Blow the nosy old biddies, she thought as she stood and waved him off, making something of a show of it. She would be leaving here soon and they’d have to find someone else to gossip about. As Edward disappeared round the corner of the street, one of the curtains drew aside slightly and Ruby caught a glimpse of a face. Looking straight at the woman she raised her hand and smiled before turning on her heel and entering the house. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, she thought with immense satisfaction, even though it would undoubtedly put another nail in her coffin.

‘Brazen, she is,’ they would say, full of self-righteousness as they enjoyed their tittle-tattle. ‘Right brass neck on that one.’

Mabel was waiting with a plateful of stuffed cod and pease pudding that she’d kept warm in the oven, followed by a generous helping of baked jam roll. Once she had eaten and had a cup of tea with Mabel, explaining all that had gone on in the day, Ruby went straight to bed, her legs leaden as she climbed the stairs.

She fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow and for the first time since Ellie’s death, there were no bad dreams. Unfortunately, though, there were plenty about Edward. She was finding out more and more that where he was concerned, she couldn’t control her subconscious desire and longings as easily as she could her conscious mind.

Chapter Nineteen

Adam stared at his father. He and his brothers were in their mam’s kitchen, drinking tea that was so weak it was just hot water, after going on yet another march. Adam wasn’t the only one in the room who thought the marches to get people’s attention were a waste of time. No matter how well behaved the men were the police always arrested somebody, either for ‘conduct likely to cause a riot’ or ‘thinking about causing a riot’ or some such thing. The police were out to get certain men whom they considered troublemakers and they would hound them until they did; in Adam’s opinion the marches just gave the law the perfect opportunity to trump up some excuse and cart the men off to jail. But his father didn’t see it that way and Adam, along with his brothers, knew their da was one of the men the police were targeting and for that reason they always accompanied him on the marches. Their father had been a puffler for the last few years at the pit, which meant that if any of the men’s wages had been docked unfairly or a miner had another grievance, it was he who went and argued their case with the deputy, and the overman too if necessary. It meant their father had got under the owner’s skin, which meant in turn he was now labelled an ‘agitator’. His card was marked.