‘Only room as I’ve got vacant is up in the attic. It’d mean yer goin’ up four flights o’ stairs,’ the old woman informed them shortly.

Hoping to soften her up a little, Holly smiled at her politely. ‘I’m sure we could manage that. Might we be allowed to look at the room?’

The old woman shuffled away into one of the downstairs rooms muttering beneath her breath and seconds later she returned with a key which she passed to Holly, warning her, ‘Don’t yer go thinkin’ o’ nickin’ owt. I knows exactly what’s in there!’

‘I wouldn’t dream of it,’ Holly assured her as colour flooded into her cheeks. From what she had seen of the house so far she couldn’t imagine there would be anything in the whole place worth stealing, even if she had a mind to.

‘I’ll wait here while yer go up an’ have a look, it’s the last door on the top floor,’ the old woman responded and turning about Holly and Ivy began the long trek up the stairs, which creaked alarmingly in places.

They were both huffing and puffing by the time they reached the top.

‘That must be it, that door there,’ Ivy puffed, pointing.

Holly inserted the key and as they stepped inside she groaned with dismay. Ivy, on the other hand, had lived in far worse than this back in the courtyards in Abbey Street and wasn’t put off at all.

A window that was so dirty they could barely see through it was set in one wall and a small table with two mismatched chairs stood beneath it. On the other wall was a double bed covered in grimy blankets with a large chest of drawers to one side of it, and opposite that was a small sink and what looked like a little cooker. The only other furniture in the room was an old easy chair that stood next to a small fireplace that was clogged with dead ashes. As Ivy ventured into the room, she coughed as a cloud of dust rose into the air but Holly hovered in the doorway chewing on her lip.

‘I-it’s not very nice is it?’ she gulped and Ivy laughed as she walked to the window and rubbed a little circle clean with the sleeve of her old coat.

‘It just needs a bloody … sorry, miss … I mean, Holly, a damned good clean. I reckon it could be quite cosy.’

‘But it’s so cold up here!’ Holly was shivering and her breath hung on the air in front of her.

‘Well it will be till we get some coal an’ get a fire lit,’ Ivy said practically. ‘Come on, let’s go back down an’ ask the old lady how much a week she wants for it. It will do us till we can find somewhere better.’

Despite her misgivings, Holly followed Ivy back down the stairs with a heavy heart. After all, like Ivy said, it would only be temporary.