He knew the food was for them, Olive thought. In July when the strike had still dragged on Ruby had come on a visit and brought their mam various things and left a shopping bag full of food for Adam and Alice and herself too. She had made the mistake of telling Adam this rather than hiding the food and slowly doling it out, which in hindsight would have been the sensible thing to do, but she hadn’t expected his reaction. He’d been furious that day, refusing to eat anything Ruby had given them and telling her that she and Alice must have it between them, but that she wasn’t to accept another thing from her sister. She didn’t tell him that there had been five shillings along with the food that day, and when Ruby had visited their mam twice since then and each time left shopping and a few shillings for them, somehow she had managed to conceal it from Adam. It had meant Alice was fed and for that she would have defied the Devil himself. But Adam was looking ill and his clothes were hanging off him and today she had made the decision that enough was enough.

Very quietly, she said, ‘You need to eat and keep your strength up, Adam. How are you going to be able to work down the pit when the strike’s over if you’re ill? Ruby – Ruby wants to help us.’

‘I don’t want her help.’ Now his voice was like the crack of a whip. ‘Let her play the Lady Bountiful with your mam an’ da – I’ll look after us.’