She smiled ruefully. ‘Miranda, the daughter of the house who I work for, can be a bit of a tyrant,’ she confided. ‘She’s a bit older than me, but don’t worry, you’ll be outside so it’s unlikely you’ll see much of her.’

Soon after they came to the two tiny rooms Bill and his mother had called home. They were in a tall tenement block, the door to the house opening directly onto the pavement and as they entered Ruby almost gagged at the vile smell of stale cabbage, urine and a number of different smells that she couldn’t recognise that met them – not that Bill seemed to notice, but then Ruby supposed he was used to it. Children with runny noses and matted hair running with lice were playing with marbles on the hall floor and from upstairs the sound of someone arguing and a baby wailing floated to them. Bill led her along the gloomy passage and into a room that was very scantily furnished but surprisingly clean.

‘This is it,’ he told her sadly. ‘I slept on that old sofa over there an’ me mom slept in there, that’s the bedroom.’

She perched on the edge of a rickety wooden chair while Bill went through to the other room to fetch an old pillow slip into which he began to throw his meagre possessions.

‘That’s it,’ he said minutes later as he stood looking around. ‘But before I go, I just want to have a quick word with Mrs Platt, the lady next door, if you don’t mind. She was always good to me an’ Mom so I want her to come in an’ have first pick of anythin’ she might be able to use afore the rest of ’em get to it. Soon as ever they know I’ve gone they’ll come an’ empty the place, believe me. The folks round here are like a plague o’ locusts.’

Ruby sat patiently waiting and soon he was back again. He lifted a thin gold band from a little table at the side of the fireplace. ‘Mustn’t go wi’out this. It were me mom’s weddin’ ring.’ He threaded it onto a piece of string and tied it about his neck. ‘All ready, then,’ he said sombrely.

Ruby’s kind heart went out to him as she watched him look around, almost as if he were committing every inch of the place to memory. The two rooms weren’t up to much, but they had been his home for as long as he could remember and she guessed it would hurt him to leave them.

Crossing quickly to him she linked her arm through his and said cheerfully, ‘Right then, we’ll be off and hopefully this will be the start of better times for you.’

He nodded and after one final glance around he allowed her to lead him away.

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen