Molly forced a smile. ‘It’s all right, sweetheart,’ she murmured, ‘don’t upset yourself. Just tell me quietly. What happened?’

The boy sighed, then he wiped his snotty nose on the cuff of his shirt and, just as Molly had instructed, he told her the whole story. ‘She gave me threepence and told me to go away. Only, I got on the wrong bus, and had to walk all the way home from King Street.’ His lip quivered.

Recounting the incident was too much for him. ‘I were scared,’ he wept. ‘I couldn’t find my way, and then this woman asked me if I were lost. She brought me to the end of the street…’

‘Ssh. That’s enough for now.’ Reassuring him that all was well now, and he was safely home, Molly made a suggestion that caused his eyes to light up. ‘I bet you’d like a big mug of Ovaltine, wouldn’t you? All hot and frothy, the way Mam makes it?’

Wiping his tears away, she took him into the kitchen. Rosie must have been listening at the door, for she was already making a mug of Ovaltine, and a jam buttie. ‘There ye are, me darlin’,’ she cooed. ‘Your big sister’s home now, and everything’s all right.’ And so it was.

Lowering their voices, Molly and Rosie discussed the day’s events while the little boy enjoyed his supper.

‘What in God’s name possessed her to abandon him like that?’ Molly wondered.

‘I don’t know any more than you do, me darlin’,’ Rosie sighed, ‘but I know this much. If you don’t stop fretting, you’ll drive yourself crazy!’ She felt for the girl. At eighteen, Molly was not much older than Lottie herself. It didn’t seem right that she should be landed with such responsibility. ‘Look, love, you’ve just got in, and I can see you’ve had a long day. The lad’s come to no lasting harm, and besides, I dare say that little vixen is having a whale of a time, without a thought for anybody but herself. So, you sit down and put it all out of your mind.’ Though she didn’t believe for one minute that Molly could do such a thing.

‘I’ll swing for her, Rosie, I swear I will.’

‘Tomorrow,’ Rosie joked. ‘You can swing for her tomorrow.’

Returning the smile, Molly kicked off her shoes and fell wearily into a chair. ‘You’re right. Whatever I say to her, she’ll take no notice – she never does. But in future she won’t take the childer out of this house, I’ll make sure of it.’

‘You can count on me, too,’ Rosie promised, ‘especially after what she did to young Georgie. He could have been molested or anything. It doesn’t bear thinking about.’

‘You’re right, but like you say, he’s home safe now. That’s all that matters.’ Drawing in a long breath, Molly gave a sigh that seemed to empty her heart and ease her mind, for the moment at least. ‘You’re a godsend, Rosie,’ she declared gratefully. ‘These past few days I don’t know what we would have done without you.’