She was relieved when she got through to Mrs Preston, who had placed the advert, and found the room was still available. The woman agreed to meet Sarah immediately at the house, though she didn’t sound over-enthusiastic at letting out one of her properties to an unemployed woman caring for a young child. She told Sarah she’d require a significant payment of rent in advance, and, with little choice, Sarah agreed.

When they arrived at the terraced house, Mrs Preston was waiting outside. Sarah could tell by the woman’s attire that she was wealthy. Her gloves were pristine white, and on her grey hair she wore a smart hat with a diamond pin. Her car was parked outside, and Sarah noticed a man in an official-looking cap sat at the steering wheel.

‘Mrs Preston, pleased to meet you. I’m Sarah Jepson and this is my brother Tommy.’

‘Yes, well, I don’t have time for chitter chatter.’ She opened the front door, and led them to a good-sized room with a window above a sink that overlooked the street.

Sarah instantly smelled the damp, but the room was cheap and it would have to do.

‘As we discussed, I will require six weeks’ rent in cash,’ Mrs Preston said, holding a white handkerchief to her nose.

‘Yes, that’s fine. We’ll take it,’ Sarah replied, and counted out the money.

Mrs Preston took the cash and wrote a receipt which she handed to Sarah, saying, ‘In future, Mr Terence will collect your rent, due fortnightly. I don’t normally visit the properties myself, but Mr Terence is unavailable today. If you cannot pay, you will be evicted. I am not a charity, and I will not tolerate any sob stories.’

‘I understand,’ said Sarah, noting that the woman was looking down her nose.

With that, Mrs Preston handed Sarah the keys and walked off in a haughty manner. Sarah closed the room door, then turned happily to Tommy. ‘This is ours. This is our new home.’

‘But where are the beds?’

‘All in good time, we’ll make do for now. Anyway, who cares about beds and stuff? No more sheds for us, we’ve got our own home.’

Sarah was pleased to see Tommy smile, and felt proud of herself for providing a home for him, though she was worried that the rent she’d paid had left her with very little money.

‘Can we have something to eat now? I’m so hungry that my belly thinks my head has been chopped off.’

Sarah laughed. ‘I’ll tell you what, how about we put this old blanket on the floor, go and get some food, then come back and have a picnic?’

‘Yes,’ Tommy said with delight, ‘can we have cake?’

She fumbled the remaining coins in her coat pocket. They’d eat like kings tonight, but tomorrow would be a different story.

Chapter 11