Jimmy smiled. ‘I know, everyone needs money,’ he said. ‘But suppose you have difficulty finding work, Auntie Glenys? What will you do?’

‘If I can’t find work in somewhere like Rhyl or Llandudno then I suppose I shall have to go back to Liverpool,’ Glenys said reluctantly. ‘There’s always something a qualified teacher can do . . .’

‘But if you go back to Liverpool you might walk slap bang into Cyril or his mam,’ Jimmy said, sounding agitated. ‘He’s a brute and a bully; if he thought you could tell him where we were he’d not hesitate, and it would be you lying in hospital instead of our dad.’

But Glenys was easily able to refute this suggestion. ‘Neither of the Huxtables has ever laid eyes on me,’ she reminded him. ‘And nor I on them for that matter, so you needn’t worry, Jimmy. For one thing I can’t see myself returning to Liverpool, and in the unlikely event of them finding out I’d been with you and turning up on my doorstep I would go straight to the police.’

At this point Sam re-entered the kitchen, and actually smiled at Glenys. ‘She didn’t even wake when I popped her into bed,’ he said softly. ‘She looked so pretty and sweet cuddling her cheek into the pillow that I would have given her a kiss, only I didn’t want to rouse her.’ His expression changed. ‘Are you ready for the off, Miss Trent?’ he asked briskly. ‘Because if I’m to get the trap out and catch the pony . . .’

Glenys spoke up at once. ‘You are not going to get the trap out, thank you very much,’ she said firmly. ‘I walked here with the children and I shall walk back without them, but I won’t bother you or Mr Griffiths. I shall enjoy the walk, especially now that the snow has stopped and the moon is at the full. It will be a positive pleasure to see the countryside by moonlight.’

To do him justice, Sam looked horrified. ‘You can’t possibly walk all that way alone,’ he said. ‘And don’t suggest that Jimmy should accompany you, because the poor kid is asleep on his feet.’

Glenys bit back a sharp retort. ‘I know he’s tired and I wouldn’t dream of taking him all that way,’ she said. ‘I’m not a nervous person, Mr Trewin, so I have no qualms about a moonlight walk. In fact I shall enjoy it.’ As she spoke she crossed the kitchen and took her coat off the hook by the door whilst Sam, thoroughly discomposed, for it was clear she had no desire for his company, was protesting that he would willingly help Taid to fetch out the trap and catch the pony. ‘Because it’s snowing hard, Miss Trent,’ he protested.

Glenys interrupted. ‘I understand your concern, but did you not hear what I said? There’s a full moon, no clouds and a clear frosty sky. The clear frosty sky means that the snow has stopped, and the full moon means that it’s as light as day outside, so I can enjoy my walk without fear of tripping over an unseen branch or falling face down in a puddle.’