He shook his head. ‘I’ve found accommodation near to ’mill and it seems that all ’houses in that area are divided up into rooms by landlords so they get rent for each one.’ He gave a deep sigh. ‘Believe me, Ellen, some of them are rat holes; local corporation should get them cleaned up cos they’re not fit for folk to live in. This was ’best I could find for ’money we could afford.’

Ellen turned away to put the kettle on the fire to make him a drink and return a dish of stew to the oven, and thought that although she and her parents and siblings had lived together in a small cottage, it wasn’t the same as living cheek by jowl with strangers.

Then Harry told her of the couple who had to move out of the house because they couldn’t afford the rent. ‘They were still there when ’rent man took me to see it,’ he said. ‘Foreign, they were, with bairns about ’same age as ours. They had no money; ’rent man said they should try ’parish.’

Ellen put her hands to her mouth in dismay. ‘No,’ she breathed. ‘That means ’workhouse. That’s a last resort. What kind of place have they come from to end up somewhere like that?’

‘Worse than where they are now, I imagine, poor souls,’ Harry said. ‘He was looking for work; he said he was an engineer, but I don’t fancy his chances when there are so many local folk looking too; the rent man said that his boss wouldn’t be bothered whether they took his rooms or not, as he didn’t like Jews.’

‘What a dreadful thing to say,’ Ellen protested. ‘I hope you gave them a copper or two, Harry. I can’t bear to think that their children will go hungry.’

He smiled. He knew she would say that there were always some worse off than they were. And it was true.

They ate after they had put the children to bed and Harry told her they’d be moving on Saturday ready for him to start work on the Monday. Ellen was startled by the swiftness of it and began thinking of what to pack first. She told Harry what her mother had said about Billy giving them a hand and he decided he’d go over after they’d finished eating and make arrangements. Billy was still single and knew a lot of people. Harry was fairly sure that he would know somebody who would loan him a horse and cart.

‘I don’t suppose Mr Charlesworth would lend you their wagon?’ Ellen said,

‘I wouldn’t even ask him,’ Harry said, and Ellen remarked that he was cutting off his nose to spite his face.