Rosie’s thin, drawn face did indeed light up when she saw Ronnie and Sally hurrying up the ward towards her bed.

‘Kiddies!’ she exclaimed as she cuddled each in turn. ‘How lovely to see you.’

‘Look, Mother, pretty flowers,’ Sally cried, as she thrust a bunch of wilting white roses into her mother’s hand. ‘The thorns pricked my fingers and made them bleed, so Mrs Larkin gave me a bandage – she said I was a brave soldier.’

‘How kind of her,’ Rosie said, inhaling the roses’ delicate perfume. Seeing her anxious son hanging back, she smiled. ‘How are you, sweetheart?’

‘Are you better now?’ Ronnie mumbled, as he shuffled awkwardly.

‘I’m better for seeing you, lovie,’ Rosie said and planted a kiss on Ronnie’s cheek. ‘I always feel much better after seeing the two people I love most in the world,’ she added with a catch in her voice. ‘Now come on,’ she urged. ‘Tell me all your news.’

As Sally chattered on about her favourite kitten at Hope Farm and explained to her mum how she helped Mrs Larkin milk the cows and stir the cheese in the dairy, Ronnie kept quiet. His mother’s loving words had moved him – he knew how much she needed both her children – but he was not going to change his plans.

‘You never know,’ Ronnie thought to himself. ‘If I do manage to track Dad down, I could reunite our family and we could all be happy again.’

He blinked tears from his eyes as he imagined such a scenario; it was really all the little boy had ever wanted.

28. The Secret

The next day Sybil appeared by Rosie’s bedside with a box of chocolates.

‘For me?’ Rosie squeaked in complete delight. ‘How on earth did you lay your hands on them?’

Sybil gave a teasing wink. ‘If I told you I could go to prison.’

‘Oh, thank you, thank you,’ Rosie gabbled, as she tore open the box and gobbled a chocolate. ‘Mmm,’ she sighed. ‘I’ve not had a chocolate in years.’

Sybil smiled to herself. The chocolates were, in fact, Monty’s last gift to her on his final visit North. She had never once been tempted to open the box, always associating it with how much she loathed him. She had shoved it in the back of her wardrobe and forgotten all about it, until she was searching around for a gift for Rosie.

‘Lovely,’ Rosie murmured, as she reached for another chocolate.

‘How are you feeling?’ Sybil enquired, pulling her chair closer to the bed.

‘Not much different,’ Rosie mumbled with her mouth full. ‘Here,’ she said and thrust the box into Sybil’s hands. ‘Put them in the cupboard before I eat the lot and make myself sick.’