Anna flinched at the casual insult, but Nellie went on, ‘Mind you, he weren’t pleased that they went too far. Silly buggers nearly burned the place down with you in it. That would have been a thing, wouldn’t it? He would have ended up with nothing.’

Anna was silent for a long time. She didn’t want to believe it, but at the same time she knew there was a tiny spark of truth in what Nellie was saying. She had no reason to lie.

Unlike Edward.

No. No, it couldn’t be. She thought about his jealous rage over Tom’s letters. He hated the Franklins, he always had …

Or perhaps it was just Tom he hated? The thought came to her, crystal clear. He hated Tom because he was the one Edward could not control, the only one who saw through him. He was the only one who stood between Edward and his ruthless ambitions.

No wonder he had wanted her to cut off all ties with Tom. And Anna had gone along with it, out of blind, foolish love. She had allowed herself to turn her back on the one man who might have saved her.

‘Why would he do it?’ Dry-mouthed, her voice came out as a whisper. ‘If he wanted the business, why would he try to destroy it?’

‘Like I said, they went too far. I suppose he wanted to teach you a lesson, to frighten you. He told me he wanted to marry you before he was called up, but you wouldn’t do it. And you know Eddie don’t like his plans going wrong, does he?’

She knew too much about it to be lying, Anna thought. How could she have known Anna had turned down Edward’s plan for a quick wedding because she was so desperate for her father to give her away?

‘You need to leave him,’ Nellie’s urgent voice broke into her thoughts. ‘Leave him while you’ve still got the chance.’

While you’ve still got the chance. The words fell ominously, like leaden drops.

‘What do you think will happen to me?’ said Anna in a small voice.

‘I dunno,’ Nellie admitted. ‘Nothing, while I’ve got anything to do with it. I like you, believe it or not,’ she said wryly. ‘And I reckon you deserve better than you’ve got. But sooner or later Eddie is going to want you out of the way. At the moment, he’s hoping he can make you walk out on him. But I couldn’t imagine what he’s got in mind if you don’t.’ Nellie laid her hand on Anna’s arm. Her nails were grubby and bitten, Anna noticed. ‘You’ve got to leave him,’ she pleaded.

Anna saw the urgency in her eyes. If she didn’t know better she could almost believe that Nellie truly cared.

She turned away, shaking off Nellie’s restraining hand. ‘I don’t have a choice,’ she said. ‘This is my father’s bakery, and I have to hold on to it for his sake.’