‘It’s not really the sort of nonsense I’m interested in, Evie,’ he replied before draining his teacup and pushing back from the table. ‘Come on, I’ll take you all down to the beach for a bit so our mums can have a good gossip.’

Doreen and Peggy found all the necessary paraphernalia for a trip to the beach, and once Archie was strapped into Daisy’s pushchair, Charlie set off cheerfully with the three girls in tow.

Sure in the knowledge that Cordelia couldn’t hear a thing as she’d turned off her hearing aid and was engrossed in her newspaper, Peggy lit them both cigarettes. ‘So, your Mr Kent has a beard, does he?’ she asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

Doreen nodded. ‘Beard, moustache, long, floppy dark hair and eyes as brown as molasses,’ she replied. ‘Bill teaches art and drama, and has dreams of writing the definitive best-selling novel one day – though I’ve yet to see him start anything.’

‘Is it serious between you?’

‘Not really,’ she replied on a sigh. ‘He’s a nice man, great fun to be with, and suits my needs at the moment – but he’s not my Archie. No one could ever take his place, Peggy.’

Peggy reached for her hand. ‘It’s still fairly early days, Doreen. Of course you feel that way.’

‘It’s been nearly two years, Peg, and I thought I’d be over him now. But he’s still here in my heart, and I see him every day in little Archie.’

‘Does this new chap remind you of him? Is that why you’re involved?’

Doreen’s smile was wistful. ‘Not in the least – apart from the beard. Bill’s slender, softly spoken and has probably never done a day’s hard labour in his life. Whereas Archie was a great bear of a man with a working man’s hands, loud voice and huge personality. A bit like Stanislaw in a way.’ She blinked back the sudden tears and began to clear away the dirty dishes.

‘It’s neither here nor there, really,’ she continued, ‘because Bill applied for a teaching post in Scotland, and he might not even be there when I get back.’

‘Oh, Doreen, I am sorry.’

Doreen patted her shoulder. ‘Don’t be. I’m actually happier on my own with the children, and life is less complicated.’

Peggy collected the rest of the dishes and filled the sink with hot water. ‘I shall miss you, Doreen. It’s been so lovely having you home again.’

‘I’ve loved coming back, too, but my home’s in Swansea now. The children are settled, I’ve made some good friends and I enjoy my work.’ She started to dry the clean dishes. ‘You could always come to visit, Peg, once you’ve renovated this place and time is your own again.’

‘I’d love to, but Solly relies on me to keep his new factory going smoothly, and of course I’ll always have Cordelia to look after.’

She glanced over her shoulder at the elderly lady who was studiously going through the death notices in the local paper to see who she’d outlived. ‘Not that she’s any bother,’ she added quickly.