Wanting to play, Eddie flattened his hand and thumped it hard on the water, sending a spray all over the three girls. ‘See!’ Milly said indignantly. ‘He just won’t behave, will he?’

Plucking the infant from the bath, Molly wrapped him in the towel. ‘When Mam gets home, you’ll all have to behave.’ Asking Milly to help Bertha put on her nightgown, she then dried young Eddie, fastened a terry square round his pink bottom, and pulled the comb through his wispy locks. When he cried, Milly said he was a big baby, but when it came to her having her hair brushed, she fought and struggled until Molly told her how Eddie and Bertha were watching. After that she was incredibly brave; Bertha, too, when it came to her turn.

As always, Georgie needed no telling. At eight years of age he was a little man, able to fend for himself and proud of it. After stripping off his clothes, he washed at the tin bath and got into his pyjamas. He combed his hair and presented himself to Molly. ‘Shall I take the others upstairs?’ he offered.

She gave him a well-deserved hug. ‘I’ll come up with you,’ she said. It was good to see his little adventure had not marred him.

Like a mother hen, Molly ferried them up to their beds. She tucked them in and gave them each a goodnight kiss, and was choked with emotion when Bertha clung to her. ‘I love you,’ she said. Just a brief, simple remark, but spoken from the heart.

‘I love you, too,’ her big sister whispered, and creeping out of the room, she left them to their slumbers.

Leaning against the wall, she stayed on the landing for a time, her heart heavy and the tears very close. ‘They miss you so much, Mam,’ she murmured. ‘Be strong, if only for them.’ The truth was, she missed Amy, too. The house didn’t seem the same without her.

Some short time later, having washed at the sink, brushed her hair and changed into a clean, white blouse and loose dark trousers, Molly was waiting for Rosie to return when the door opened. ‘Now there’s a pretty sight!’ Handsome and cheeky as ever, Alfie hurried across the room, arms outstretched. ‘Any chance of a kiss?’ he enquired, then took it without waiting for her answer.

‘You’re full of yourself, aren’t you?’ Molly teased, and her joy in him was evident. When all else was going wrong in her life, Alfie was the one element that was right.

Leading her to the sofa, he kept his arm round her, his mood more serious. ‘Mam says you had some bad news today?’

She nodded. ‘Oh, I’ll soon find something, don’t worry.’

‘I’m sure you will.’ He winked. ‘Once the word gets out, they’ll be queuing up for you.’

‘Huh!’ Worried though she was, Molly had to laugh. ‘I hope you’re right.’

‘I reckon you deserve a night out. How about you and me going to the flicks? The Odeon is open again at long last.’