‘Bloody hell, you do want rid of me, don’t you?’ he chuckled.

‘Yes, I need concentrate,’ she said, shooing him out into the hall.

‘Fine, I’ll make myself a brew while I’m there,’ he conceded.

‘Good,’ Irena said, handing his coat to him. ‘And don’t come back until two o’clock. Surprise will be ready by then.’

Wondering what on earth she had planned, Frank left her to it.

After he’d seen to the animals and finished his coffee, Frank still had a few hours to kill, so he decided to drive over to Leeds and pay Yvonne a quick visit. It was almost a month since she’d been admitted to hospital, and – to his shame – this would be the first time he’d been to see her. He’d been meaning to go for ages, but he never seemed to have the time – or the energy. Still, Irena wanted him out of the way, and he had nowhere else to go since Evan wasn’t talking to him and he’d pretty much lost touch with his and Maureen’s old friends, so he figured it was as good a time as any.

It was outside of visiting hours when he arrived at the hospital, but he located Yvonne’s ward on the board and took the elevator up to the second floor, holding the box of chocolates he’d bought for her from a garage on the way.

The nurses’ station was unmanned when he reached the ward, so he rested his elbow on the ledge and waited. Several minutes passed with no sign of any staff members, but just as he was about to go and look for someone, he spotted Yvonne lying in a bed at the far end of the ward and decided he might as well go over.

The patients in the other beds he passed were all deathly pale, and there was a peculiar odour in the air which reminded him of the smell he’d noticed in his and Maureen’s bedroom during her last hours. Yvonne’s eyes were closed when he reached her, and he was shocked to see how much older she looked than the last time he’d seen her. But being stuck in here, surrounded by these barely breathing skeletons, would have that effect, he supposed.

‘Yvonne . . .?’ He touched her shoulder gently. ‘Are you awake, love? It’s Frank.’

At the sound of his voice, Yvonne opened her eyes and rolled her head over on the pillow. His heart sank when she gazed up at him as if she’d never seen him before, but then a spark of recognition flared in her eyes, and she gave a weak smile.

‘Hello, pet. What are you doing here?’

‘I came to see you,’ he said, pulling a chair up to the side of the bed. ‘To wish you happy Christmas and give you these.’ He placed the chocolates on the bedside table.