‘You’d better go,’ he said, and I could hear him shuffling in his chair ready to sign off. ‘Goodness knows how much this call is costing you.’

‘You’re worth it,’ I said, laughing. ‘Look after yourself, Granddad.’

Chapter 24

‘Don’t throw that away,’ said Marjorie indignantly as Betsy consigned another of Ted’s T-shirts to the bin bag I was holding open for her. ‘There’s plenty of wear left in it and it might fit me.’

Betsy retrieved it and sighed dramatically. ‘Here you are, Cinders, you shall go to the ball.’ She tossed the faded T-shirt to her sister-in-law. ‘But I will point out that I bought that on a trip to Valencia and I paid for it in Spanish pesetas. So it’s at least twenty years old, and quite probably older.’

‘Even better,’ said Marjorie, stretching it across her bosom and twinkling her eyes at me. ‘That means it’s vintage. It’s what all the cool kids are wearing this summer.’

Betsy tutted her disapproval and shoved a handful of men’s pyjamas into the bag before Marjorie purloined those as well. Starsky had made a nest for himself in one of Ted’s old jumpers and had fallen asleep on his back, paws in the air, with the most adorable doggy smile on his face. He was probably dreaming of happy days spent with his master. The thought made my eyes sting and I laughed to myself. My brain had turned to mush recently; I never used to be this soppy. I gave myself a shake and pulled a pretty white broderie anglaise dress from the pile. It had soft gathers under the bust line and three pearly buttons down the front. ‘This can’t be Ted’s!’

Betsy looked up and tried to focus on what I’d found. ‘I’ve thrown some of my things away too. It’s a nightdress, but it was always too short to be decent on me. Might suit you, though.’

I agreed, thinking it would be perfect in the months to come.

Marjorie harrumphed. ‘So Lottie gets your lovely cast-offs and I have to beg for Ted’s old T-shirts.’

‘She is going to need some bigger clothes soon,’ Betsy said reprovingly, ‘whereas you take great delight in dressing like a bag lady.’

Marjorie hooted with glee. ‘True on both counts.’

‘I need bigger clothes now,’ I said, tugging at my T-shirt. ‘For something the size of an onion, this baby certainly seems to be making its presence felt.’

‘Wait until you get heartburn,’ said Betsy. ‘And swollen ankles.’

‘You look radiant, Lottie,’ Marjorie cut in. ‘Don’t listen to the prophet of doom over there.’

I shook my head fondly, left them bickering and went into the kitchen to make us all a drink.