Sarah entered the flat and noticed it was much quieter than normal.

‘Mum’s taken all the kids over to my cousins for the day and Dad’s at work. Do you want something to drink? Tea, orange squash?’

‘Squash, thanks.’

‘So what brings you here?’ Jenny asked.

‘It’s a long story and I’m not sure where to begin.’

‘Tell you what, let’s take the drinks through to the front room then we can get comfy on the sofa and you can tell me all about it.’

Sarah arranged herself in the cosy front room and kept her handbag close by her side. ‘You’re looking really well,’ she said, admiring Jenny’s long blonde waves.

‘That’s ’cos I ain’t getting up at the crack of dawn any more to go and clean up for Mrs Alderton-Steele. I’ve got a job round the corner as a trainee seamstress. The pay is crap, the hours are long and it’s boring, but my mum said it’s good to learn a skill so you don’t have to rely on your husband for every penny.’

‘Husband? Surely you’re not getting married.’

‘No, of course not,’ Jenny said, and giggled. ‘She’s just talking about my future. Mind you, ’cos I work such long hours I think she misses me helping out here with the little ’uns, especially now she’s got another bun in the oven. What about you? You’re looking very grown up.’

‘I’m working in a grocery shop up near the High Street. I’m really enjoying it. It’s good your learning a trade, but what happened with Mrs Alderton-Steele?’

‘She sacked me, just as I thought she would. She wouldn’t believe it wasn’t me who nicked her precious jewellery and, the worst of it, she called the cops on me. You should have seen the smug look on Godfrey’s face when they marched me off. The bastard. I wanted to swipe the smile off his face. I didn’t need to though. The police came here and searched the place but of course they didn’t find anything so no charges were brought.’

‘Blimey, Jenny, I’m so sorry you had to go through that!’

‘It’s not so bad, and I feel sorry for the poor girl who’s got my job now. I heard through another mate of mine that Godfrey is getting his leg over whenever it suits him, and there’s nothing the girl can do about it ’cos he’s blackmailing her. He reckons he can prove she’s nicked stuff and threatened her with prison. I’m in half a mind to go round there and tell the poor mite the truth, but, well, it ain’t really any of my business any more.’

‘Blinking ’eck, he sounds like a right horrible git.’