He paused in the act of pressing gently on Ellen’s abdomen, and looking up he answered, ‘Ah! Then just as well that Mrs Randell and I do. You may turn your back if you wish. I’m sure Mrs Randell won’t object.’

‘You could refill ’kettle, Edyta.’ Ellen let out another wheeze. ‘And put it on ’fire to boil. I’ll be in sore need of a cup of tea when this is over.’ She remembered then that the fire had gone out, smothered by soot and debris, but then she saw that one of her angel friends had relit it and the kettle was merrily steaming.

She sobbed after the doctor had left, having held back her tears and heartache. He’d said that he would call again in a day or two, but that she must send for him if she needed him urgently. Two catastrophes in the space of one morning. She was sure her miscarriage was associated with the shock of the explosion and the worry of whether Harry had been caught in it.

Dr Lucan had been very considerate. He’d said how sorry he was and that she mustn’t worry about not conceiving again, for she was a healthy young woman. ‘You might have miscarried without the shock you have experienced,’ he had told her. ‘You have had three children in quick succession; your body hasn’t had time to fully recover from three pregnancies. For the present, you must take care and build up your strength.’ He had picked up on her anxiety over Harry, for he had added, ‘Your husband will come home, Mrs Randell, be assured of that.’ Then, thoughtfully, he said, ‘Is it imperative that you live so close to your husband’s work?’

She’d shaken her head. ‘No,’ she murmured. ‘This room was all that Harry could find when he first came looking for employment. He’d lost his farming work; his employer had died and ’new man had different ideas which didn’t include Harry; and ’rent here was all we could afford.’

Tears had run down her face and she’d brushed them away with her fingertips. ‘He was going to look for somewhere else in ’new year, but now …’ Now what will we do, she had thought. How long will it be before we find somewhere else?

The doctor had asked if they’d be prepared to live a little further out of town. ‘Somewhere not quite so near to the industry, where Mr Randell might possibly have further to walk to work?’