At that moment in time, she hated Briony more than she had ever hated anyone or anything in her life.

It was late and the journey home from Southend-on-Sea had tired Briony out. Sitting alone in her small sitting room, she sipped a steaming cup of tea. She was supposed to go to the club tonight, she was supposed to go to the houses, and she was supposed to be seeing a man called Joey Vickers about some very cheap liquor. Eileen’s blank face was haunting her. She looked at the photograph of Benedict. Bernadette had been right in a lot of respects. You didn’t know where your heart was going to lie. The fact that his father was Henry Dumas, a skunk, a piece of filth in Briony’s opinion, didn’t stop the feelings she had for the son she’d borne him.

How many times had she heard people say, ‘If I could have my time again, I’d do it all differently’? Well, she wouldn’t really, because as bad as it all seemed now, it had been the means of her son coming into the world. Of Benedict’s very existence. Although he was away from her, was in a different house, living a life she could only glimpse through Sally, he was still her boy. One day he would know that, when the time was right.

She drank her tea and poured herself another cup. The room was quiet, the house too. She was enjoying the peace when Cissy tiptoed into the room.

‘Can I get you a bite?’

‘No, thanks all the same. Sit down a second, Cissy. Take the weight off your feet.’

Cissy sat beside the fire and glanced ruefully at her swollen legs. ‘Look at them, like legs of pork!’

‘If they’re bad, you should take the doctor’s advice and keep off them now and then. There’s plenty of help coming in now. You don’t have to take the brunt of the work any more.’

Cissy blew out her red mottled cheeks, making a rude noise. ‘What’s that silly old bugger know, eh? I can’t sit around all day, I’d go off me head...’ She bit her lip. ‘I’m sorry, Bri, that just came out.’

Briony laughed. ‘You don’t have to watch what you say to me, Cis, I was just thinking about her meself.’

‘How was she? All right?’

Briony nodded. ‘Yeah, she seemed to like it there. It’s really lovely, Cis, the view from the place is gorgeous. I’ve never really seen so much water before. I know we used to swim in the cut when we was kids, but this was different. Clean-looking and deep green. It was lovely. And the smell! I tell you now, I felt like staying there meself. Getting away from it all. Never coming back here.’

Cissy made a loud noise.