. I’m not going.’

‘I think your father may be disappointed.’

‘I’ll say I have a headache. Or I’ll think of another reason, like laryngitis. Once I’ve not been going for a while, he won’t ask about it.’

‘May I ask why you don’t want to go?’

Ann didn’t say anything for half a road of houses.

‘Ann?’

‘Because she wasn’t a nice person.’

‘What a thing to say!’

‘She wasn’t. She would not have held my hand so tightly and rescued me from the fire. She would have rushed out and left me behind to burn.’

‘I’m sure that’s not true.’

‘And I am sure that it is. And she would never have let me read the newspaper; she said those were things for boys, even when I could read quite well. But mostly it’s because she was horrid to Isobel. She used to make her cry. I heard her sometimes, shouting and shouting when Father was out. And Isobel was sad. I heard her telling the postman that she was going to leave us and find another position.’

‘I see.’

‘And even when she was ill, at the end, she still shouted, just not as loudly. Nothing was ever right. Ask Finlay.’

‘I most certainly will not ask him.’

‘If you did, he would tell you. She had a shout for everything, but only when Father was not in the house to hear her. I don’t know why she had children if she hated us so much.’

‘Is there anything else?’

‘I don’t want to call you “Mother”.’

‘I’ve never asked you to do that.’