Her face was a picture of misery as she tried to work out the logistics of cooking a whole Christmas dinner over a small fire. ‘And it’s Christmas Day on Thursday!’

Harry put his arms round her. ‘I swear that one day, Ellen, I’ll find you a house with an oven to bake in, a fire to keep you warm and a garden where you can keep your hens and grow food to eat and our children can play.’

‘Yes.’ She held back a sob for what was missing in their lives, and then silently berated herself as she thought how lucky they were to have each other and the children and a roof over their heads.

On Christmas Eve Anna and her children came to see them, their arms full of brown paper parcels. Although Filip was working quite regularly, they had only a little money to spend once they had bought food and paid rent, but Anna said they were happy. ‘Filip has some pipes in the flames.’

Ellen puzzled over this; then she said, ‘Irons in the fire? Is that what he means?’

‘Ah, yes, I think so. Edyta’s brother has been speaking to him about business and how to get it.’

She handed over the parcels. ‘We do not celebrate Christmas, as you know, but we have Hanukkah, which is a festival of light, and so we wish to give you presents for your kindness and friendship towards us.’

‘Oh, there was no need.’ Ellen was touched by the gesture. ‘Friendship is for free, but you are very kind to think of us. Is it all right to keep them until tomorrow and we’ll open them when Harry is home?’

‘Of course!’ Anna looked round the room. ‘We thought that you would have a tree to place your presents under, as your Queen Victoria does, and as German people do.’

Ellen swallowed. ‘We don’t have money to buy one. When we lived in ’countryside we used to bring in a small bush or a tree branch to decorate with ribbons and sprigs of green for ’table.’ She shook her head; the children perhaps wouldn’t remember, so they wouldn’t notice the lack of it, but the words brought home to her that this Christmas wouldn’t be anything like the last, when all the family got together to celebrate, to go to the Christmas morning service and wish everyone a happy Christmas. ‘But not this year.’

‘I am sorry,’ Anna murmured. ‘I hope that next year will be better for you, and you will also have a new baby to love.’

‘Yes, indeed we will.’ But much as she wanted this infant, she knew that another child also meant extra expense.