The youth nodded. ‘Can you manage to stand up?’ he asked Ruby. ‘If you can I’ll give you a piggyback.’

Ruby nodded as she stared at him in the gloom. He was much taller than her and looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. He had a thick thatch of hair, although she couldn’t distinguish what colour it was in the dark, and his clothes looked shabby. But when he smiled, she noticed that his eyes were kindly.

‘Come on, shrimp, let’s be havin’ you.’ With a grin he reached down and helped her to her feet then turning he said, ‘Hop on me back and put your arms tight around me neck.’

Seconds later they set off and soon they had turned into Frederick Street where Nell breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Phew, that were a close thing. We couldn’t ’ave stayed there all night an’ there were no way I could leave ’er. An’ thank the Lord there’s nobody about.’

Bill chuckled as he hoisted Ruby a little further up his back. ‘I should think most folks would ’ave more sense than to be out on a night like this.’

‘Hm, happen yer right.’ They hurried on in silence as Ruby buried her face in Bill’s shoulder. He was carrying her as if she weighed no more than a feather and although she had only just met him, she felt strangely safe with him. At last the house came into view and after hurrying round to the back, Nell threw the door open and they spilled into the kitchen, making Mrs Petty, who was knitting at the side of the fire, almost jump out of her skin.

‘Good grief, yer give me a right gliff then . . . But what’s happened?’ Casting her knitting to one side she hurried across to help Ruby clamber off Bill’s back.

‘Ruby ’ad a slight accident an’ hurt her ankle but luckily for us Bill came along, else I don’t know what we’d have done.’

Mrs Petty helped Ruby into a chair just as Maddie entered the kitchen.

‘What’s happened?’

Nell quickly told her and Maddie shook her head before smiling at Bill. It appeared she knew him as she herself went to put the kettle on the range. ‘Thanks, Bill. You must have a warm drink and something to eat before you go.’ And then almost as an afterthought she asked, ‘How is your mother?’

Bill shrugged. ‘Oh, you know . . . as well as can be expected considerin’ how cold it’s been. But then we shouldn’t complain. At least we still ’ave a roof over our ’eads, which beats sleepin’ on a park bench, don’t it?’