‘Say ahhh,’ he instructed her. There was silence. I could see Lisa biting her nails.

‘Say ahhh, child,’ he repeated, loudly.

‘She’s only two years old,’ I pointed out. ‘And she’s almost asleep.’ My usual irritation with him was turning to anger.

‘She’ll be much too hot in these,’ he said briskly, unfastening the eczema cuffs from her elbows. ‘I should have thought that was obvious.’

The two of us stood in silence. I could tell Lisa was close to tears and my breathing was growing shallower with fury.

‘I think Mrs Turnbull would like some assurance that Daisy is going to be all right,’ I translated for her.

He stood up. ‘Oh, I dare say she will if she’s looked after properly. Here – ’ He wrote out a prescription and handed it to her abruptly. ‘Go to the dispensary in the morning. In the meantime she needs warmth, fresh air and plenty of fluids. Think you can manage that?’

He walked straight out without another word and I was after him. I had seen doctors be monumentally rude to patients in hospital on occasion, but it seemed so much worse in people’s homes.

‘D’you always speak to your patients like that?’ I demanded.

Dr Williamson jerked to a standstill, bristling. ‘I beg your pardon?’ I expect he still regarded me as a child.

‘I thought our job was to try and make people feel better – to alleviate suffering. Not to go out of our way to make them feel small and inadequate and imply that they can’t even look after their own children.’

He breathed in sharply. ‘I’ll thank you to keep your views to yourself,’ he said in a low, furious voice. ‘And when I need advice on how to do my job after thirty years’ experience I’ll find someone qualified to dispense it.’

He strode away, quickly disappearing from view. Inside Lisa was in tears.

‘I only did what I thought was right,’ she sobbed miserably. ‘ ’E’s an ’orrible man, he is. I’d like to see ’im try and get fresh air and warmth at the same time in here, ’cause it’s bloody harder than it sounds.’

I persuaded her to finish getting the other children to bed.

‘Daisy’s asleep now, look,’ I told her. ‘Why don’t you get yourself something to eat and try and get some rest yourself. I’ll call by tomorrow, all right?’

She smiled faintly. ‘Thanks, Kate. You know – you’re very like ’im.’

‘Who?’

‘Your dad, of course.’ She added miserably, ‘I wish Don was here.’

When I visited the next evening I found Lisa standing outside her door with her apron on. In her hand was a bowl and I could see steam rising from it in the light through the front door.

‘Chicken soup,’ she told me. ‘For Daisy.’ Her face looked more relaxed, though she was sagging with exhaustion.

Daisy’s eyes were open and Lisa was altogether more buoyant.

‘I’m absolutely wiped out,’ she told me. ‘We ’ad an ’ell of a night. She was burning up – got me in a right state. Thought I was going to lose ’er. But come this morning she perked up again. Look at ’er. Don’t you think she’s better?’