‘With pleasure, Mum, but will I have to pay Albert to take you off my hands?’

‘You cheeky sod,’ Lena said and smiled.

It would take time for Sarah to feel anything other than sadness, but Lena felt sure her upcoming wedding day was a good way to start getting the girl back on track.

Sarah went upstairs to dress for work. This would soon be her own room, and she liked the idea. She’d always felt at home in Lena’s house and found it luxurious compared to her damp room.

Unbidden, the images of Mo and Roger returned and she tried to push them away. She had cried herself to sleep last night, and now despised the woman she’d once considered a close friend. Thankfully, when George had run her back to the house yesterday, Mo had kept out of the way, and Roger’s van wasn’t outside.

As for Roger, she wished she’d listened to George in the first place. Her own instincts had told her too, but she’d dismissed them, and now regretted it. It was a lesson learned, and now she’d never forgive him for being unfaithful to her at a time when she needed him the most.

Her eyes began to well up again, but she clenched her jaw tightly. She refused to cry over either of them any more. Once dressed, she applied a touch of lipstick and was reminded of the reward money she had tucked away in an old handbag. She’d had big plans for this money, but since Tommy’s death she hadn’t seen the point in anything any more. Now, though, she’d been given a promising opportunity in Albert’s shop, and with her increased salary and affordable rent at George’s, she wasn’t sure what to do with the money. For now, it would remain tucked in the handbag, something to think about in the future. Drawing a deep breath, Sarah went downstairs to face another day.

George was over the moon for his mum. He liked Albert and could see how happy he made her. As he set off for work, the only blight on his landscape was the thought of having to stand next to Roger all day and not punch his face in. Sarah hated violence, and he’d promised her he wouldn’t touch the man, but it went against the grain. It wouldn’t be easy to rein in his temper, but he would do his best to ignore the man whom he had once considered a friend.