Eventually it became too cold to stay out any longer, so they headed for home. Ellen was up by then and said she felt better for the extra rest and had prepared potatoes and onion to add to what little stew was left over from Christmas Day. She had made soup, though it was not yet ready to eat. The feast they had had was nearly all gone now, and tomorrow she must go out and buy more food, and perhaps a little extra treat with what was left of Harry’s bonus.

The day dragged on and the children drew pictures or begged for a story. Harry talked to Ellen about what he had seen when he was out exercising Nellie the previous day, and how they should all go and look down the country road once the better weather came, but he could tell by her lassitude and lack of response that she wasn’t really listening.

They ate bread with the soup. There were no eggs from the little hen, so come suppertime Ellen made porridge and toast for the children, and thought miserably that it was exactly the same meal they had had for breakfast. She felt totally inadequate.

‘Don’t go overdoing things,’ Harry said the next morning, as he dropped a kiss on her cheek. ‘Come here.’ He drew her towards him, and holding her close whispered, ‘I love you; now go back to bed. There’s no need to get up yet; it’s still dark and ’morning’s not yet broken. Bairns are fast asleep.’ He kissed her again. ‘See you tonight.’

‘I feel much better,’ she lied. ‘Don’t worry, it’s onny ’usual sickness. Another couple of weeks and it’ll be gone.’

He walked briskly towards the mill. The morning was just about to break. A thin streak of dawn was spreading along the skyline and he thought of how, when he was living in Holderness, he used to watch the dark curtain of pre-dawn slowly lift at break of day, revealing the silver light of a diminishing moon and the promise of a rising golden sun.

By the time the sun is up I’ll be inside the mill and will miss it, he mused, but there we are, it can’t be helped. There’ll be other dawns. Living in Hull was a huge change in their lives, and a life in the country was totally different from one in the town; but we must embrace it, he told himself. There are more prospects here than in rural areas; without permanent work in the countryside, poverty would be claiming them by now.