‘Always.’ She sighed. ‘But I will send for him when I have reach London and find job.’

‘Why don’t you call him?’ Frank suggested. ‘He’s probably been wondering why he hasn’t heard from you.’

‘He does not have phone, and I cannot call house in case Father answer,’ Irena said. ‘But he can see email when he use computer at library.’

‘Send him a message then,’ Frank said, leaning down to turn his computer on. ‘It’s not very fast, because the signal’s pretty weak out here, but it gets there in the end.’

‘Thank you,’ Irena said gratefully, coming over and taking a seat in front of the screen.

‘You’re welcome,’ Frank said, patting her on the shoulder. ‘I’ve got a few things I need to do, so I’ll leave you to it.’

Irena nodded without turning her head, and Frank left the room, pulling the door shut to give her privacy. He hadn’t thought to ask how long she had been in the country, so it could have been a long time since she’d had any contact with her brother. He only hoped the lad replied quickly, because that would make Irena feel a lot better, he was sure.

Smiling when he heard the clackity-clack of her fingernails hitting the keyboard, Frank went into the kitchen and took a roll of bin-bags out of the cupboard before heading upstairs. After going through Maureen’s clothes the previous morning to find something for Irena to wear, he decided he might as well finish the job and get the rest packed up.

It took a couple of hours to clear Maureen’s wardrobe and drawers, and Frank had filled five bin-bags by the time he was done. He’d selected a few skirts, blouses, and dresses that Maureen had kept from her slimmer days, and he carried those downstairs to see if Irena wanted them. She’d finished with the computer by then, and he found her in the kitchen. There was flour all over the worktop, vegetable peelings in the sink, and a lovely aroma coming from the Aga.

‘That smells nice,’ he said, placing his bundle on the table.

‘I hope you do not mind?’ Irena turned to face him and wiped her hands on Maureen’s apron. ‘I want to prepare nice dinner for you, so I take chicken from freezer and make Czech dish. Is my mother’s special recipe.’

‘I look forward to it,’ Frank said, hoping it tasted as good as it smelled. ‘Did you manage to send your message?’

‘Yes, and now I must wait to see if he reply before I leave.’

‘I don’t think that’ll be a problem,’ Frank said, nodding at the window when he noticed it was snowing again. ‘I know you’re keen to get going, but if this doesn’t let up you could be stuck here for another day or two.’

‘You would not mind?’