‘I have no idea,’ he admitted. ‘But even if I’m not I shouldn’t be gone for too long now. I’ll write to you. Goodbye, and have a lovely Christmas.’ He hesitated as if there was more he wanted to say but then, seeming to think better of it, he strode away leaving her feeling sadly deflated and frustrated. Much as she loved working at the hospital she wished they could have snatched a little more time together.

‘You too,’ she whispered to his retreating back before hurrying away to catch up with her mother and Ivy.

When they got back to the cosy little rooms above the flat, Emma showed Ivy the rest of the new clothes she had bought for her which made Ivy cry all over again. Her physical injuries were healing nicely but emotionally she was in a very fragile state, which was understandable.

‘It’s really kind of you,’ she wept. ‘But I really don’t deserve it. I’ve been such a fool! Holly tried to warn me about him a few times in different ways but I wouldn’t listen.’

‘Love can make fools of all of us,’ Emma told her gently. ‘But now dry your eyes. I made a big panful of beef stew and dumplings this afternoon. Holly told me it’s one of your favourites. It only needs heating up. And after dinner I have a suggestion to put to you.’

Ivy sank gratefully into the chair and sat staring sightlessly into the fire as Emma and Holly laid the table and got the dishes out. Despite making a valiant effort, Ivy ate very little that night and Holly grew even more concerned about her.

‘You’re eating for two now,’ she told her friend.

‘I know and I wanted to talk to you about that.’ Ivy pushed a dumpling around the plate listlessly. ‘The thing is, this baby will be a bastard when it’s born.’ She held her hand up as she saw the look of shocked horror on Holly’s face. ‘That’s what everyone will call it,’ she pointed out. ‘And what do I have to offer it? So I was thinking, perhaps I could get it adopted? There are always childless couples who want a baby. I’m just not sure how to go about finding them though.’

‘I think that’s quite enough of that sort of talk for now,’ Emma said sternly, waggling her spoon at Ivy. ‘You wanted the baby until Jeremy, or Jimmy or whatever his name is, hurt you but that’s no reason to take it out on the child. He or she is blameless in all this so let’s wait until after the birth and see how you feel then, eh? Believe me, there’s nothing in the world like the feeling a mother gets when she holds her baby for the first time. I can remember holding Holly as if it were yesterday. I could hardly believe that I had managed to produce something so perfect. And you’ll feel like that too, you just mark my words.’