Once Tommy was covered with the paper, it didn’t take long for him to drift off. Sarah tried to make herself as comfortable as she could, but there was a terrible draught coming under the shed door. She felt something crawling on her face, and grimaced as she brushed off a bug. At least they were safe for tonight, but she couldn’t sleep as her mind churned with thoughts of the challenges she knew the daylight would bring. Tommy would wake up hungry, they were homeless and without a penny to their name. She wondered if Tommy would be better off in a children’s home. He’d get fed and watered, which was more than she could offer the child.

Her eyes focused again on Mr Sayers’s flat cap. Thinking about him seemed to give her comfort. He had cared for her, more than her own mother ever had. She’d loved him dearly and missed him. It had broken her heart when he’d died.

She eventually closed her eyes, and though it was cold in the shed, she found that she felt warm, and as if she was lying on soft feathers. ‘Goodnight, Mr Sayers,’ she whispered, feeling a strange sense that he was watching over her. It gave her courage and, before she gave in to sleep, Sarah decided her mind was set. She wouldn’t be separated from Tommy. Come what may, she’d make sure he wasn’t taken from her. She might not be able to give him a home and proper food, but she could give him all the love he needed, and that was something she knew he’d never get in an orphanage.

Chapter 8

Sarah was already wide awake when the sun came up. By the time Tommy awoke, she’d had a rummage through the shed but had only found a few things that she thought may come in handy: the scissors and string, an old dark-grey utility blanket and, of course, Mr Sayers’s flat cap. It didn’t appear that anyone had been in the shed since Mr Sayers had died, so she didn’t think taking the small items was stealing. The garden tools might be worth a few bob, but then that really would be theft so Sarah decided to leave them. Best of all, she’d found an old tobacco tin filled with small lead soldiers. She’d left the tin hidden, but in a place where she knew Tommy would easily find it.

Tommy brushed off the newspapers and pushed himself up in the deckchair. ‘Can we look for the treasure now?’ he asked as he untied the string on his feet.

‘Good morning to you too!’ Sarah said with a small laugh. ‘Go on then,’ she added, ‘but make sure you keep the noise down.’