Nellie sighed. ‘Hasn’t it sunk in yet? It’s a bit late for that, girl. It’s your old man’s business now.’

‘I don’t care whose name is over the door!’ Anna’s temper flared. ‘It’s my father’s business, he built it up from nothing.’

‘It’s just bricks and mortar, girl.’

Nellie’s words stopped Anna in her tracks.

‘Listen to me,’ she said. ‘If your father’s half as good a man as you reckon he is, do you really think he’d want you to put yourself through this? I bet if you asked him he’d tell you to get yourself out of it while you still can.’ Her face softened, her green eyes turning gentle. ‘Face it, your dad’s long gone. And if you’ve got any sense, you’ll go too. Before Eddie’s taken away your last shred of self-respect and you’re too ashamed to try to leave.’

It’s too late for that, Anna thought bleakly.

‘Well?’ Nellie prompted her.

Anna looked back at the other woman standing in front of her, a shimmering blur of red hair and creamy skin through her tears. She had no idea how long they had both been standing there, but suddenly she felt deeply weary, right down to her bones.

‘Go home,’ she said.

Nellie blinked at her in surprise. ‘But what about the shop?’

‘We’re not opening today.’

‘Eddie won’t like that.’

Anna felt her temper flare again, a spark igniting in her chest. ‘Eddie isn’t here, is he?’

Nellie stood her ground, arms folded over her ample chest. ‘What about my money?’

‘You’ll get it.’

Nellie didn’t look convinced until Anna found her purse and took out a ten-shilling note. Nellie grabbed it and rooted around for a moment, arranging it inside her grubby blouse.

Anna turned away and opened the oven door. The delicious aroma of warm baking bread filled the kitchen. Nellie breathed in deeply.

‘Lovely,’ she sighed. She looked at Anna. ‘You’re a better baker than he is, you know. Eddie knows it, too.’

Anna held herself rigid, her back turned. She tipped out the first loaf and tapped the base, listening for the hollow sound.

‘You’ve still got friends, you know. You might not think it, but you have. Including me,’ she added quietly.

Anna ignored her. She turned out another loaf and tapped it.

‘Suit yourself,’ Nellie sighed. Anna heard the back door open, then Nellie said, ‘But I’ll prove how much of a friend I am. Look in the back of Eddie’s wardrobe. There’s something in there that might cheer you up.’

The back door closed, and all Anna’s fragile strength seemed to seep out of her body. She slumped forward, curling her fingers around the wooden counter top for support.

Nellie was wrong, so wrong. Anna did not have any friends. She was utterly, utterly alone.

And that was the way Edward had wanted it. Anna could see it now, as plain as day. All the time he had supposedly been protecting her, convincing her that he had her best interests at heart, that he was the only one she could truly trust, he had been planting seeds of doubt in her mind, isolating her from her friends and family.