For Mrs Bolton was a formidable sight. A huge mound of a woman, with tiny spectacles and a round red face, she looked terrifying when she smiled, as she did now at Molly. ‘Tell your mother the children are a credit to her,’ she purred, her body filling up the little porch. ‘They know their manners, and that’s more than I can say for some of the little horrors!’

‘Are they doing all right with their work?’ Molly was new at talking to teachers, and she felt uncomfortable.

‘Well, Georgie has trouble with his reading, but he’s good at sums, and Milly has trouble with her arithmetic, but she’s better at reading.’ Giving a hearty laugh, the woman suggested, ‘They should share it out better, don’t you think?’

Molly didn’t know quite what to say, so she smiled politely instead. ‘Thank you,’ she mumbled, and immediately felt silly.

‘Good!’ Clumsily throwing open her umbrella, Mrs Bolton almost poked Molly in the eye. ‘Tell your mother if she ever wants to see me, I’m available for ten minutes at the end of each day.’ With that she pushed her way through and marched regally out into the rain like a real hero.

‘She’s fat!’ Milly didn’t mince her words.

‘It’s not her fault,’ Georgie retorted. ‘Her mam gave her too many sausages when she was a baby.’

Molly laughed out loud. ‘Who told you that?’

‘Mrs Bolton. She told it to Dicky Donley when he called her fat in the playground. Then she gave him a hundred lines saying, Mrs Bolton is not fat, Mrs Bolton is not fat, Mrs Bo—’

‘That’s enough!’

Grabbing hold of the children, Molly made a run for it. She was still chuckling when they got on the tram, five minutes later.

It was time for Rosie to pop back home. ‘I’ll get the men’s dinner then I’ll be back,’ she promised. ‘Don’t forget I’m minding the bairns while you and Alfie go out tonight.’

Walking to the door with her, Molly said sombrely, ‘I’ll have to tell him tonight, Rosie – about America, and everything.’ But first she had to be sure. ‘You will back me up, won’t you?’

For a moment the woman looked into the girl’s troubled blue eyes. ‘I can’t see any other way.’ Like Molly, she was desolate. ‘I’ll do all I can,’ she promised. ‘And may God help the pair of us!’

The first thing Molly did when Rosie was gone was to go up to Lottie and remind her, ‘I want you out of that bed before Dad gets home, or there’ll be hell to pay.’

Lottie turned over and didn’t answer, but her sister knew she’d heard, so she left it at that.

Downstairs, she busied herself. Getting out the big bowl and rolling pin, she set to making a meat and potato pie. The leftover potatoes were sliced in half and put in a tray of lard to bake in the oven. Together with the carrots and gravy, it would make a tasty meal.