Jonty laughed. ‘No need,’ he said cheerfully. ‘My mother packed a basket with all sorts of things, amongst which was a very large fruit cake. I dare say that will stave off hunger pangs until bedtime.’

It was two days before Tess decided to allow Jonty to meet her grandmother, for Edie Williams was languid, apt to fall asleep in mid-sentence and, to put it mildly, not looking her best. But on the third day one of the nurses approached her patient with a bundle under her arm which she spread out on Edie’s bed. It proved to be a very pretty bedjacket in pale pink wool with lavender-coloured ribbons, a gift from Miss Foulks, who had owned the milliner’s shop. The nurse smiled encouragingly as her patient exclaimed with pleasure, and flourished a hairbrush. ‘I’m going to make you beautiful, Mrs Williams,’ she announced. ‘Your granddaughter wants to bring her young man to visit you today, so you really must look your best.’

‘Oh, but nurse, I wanted to wait until the bruising round my right eye had gone—’ Edie began, only to be swiftly interrupted.

‘Now no nonsense please, Mrs Williams; the young man has come all the way from Norfolk, leaving his parents to do all the work on their farm in his absence, so naturally, now you’re so much better, he is planning to go back home. He may stay on a day or two, but your granddaughter wants the pair of you to meet as soon as possible, so if you will kindly sit up straight I’ll start to brush your hair out.’ She suited action to words, tutting disapproval as the brush caught in the older woman’s thick white locks. ‘Goodness, what a lot of tangles, but what beautiful hair you have, Mrs Williams.’

She worked away with a will and presently handed her patient a mirror. ‘There! See what a difference I’ve made! Now slip on the bedjacket and when the visitors begin to arrive they’ll be bowled over. Indeed, if you let a couple of locks of your beautiful hair fall across your black eye you’ll be the belle of the ward.’

Edie Williams looked in the mirror and gave a little purr of satisfaction. The nurse had done her work well, and Edie found herself looking forward to meeting Jonty instead of dreading that he would think her a hideous old hag. She just hoped that Albert would accompany the youngsters and be equally impressed by the transformation.

Jonty descended the stairs and came out into the stockroom of the tobacconist’s shop. Tess had rearranged her interview for the job of nursery assistant at a factory way out in the suburbs, but when he had suggested accompanying her she had been, not exactly brusque, but perhaps a little sharp. ‘There’s no point in the pair of us trailing out there, and there’ll be nothing for you to do because it’s just factories and houses, no shops or anything,’ she had said. ‘You’ve been awfully good about helping Albert, so why not spend today exploring Liverpool? There’s all sorts, you know. There’s the Picton Library, the Walker Art Gallery, the museum . . . oh, no end of things to see. You’ll want to go to Paddy’s Market because it’s easily the cheapest place to pick up little presents. And for my part I’d rather think of you enjoying yourself than trying to hurry the interview so I can get back to you.’