‘Really!’ Holly sat down heavily. He was married? she thought, stunned. But was he married before he met her mother or afterwards?

‘The woman she thinks he were married to lives in Spitalfields now. She gave me her address, look.’ She extracted a piece of rather grubby, screwed-up paper from her pocket and handed it to Holly. ‘Now it could be yer settin’ off on a wild goose chase o’ course but I thought it were worth you checkin’ it out. The woman’s name is Belle.’

‘Thank you, Dora. It’s really kind of you. Now would you like a cup of tea?’

‘No, duckie, thanks all the same, but I’d best get back to the little ’uns. The buggers run riot of an evenin’ if I ain’t there to keep ’em in order an’ the old man’s gone to the Horse an’ Jockey for a jug of ale. G’night, luvvy, an’ good luck.’

As soon as Dora had left Holly began to pace the room. Did she really want to try and trace her father after all these years when he had abandoned both her and her mother before she had even been born? No, her heart told her, but then if her mother could be free of him she would be able to start a new life. She deserved that so the only thing to do was visit the address Dora had given her, and, she decided, there was no time like the present so despite the fact she had been working since early that morning she hastily changed her clothes and set off.

She took a tram to the outskirts of Spitalfields and was soon heading for Dock Street. The area was in the heart of the East End and Holly was appalled at the poverty there. Once it had housed wealthy silk merchants but they had long since gone and now all manner of humanity lived there, mainly immigrants of every nationality. The once beautiful houses were divided into rooms, some of which housed whole families of ten or twelve people, and painfully thin, ragged children played in the gutters, their eyes dull and lacklustre.

By the time Holly arrived at the right place her heart was hammering so loudly that she was afraid anyone standing close might hear it, but she had come this far and she wasn’t going to be put off. This address was part of a small row of terraced cottages, which looked strangely out of place amongst the once grander houses and she noted that it looked very clean and tidy compared to all of its neighbours. Before she could change her mind she rapped on the door and seconds later she heard footsteps pottering towards it. She found herself face to face with a woman who looked to be several years older than her mother, and noting Holly’s neat appearance she smiled at her.

‘H-hello …’ Holly swallowed nervously before rushing on. ‘Is your name Belle?’

‘Yes, that’s me,’ the woman answered pleasantly. ‘Can I help you?’