‘The Bosco children have stayed here with us,’ Ellen told her. ‘They all play well together. There is no division between them in spite of the different language and culture.’

She wondered what Filip Bosco would think about the situation. Would he, as a Jew, be on the side of her brother, or after he and Anna had shared in their family life would he have another opinion?

‘Is there not?’ Edith Johnson’s eyes were still on the sleeping children.

Ellen smiled. ‘Sarah asked if Zophia could sing Christmas carols with us, but I don’t think that will happen.’ The kettle began to steam and she rose from her chair. ‘Will you have a cup of tea or coffee?’ she asked.

‘Thank you, coffee please. You are very kind.’

‘No milk?’ said Ellen.

Edith Johnson looked across at her and laughed. ‘No milk.’

CHAPTER TWENTY

‘I met Karl as we travelled by train on our journey towards Hamburg. People were nervous, wondering if we would be turned back.’ Edyta hunched into herself as she remembered. ‘He was not escaping, as we Jews were; he was travelling legitimately. His paperwork was in order. He was looking for a chance to see the world; he had carpentry skills and intended to use them to pay for his travels. Then we met again when we caught a ship to travel down the River Elbe. Our intention then was to take another ship from Hamburg across the German Ocean to England.

‘My father became very ill before we reached Hamburg and Karl was very helpful; Father said he was a good friend to us. He was there when my father died and Ezra was grateful to him for he swiftly found suitable accommodation so that we could make the necessary arrangements for the burial. He did not interfere in any way, but was there to do what he could. We were all devastated by Father’s sudden death; he had taken a chill which quickly caused pneumonia.’

She sat silently, her hands clutching the cup, her gaze vacant as if she were reliving the day. Coal shifted in the grate but she appeared unaware of anything in the present, though Ellen wondered about her mother sitting alone in the cold upstairs room.

‘On the ship he and I spent more time together,’ she murmured. ‘We became drawn to each other and both forgot thatwe were from different cultures and had different beliefs, and only felt the attraction.’

Ellen understood that sensation, recalling it from first kissing Harry and realizing that there could be no one else in her life, despite being only just out of childhood herself.

‘Destiny,’ she said softly, and Edyta looked across at her and blinked, as if realizing she wasn’t alone.