He opened his black bag, brought out a pencil and notepad, and began writing. ‘Dr Lucan; he was a Holderness man originally, but he’s been in Hull for some time. Very well thought of and very experienced.’ He passed her the details. ‘He’s good with children, too, and has several of his own.’ He put on his top hat and touched it. ‘Good luck, Mrs Randell. I hope all goes well with your husband’s work prospects.’

She repeated what he’d said when Harry came home, but Harry was distracted and gave only a vague reply before saying, ‘The Dales man has come and is harassing Charlesworth over ’accommodation for his family; Charlesworth in turn is harassing me and I’m sick of it, Ellen. I loved this job. I would get up every morning and plan my day, knowing that Ozzie trusted me to do what was necessary, but now …’ He got up from the table and walked to the window. ‘Now, ’heart has gone out of it. I don’t want to be working there any more.’

‘Then give Charlesworth notice and tek a day off to go to Hull and seek work,’ Ellen said determinedly. ‘If you’ve given notice he can’t sack you. Mebbe he’ll knock off a day’s pay, but that can’t be helped. And I’ll start packing.’

She looked round the room. It wouldn’t take long. Most of the fittings had been supplied by Mr Oswald; they’d get everything that was theirs into a small wagon. She’d ask one of her sisters to help her pack the linen and crockery, and her brother Billy would help Harry with their few pieces of furniture. That was one advantage of having a large family.

Harry turned towards her. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes,’ she said firmly. ‘We’ve no other option, and we’ll …’ Her lip trembled, but she went on bravely. ‘We’ll think of it as a turning point in our lives.’

Harry took her in his arms. ‘I allus knew you were ’right girl for me,’ he murmured, kissing her lips. ‘That first day I saw you, do you remember? You came to our house to see … who was it, our Janey? I knew then that I’d wait for you to grow up.’

‘Polly.’ She smiled. ‘And you asked me if I’d be stretching my wings and leaving ’village; and until then I’d thought that I might if my da would allow it.’

He leaned back, holding her at arms’ length. ‘Really? Where had you thought of going?’

She laughed. ‘I had an idea that I might like to work in a town, so when Mrs Hodges offered me a job I thought that when I’d had some experience in cooking and baking I might go to Hull; but on the day we met I decided to stay for a while and see what happened next.’