‘Let’s see how he gets on with us,’ Mrs Larkin chuckled softly. ‘If anybody can handle an unruly little boy, it’s three other unruly little boys.’

‘Thank you for your kindness,’ Theresa said, as she rose and straightened her habit. ‘I’d better be heading back to Mary Vale. Their mother will want to know how they settled in.’

After Farmer Arkwright had dropped her back at the convent, Sister Theresa reported immediately to the Reverend Mother, then hurried over to visit Rosie, who was sitting upright in bed drinking a cup of tea.

‘How were they?’ she cried, setting her cup and saucer down on the bedside table.

‘Surprisingly well, given the circumstances,’ the young nun assured the anxious mother.

Rosie’s tired eyes flew wide open. ‘You wouldn’t lie to me, would you, Sister Theresa?’

‘Never,’ Theresa replied. ‘I left Sally feeding dock leaves to some sweet pet rabbits and Ronnie chasing after the Larkin boys, who were heading for the beck. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him quite so excited before.’

Rosie slumped back against her pillows. ‘Thank God,’ she sighed. ‘Thank God,’ she repeated earnestly.

Theresa patted the sick woman’s hot trembling hand. ‘Now all you’ve got to do is get your strength back, Rosie. God will take care of the rest.’

19. Edith

Though Sister Mann had little interest in Rosie, the relief of not having to suffer the presence of her wretched children made her considerably kinder to the expectant mother, who was responding well to bed-rest, though her baby, according to the Home’s visiting doctor, still remained small and underweight, which was a cause of constant concern. Now that Rosie was restricted to bed, Edith hoped her sickly condition would improve, and she did all she could as a professional nurse to improve her situation, but really life at Mary Vale was turning out to be one big disappointment after another.

The residents weren’t her kind of people: the nuns were simply alien to her and Dora seemed to actively disapprove of her. In the Harrogate nursing home where she had previously worked, the babies were the responsibility of the nursery nurses, leaving Edith and her team of nurses free to concentrate on their patients, who had expressed their gratitude with very often illegal war-time luxuries such as chocolates, cigarettes, nylons, a bottle of sherry, even an occasional silk scarf. At Mary Vale, Edith was more likely to get a tin of baked beans or a bag of split peas as a thank-you gift. She had hoped that she might pal up with well-spoken, smartly dressed Sybil Harwood, but her attempts at friendship had been sharply rebuffed by haughty Sybil, who kept herself strictly to herself.