‘Well, that’s our plan done for,’ Frank said, causing Jimmy to jump, for he had completely forgotten the other man. ‘If you ask me you’ll be best away from Liverpool, for the time being at any rate. If you stay here you’ll be waiting the whole while for a hand on your shoulder or a blow on the back of the head. And poor little Mo is nervous enough already. Is there anything keeping you in Liverpool? That horrible old woman half starves you; she takes your father’s money and never passes on a groat, and Cyril, now that he might not get another berth, will be constantly on at you. You can’t pretend you and your sister can live under a cloud like that. I tell you, Jimmy, clear out while you’ve still got your health. You talk it over with Miss Trent, and I’ll see you when I come back from work tonight.’

Jimmy went straight back to Orange Street and was just in time to prevent Miss Trent and Mo from leaving the house, though as soon as they heard his story Miss Trent announced that they would go nowhere that day. ‘Your Nutty is a good friend, and so is Frank Bloggs,’ she said. ‘They could be very helpful; if we make up our minds to leave Liverpool we shall need someone in the city to stay in touch and let us know what is happening. There’s nothing else to keep you here, is there?’

For a fleeting moment Jimmy thought of his father, who would not know where they were, and knew that the same thought had flickered across Mo’s mind, but he told himself firmly that his dad didn’t deserve any consideration. However grief-stricken he might have been after Grace’s death, he had behaved extremely badly in never checking that Mrs Huxtable was the right person to look after his children. And as for Cyril, Jimmy thought, agreeing that there was nothing to keep either him or his sister in Liverpool, their father probably had no idea that he even existed. He looked across at Mo. She was cuddling her teddy and did not seem to be taking much notice of what the others were about, but she must have felt Jimmy’s gaze upon her, because she looked up and answered Miss Trent’s question just as Jimmy would have liked to do. ‘We used to think our dad would come and rescue us,’ she said in a small voice. ‘But it’s ages since we’ve seen him. Jimmy don’t think he’s bothered about us much, so if it’s all right with you, Miss Trent, we’ll give Liverpool and Solomon Court the go-by. Only where will we go instead?’

Jimmy laughed. ‘That’s a good question.’ He turned to the tall young woman. ‘Well, Miss Trent? What do you think?’

‘What about your mother’s family?’ Miss Trent asked. ‘You said she was Welsh . . . surely there must have been some coming and going between Liverpool and Wales? Why, they call Liverpool the capital of North Wales! Didn’t aunts and uncles or even grandparents visit you from time to time?’