He clattered down the steps and banged the back door behind him, making both women roll their eyes. ‘It’s like having Ivy and Rita in the house again,’ said Cordelia with a soft smile before she bent once more to help Daisy colour in her picture.

‘Wasn’t there any post this morning?’ asked Peggy, feeling somewhat refreshed by the tea and the sit-down. ‘And where’s Danuta? She can’t still be asleep, surely?’

‘She went off to Cliffe to be with Stanislaw as he’s got his first physio session without the walking sticks today. The only thing in the post was an electricity bill.’

‘Oh well,’ sighed Peggy. ‘I expect Jane and Sarah are busy dealing with things in Singapore, and Rita will have only just reached Australia. As for Ruby, if the weather’s closed in as badly as she feared, I doubt any post will be able to get through. I do hope all of them are all right, Cordelia. They’ve each of them had huge changes to deal with just lately.’

The afternoon post came just as they’d finished their lunch of onion soup and toast, and Peggy hurried back from the hall. ‘There’s a letter from Rita to both of us; one from Ruby, and one from Jim,’ she said excitedly, placing them on the kitchen table.

Cordelia relaxed back into the armchair with a drowsy Daisy on her lap. ‘You read Rita’s out to me, Peggy. I don’t want to disturb Daisy by hunting for my glasses.’

Peggy eagerly tore open the letter which had been posted over a week before. ‘Their address sounds very exotic,’ she said. ‘Pandanus House, Warratah Road, Ravenshoe, Queensland.’

She scanned the first few lines to ensure that Rita wasn’t as depressed as Ruby, and then began to read it out to Cordelia.