On Sunday, Ruby was looking forward to her afternoon off. Nell was coming to see her and intended to go for a walk with her and Bill, but first she had to help Miranda get ready to go to church with her father and then pander to her when she got back until after lunch when she would be free for the rest of the day.

Finally, Nell arrived and the three chattered non-stop as they walked to the park. Bill told her how much he was enjoying his new job. When they got there, they found it was full of families out to enjoy the sunny afternoon. Children rolled around the grass or played ball and the sound of laughter floated on the air.

They were strolling around the lake when Nell suddenly told Ruby, ‘I think Maddie is really missin’ you, you know. An’ I think she regrets tryin’ to make you . . . well, you know what I mean. She asks about you all the time, though neither me nor Mrs Petty have told her where you are as yet.’

‘Really?’ Ruby’s face became solemn as she paused to stare down into the water. Could it be that Maddie was missing her because she really was her real mother? Still, the suspicion lurked in the back of Ruby’s mind and she just couldn’t let go of the idea. She’d tried telling herself that if Maddie was her real mother, then surely she’d have made more effort to see her, but if Maddie hadn’t known where she was, then she wouldn’t have been able to.

‘Let’s not get all solemn,’ Bill urged. ‘Look, there’s a cart over there selling lemonade. I’ll treat you both to a glass an’ we can sit on the grass under that tree an’ drink it. How would that suit you both?’

The girls nodded and with a grin he went off to fetch it while they settled themselves under the spreading branches of a weeping willow. The afternoon passed all too quickly but this time when Nell said she needed to leave, Ruby wasn’t as downhearted as usual. Now that she had Bill living close, she didn’t feel quite so lonely. They said their goodbyes outside the park gates and once Nell had gone Ruby and Bill strolled leisurely back to the house.

‘I wonder what Cook has made us for tea this evenin’?’ Bill said when the house came into sight.

Ruby giggled, Bill always seemed to be thinking of his belly, and if she wasn’t very much mistaken he had already put a few pounds on. Mind you, so had she, and no doubt it was all due to Cook’s excellent cooking. It suited him because now his face had lost its gaunt look.