‘You can drop me here, thanks,’ Harry said, reaching into his pocket for the return fare as they approached Holmpton. ‘We live at ’Rysome end so I’ll cut through Three Foot Lane.’

‘Rysome? Nowt much there now, is there? Allus was a pretty hamlet, though. Nice woodland. I used to go rabbiting there when I was a lad. Had many a one for ’pot. My ma used to make ’best rabbit pie I’ve ever tasted.’ He shook a finger. ‘But don’t tell my missus.’

‘Oh, aye.’ Harry grinned as he jumped down. ‘I won’t! Thanks for ’ride.’

‘You’re welcome. Good luck wi’ new job and don’t forget us out in Holderness when you’re mekkin’ a fortune in Hull.’

Harry lifted a hand in farewell and thought that Holderness pigs might fly before he made his fortune. He was about to become a mill labourer, no longer with the prestige of running a farm on behalf of a well-respected farmer; no longer working out in the fields, scything or threshing with the sun on his back, or breathing in the aroma of a golden harvest. Nor would he feel the drenching rain refreshing the earth. From now on he would be just another cog in the wheel that turned to crush the selfsame grain that he might once have gathered. He breathed out a great sigh. It would be a different life, and one that he would have to conquer, or fail and fall on fallow ground.

After Harry had left that morning, Ellen fed and dressed the children and was pleased to see that Mary had some colour back in her cheeks; she still had a husky voice and Ellen put a spoonful of honey in a cup with a few drops of warm water for her to sip. Mary licked her lips and then lifted the cup high so that Thomas couldn’t grab at it. Ellen then gave the same to him and Sarah, knowing that it could only do them good.

‘When we’ve finished tidying up,’ she told them, ‘and prepared dinner for Dada when he comes home, we’ll get ready and visit Granny Snowden and Granny Randell. How would you like that?’

Sarah clapped her hands together, and Mary and Thomas followed suit. Sarah went to fetch their coats and hats and tried to dress Thomas in his, but he refused to let her and attempted to do it himself, screaming and kicking his feet when he failed.

‘Thomas, stop that or I won’t take you; you are such a handful sometimes,’ Ellen scolded. The child looked up at her and then at his hands, and Ellen hid a smile; he knew what she was saying all right.