It was the following morning, just before midday, that the bell on the door tinkled and Adam’s youngest brother, Ronnie, walked into the shop. Ruby recognized him immediately even though she hadn’t seen him since the day he had come to see her at Mrs Walton’s with the message from Adam that had altered the course of her life so drastically. In those days he had been a grubbier, much younger edition of his older brother, and now he was the spitting image of how Adam had looked at thirteen or fourteen. Whether it was the memory of that other time that caused Ruby’s heart to drop like a stone she didn’t know, but she found herself incapable of speaking a word as they stared at each other. It was only Polly coming forward and saying, ‘Aye, what is it?’ in a tone that stated all too clearly this high-class shop wasn’t the place for the likes of him, that enabled Ruby to turn and say, ‘It’s all right, Polly. I’ll deal with this.’

‘Mam sent me.’ Ronnie, too, found his voice as he flashed an indignant glare at Polly. ‘There’s been a fall.’

There’s been a fall. They were the words every mining family dreaded. Even before Adam had begun working at the pit she’d been afraid of those words, knowing how close he was to his father and brothers, and then when he, himself, had gone down the mine she’d never been free of the fear. ‘Come upstairs. Polly, you and Sarah take over, and I’m not to be disturbed.’

Once Ronnie was standing in her sitting room twiddling his cap between his fingers, she said, ‘You’re frozen – come and sit by the fire and I’ll get you a hot drink in a minute.’

She was putting off the moment when he would tell her, she was aware of that, and maybe he was too because he didn’t move from his spot just inside the door but blurted, ‘They’re all down, me brothers, an’ your da’s bin took bad an’ all. The shock, the doctor said. Mam said I had to come an’ tell you ’cause her an’ da are at the pit gates and Olive an’ all.’

He was clearly on the verge of tears and through the horror Ruby found herself saying calmly, ‘That’s a good lad, you’ve told me – now come and sit down, all right? Just sit here and I’ll get you something to warm you.’ The icy rain of the last days had given way to a light dusting of snow that morning and now more flakes were drifting in the wind.

‘I’ve got to get back.’