Rita grinned, her brown eyes sparkling, her dark curls dancing above her shoulders. ‘Ready when you are, Auntie Peggy – although I don’t feel a bit sleepy. I’m too excited.’

Peggy reached across and took her hand. ‘Of course you are, love. And quite rightly so.’ She pushed back her chair just as Andy and Robert came through the side door to walk Gloria and Fran back to the Crown.

Peggy regarded them sharply, for although they seemed sober enough, they looked decidedly shifty. ‘Did you have a good evening?’ she asked suspiciously.

‘Very pleasant,’ said Robert, not quite meeting her eye before swiftly turning to Fran. ‘Come on, love, it’s late, and you must be tired.’

There was a flurry of hugs and kisses for Fran and Gloria, and then everyone was fetching their coats and saying a fond farewell to Mary, who would be staying at the Anchor with Rosie until Sunday.

Peggy kissed and hugged Mary. ‘Sleep well, dear, and I’ll see you and Rosie tomorrow at the church. It’s so lovely of you and Fran to play for Rita’s wedding. You can have little idea of how much it means to her – and to me.’

‘It’s a real pleasure, Aunt Peggy. I’m just so sorry I haven’t been able to visit before now, but with the baby and everything …’ She blinked rapidly and smiled. ‘But he’s older now and bit more manageable, so I felt it was all right to leave him at the farm with his grandparents, who’ve been utterly brilliant all the way through everything. They dote on him so, but I suppose that’s only to be expected after losing their Jack.’

Peggy swallowed the lump in her throat and patted her cheek, then quickly hugged Rosie, thanking her for planning the surprise and giving them all an evening to remember. ‘I’ll send Ron home straight away and see you tomorrow,’ she promised before turning away to help Cordelia to her feet.

Linking arms with Cordelia, Peggy and Sarah walked along Camden Road, with Rita and Ivy chattering non-stop ahead of them, and Jane in deep conversation with Danuta tagging along slowly behind. The air was fresh and cool after the fug in the Anchor’s bar, the sky clear and starlit, and Peggy was looking forward to getting her shoes off and having a cup of tea.

They crossed over the main road that led up from the seafront and made their moonlit way along the rough track which ran between the back gardens of the terraced houses and petered out eventually at the foot of the surrounding hills.

As Rita and Ivy ran into the house, Peggy frowned at the sight of the sheets hanging on the washing line. She knew for certain they hadn’t been there when she’d gone out, and could only think that perhaps one of the little girls must have been overtired and accidentally wet the bed. At least someone had thought to wash them out instead of just dumping them in the laundry basket for her to deal with.