‘I hate that kid she’s having,’ Ronnie growled. ‘It’s nothing but trouble.’

Marge Larkin was on Ronnie like a shot. ‘Enough of that talk, lad,’ she said firmly. ‘You’ll mind your tongue, or you’ll have me to answer to.’

The eldest boy winked at Ronnie. ‘Watch it! Mam will have no bad talk in the house,’ he said knowingly.

Expecting Ronnie to explode, which had usually been his response when checked, Dora was surprised when he apologized. ‘Sorry, Marge,’ he said, grinning sheepishly; then, turning to Dora, he added politely, ‘I’m glad mother’s improving.’

Ten minutes later the children were on their way to the local village school, all six of them racing each other down the lane, their laughter floating out behind them. Dora shook her head as she lit up a Woodbine.

‘Well, Marge,’ she said and exhaled a ring of smoke. ‘You’ve worked wonders with the Pickles kids.’

‘I won’t deny Ronnie was a handful to start with,’ Marge admitted, as she too lit up a cigarette. ‘It was my three lads that knocked him into shape – they know the rules in this house, and they soon put Ronnie in his place.’

‘Your lads certainly did a lot better than we did at Mary Vale,’ Dora admitted. ‘They ran rings round us – Ronnie was like a caged animal half the time.’

‘Well, he’s the youngest lad here, so last in the pecking order, plus being in the same class as my youngest has helped, well, at least I hope so.’ She smiled as she poured them both another cuppa from the big brown pot on the table. ‘Sally’s a lovie – she idolizes May, who’s a regular little mother to the child. They feed the hens together, help milk the cows and she’s fallen in love with the kittens the farm cat’s just produced.’ Marge gave a warm smile as she recounted Sally’s achievements. ‘She’s settled into school too; our May’s been teaching her to read and write, and she’s made really good progress, even got a star for her work t’other day. All in all, they’ve both settled down nicely.’

When Dora reported the good news back to Rosie, she burst into tears of relief. ‘Thank God!’ she cried. ‘I thought our Ronnie would upset the apple cart in no time, and they’d kick him out,’ she admitted.

‘Well, he’s not, believe me,’ Dora laughingly reassured her. ‘You wouldn’t recognize the pair of them, they’ve grown so much, and they love their new school, Marge says.’