‘Lily really likes you,’ Ella whispered. ‘I think she loves you. So you can’t let her down. You have to help us get away. If I try to leave the area on my own with her, the police are bound to find me, but they won’t be looking for two women and a baby. Come with us, and we can get away and then Lily can live with us and we can say you’re her godmother, or her aunt, or whatever you like.’

‘I could be her mother,’ Christine said tentatively, afraid Ella would be angry with her.

‘Sure, of course, that’s a great idea,’ Ella replied with surprising enthusiasm.

‘You’re not just saying that so I help you get away?’

‘Look how happy Lily is with you,’ Ella replied. ‘There’s nothing I’d like better than to have you with us, always, helping to take care of her. But you need to decide now, because we have to go soon. Lily and I can’t stay here. With or without you, we have to leave.’

Christine hesitated, but she was never going to be offered another chance like this. Maybe Ella was lying about letting her live with them, but she had to take that chance. She couldn’t let Ella leave and take Lily away. Quickly she packed a few things into a bag, and they set off.

‘You don’t need that stick,’ Ella said as she opened the front door. ‘Just put your sunglasses on so no one knows who you are.’

‘Of course I need my stick,’ Christine protested. ‘I can’t go out without it.’

But Ella was adamant. ‘We can’t do anything that gives away who we are. Come on.’

It felt strange walking along the street without her stick to guide her, and several times she nearly tripped on uneven paving stones, even though she was holding on to Ella’s arm.

‘Be careful,’ Ella warned her.

There was nothing Christine could do because she couldn’t see the ground, and Ella was dragging her along at a fast walking pace so she couldn’t even feel her way slowly. By the time they stopped walking a fine rain had begun to fall, and she didn’t have a hood or a scarf. Her hair felt damp and she started to shiver.

‘Is Lily getting wet?’ she asked.

‘Keep your voice down,’ Ella hissed. ‘She’s fine. She’s got a rain cover.’

‘Where are we?’

‘We’re getting a coach to London. Once we’re there, it’ll be easy to disappear. I’ve still got some of the money left.’

‘My money,’ Christine thought, but she didn’t say anything.