She opened the drawer in the dresser where the ledgers were kept and lifted out the household cashbox. Inside, the coins were stored in little cloth bags, separate ones for sixpences and farthings and threepenny bits, and all the other denominations. A selection of bank notes from different Scottish banks in various colours and values were kept in the compartment below. She could remember Father meticulously examining each design with a professional jeweller’s loupe whenever there was a new issue.

‘Will ten shillings be enough?’ There was no answer from the absent voices. ‘A pound,’ she decided. ‘I don’t want to embarrass Isobel by sending more.’

Ann kept £100 in the box, more or less; she disliked going to the bank and preferred to be more self-contained. She rifled through the notes and chose a Royal Bank of Scotland one-pound note with the bank’s headquarters in St Andrew’s Square on the reverse. ‘A little bit of home,’ she pronounced, as she closed the box and put it away.

Although she didn’t like leaving the house with a fire burning, she put on her coat for the second outing of the day. ‘If I run to the post office instead of walking, it won’t take me long to get there and back. This needs to be sent without delay,’ she said, as she fixed the fireguard back into place.

Chapter 34

Early March 1931

Ann raced down the foot ramps into Waverley station with her scarf trailing behind her as though she was still a child in the playground at primary school. She scanned the concourse for Isobel and eventually spotted the familiar figure, thinner than she remembered, standing beside a tall pillar near the booking hall.

‘I am so sorry, Isobel,’ she panted, ‘the tram was full and I had to wait for the next one.’

‘Don’t fuss, it doesn’t matter.’

Ann put her arms around Isobel and hugged her close. ‘I am so glad you are here.’ She looked down at two small brown suitcases and the battered handbag that was sitting beside them. ‘Is this all you’ve got?’

Isobel shrugged. ‘There really wasn’t much worth bringing. It’s just my clothes and a few keepsakes. I won’t take up much room.’

‘I can see that. It’s a big house for just the two of us. I think we’ll rattle about in it a bit.’ Ann picked up the nearest case. ‘Let me take one of these and we’ll go up onto Princes Street and get the tram back, hopefully it won’t be as full this time.’

*