‘Well, no, I was alone. I only came back to Liverpool at the beginning of the autumn term, so I don’t know many people. In fact the girls in my class . . . well, they don’t seem to like me very much.’ She gave a watery smile. ‘You know what kids are like, or perhaps you don’t, but I can tell you they tend to follow the lead of anyone who’s pretty or popular, and for some reason Marilyn Thomas, who’s both, seems to dislike me a lot.’ Albert saw her forehead wrinkle into a frown. ‘I can’t understand why. She manages to keep her head above water in class and her mam runs a corner shop, so she always seems to have sweets and stuff. She’s generous too, handing out liquorice sticks and penny dabs to her friends, and she always has nice clothes and lots of pocket money.’ Having begun to unburden herself, the girl continued. ‘Miss Cracknell, my teacher – the kids call her Clackem because she’s pretty free with slaps and nips – was all right at first, only then I realised she’d made a mistake in the maths question she had given us and I said so, and – and when she disagreed I got out my old exercise book from the Norfolk school and showed her where her working was wrong. Ever since then she’s hated me. And that makes it easier for Marilyn to pick on me, because Miss Cracknell turns a blind eye.’

Albert dropped a saccharin tablet into his tea, stirred it vigorously and took a big swallow. ‘Have you thought of asking Marilyn outright? Why she hates you, I mean?’ he said mildly. ‘I know Mrs Thomas; I know most of the retailers on Heyworth Street, and she seems a decent enough woman.’ He stared very hard at his visitor. ‘Come to think, Mrs Thomas isn’t the only one I know. I’ve seen you marketing round here, haven’t I? With an old lady?’

‘That’s right. The old lady’s my gran, Mrs Williams,’ the girl said eagerly. ‘We live above the milliner’s shop. And I’m a Williams too, Theresa Williams, only most folk call me Tess.’

‘And I’m Albert Payne, as you’ll guess since it’s written on my door and above my shop window,’ Albert said. He held out a hand. ‘How do you do, Miss Williams . . . or may I call you Tess?’

They both laughed and Albert spread jam on two of the scones and gave one to the girl. ‘Mrs Clarke cleans for me and does a bake once or twice a week to keep me going – she’s done so ever since Mrs Payne died – and I can tell you she’s a very good cook. Her scones melt in the mouth. By the time you’ve eaten yours and drunk your tea you can be certain those lads will have given up ages ago.’

Tess said that this seemed an excellent notion since she was sure that her attackers would not continue to hang around in the dark, and Albert warned her again against shopping alone. The girl nodded. ‘But I don’t mean to do any more shopping today,’ she said. ‘For one thing it isn’t only the boys I’m scared of, it’s the stallholder whose angel they broke. I mean to buy Gran something really nice for Christmas, and I plan to get myself a job in the next few days so I’ll have a bit more spare money. I’d love to get a bird for Christmas dinner; just a small one, you know.’