Glenys laughed. ‘Well, I don’t know about that. The Huxtable problem can’t last for ever,’ she temporised. ‘I think we’ll have to return to Liverpool one of these days; we can’t spend our whole lives running away.’

‘I can,’ Mo said dreamily. ‘But we wouldn’t be running away, we’d be making . . . what was it Frank said . . . oh, yes, making a new life for ourselves, ain’t that so, Glenys?’

‘You may be right,’ Glenys said. ‘But something has just occurred to me. No one knows how to get in touch with us. I haven’t been able to reach Frank on the number he gave us, and I’m a little cautious about writing in case the letter falls into the wrong hands, so what do you think we should do? We really need to know what’s happening at the Court. Suppose we found someone really reliable to look after the pair of you while I returned to Liverpool to find out what’s going on . . . is that possible?’

‘No, you can’t go,’ Mo said, clinging tightly to Glenys’s hand. ‘You said yourself we should stick together: auntie, nephew and niece.’

‘True,’ Glenys said, smiling down at the little girl. ‘I just wish I could get in touch with Frank.’

Mo brightened. ‘Never mind. If we go to the seaside I’ll be able to make sand pies and paddle in the little waves. I just can’t wait!’

‘Oh, go to bed, baby,’ Jimmy said, laughing. ‘You think of this whole thing as a holiday adventure, whereas Auntie Glenys and I know it’s deadly serious. But surely we must have outwitted Cyril the moment we stepped aboard that train. How could he possibly know where we are? Unless he’s much cleverer than I think, we ought to be safe enough. Off with you, Mo!’

His sister opened the door into the corridor, squeaked as the cold air rushed into the warm room, and then turned a suddenly pale face towards her brother. With infinite care she closed the kitchen door again, then tiptoed to where Glenys and Jimmy stood staring at her. ‘What’s up?’ Jimmy said, then lowered his voice as Mo made a frantic signal. ‘What’s the matter, silly? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.’

‘Not a ghost. It’s Mrs Hughes,’ Mo hissed. ‘I thought you said she was in bed?’

‘I thought she was,’ Glenys admitted. ‘Are you sure you saw her, darling, and it wasn’t just a shadow? The stairs creak and I didn’t hear anything. Oh, damn, damn, damn! Did I mention where we were going? But why should she care? She can’t possibly be in league with the Huxtables, so unless they come knocking and asking for us we’ve nothing to fear. And anyway, the kitchen door’s pretty sturdy; I doubt if she could have heard much through it.’

‘Of course she couldn’t,’ Jimmy said, with an eye on Mo’s pale face. ‘Don’t worry, chuck, she can’t do us any harm.’ He looked significantly across at Glenys and dropped his voice. ‘Imagination,’ he murmured, tapping the side of his forehead with one finger. ‘Now let’s go to bed. Today has gone on quite long enough.’