“Yes, she is, and how she does collect gossip! On the other hand, there’s nothing malicious about what she says.”

“Very true.” Angela leaned forward, drew closer to him. “Why do you think something bad might have happened to Gwen?”

“Because of the way she just disappeared. If she had met some new chap, a local boy, she would have told Alf. Or better still, her mother. That’s what I be thinking, Angela.”

“I suppose I agree, and I don’t think she would have stayed out all night with a new boyfriend, especially a local chap. Too much gossip.”

“The world is a dangerous place; at least that’s what Uncle Pat is always telling me,” Blackie said in a low voice. “Just recently I read a story in the newspaper about a girl in Harehills just disappearing. Never seen again, and a body was never found. The police were baffled.”

“Oh my God! How awful!” Angela shook her head. “My aunt Clarice always warned me about the dangers outside the front door. That was the way she put it when I was living with her in Harrogate.”

“Harrogate! Ye lived there? When was that?”

“Some years ago now. Her husband died when they were quite young. Uncle Oscar was about thirty-nine, forty. My aunt was very lonely, and my mother sent me to live with her sister. The way she explained it was that I could be like a daughter to Aunt Clarice and keep her company, give her a purpose in life … that was bringing me up.”

“And was yer mother right?”

“Yes, she was. Aunt Clarice loved me as if I were her child, and she taught me to be a seamstress like she was, making beautiful clothes for the real ladies of Harrogate.”

Blackie was startled and exclaimed, “Yer a seamstress? Even now?”

“Not now, not really. I do make clothes but only for Sarah and for myself. I don’t work at sewing anymore. It’s hard work, exacting, and the ladies can be difficult at times.”

Blackie nodded. “I bet they can.…” After a moment’s pause, he went on. “So ye more or less lived in Harrogate all of yer life … until ye came here?”

“Yes, from the age of eight.”

“Didn’t ye miss yer mother and Sarah?”

“Not really, because they came to stay with us a lot … especially for the special holidays, like Christmas and New Year, and in the summer months. My aunt has a house near the Stray, and she was always very welcoming.”

Blackie smiled as he explained to her, “I love Harrogate. It’s my favorite place in Yorkshire. And I swear on the heads of the Blessed Saints that I will build meself a house there one day. That be truly the aim in me life.”