‘And just imagine how it must have hurt her not to be able to approach you and tell you who she really was,’ Dilys went on. ‘Then there’s Mr Pembroke. What a shock to discover that he’d had another daughter all these years without even being aware of it. He must be feeling dreadful too.’

‘Yes . . . I suppose he must.’ Ruby stared thoughtfully at Dilys.

‘Still, in your case it seems all’s well that ends well. Think of how lovely it will be from now on. They clearly want you to be properly part of the family, whereas I . . .’ Her voice trailed away.

Ruby squeezed her hand. ‘There must be someone we could contact who would care what had happened to you?’

‘I do have an aunt I was very close to,’ Dilys admitted in a small voice. ‘But Matron told me that my family had put it about that I had died. It would be a terrible shock for her if she were to discover that I was actually still alive.’

‘I’d say it would be a wonderful surprise,’ Ruby answered. ‘So when we’re feeling a bit better, why don’t you write to her? What harm could it do? The family can’t hurt you and you can stay here for as long as you like.’

‘I’ll think about it.’

‘And then there’s your fiancé, what about him?’

Dilys shook her head. ‘I’ve no doubt he’ll be married to someone else by now and have a family,’ she said regretfully. ‘And anyway, it’s highly unlikely he’d still be at the same address.’

‘But if you never take the trouble to find out you’ll never know, will you?’

Dilys’s hand rose to her mouth. ‘And what would he think of me if he could see me now?’ Over the years she had suffered far worse than Ruby. At one point the doctor had even had some of her teeth pulled out as a so-called cure for badness. ‘I’m so changed. I’m ugly now,’ she said bitterly.

‘Oh no you are not,’ Ruby assured her. ‘You’re going to look and feel better in no time when we get you into some decent clothes and get your hair styled. But there’s no need to do anything for now. I think we should both just take one day at a time until we start to feel a little better.’

‘I think that’s a very good idea,’ Dilys agreed. ‘But don’t lose sight of the fact that your dearest wish was to find your birth mother. You know who she is now, and not only that, you’ve discovered who your father is too. I have to say from what I have seen of them that I could think of far worse people to have for your parents, my own included.’