Once the kitchen was spick and span and knowing Adam wouldn’t be back for a good while, Olive decided to give Alice a treat and take the old tin bath out into the yard and fill it with warm water for the child to play in before bed. The day had been hot and sticky and it would be good for Alice to tire herself out and have a wash at the same time. After bringing out a chair from the kitchen and setting it to the side of the tin bath, Olive sat in the sunshine watching Alice tipping water from one bowl to another with the fierce concentration only very young children bring to bear. As ever when she had a minute to herself, she found her thoughts drifting to Ruby and the bitter regrets she had regarding her sister. Before Ruby had disappeared out of all their lives, Olive would have sworn on oath that the only feeling she had for her sister was one of dislike. It had taken Ruby walking out for her to understand that buried under all the layers of resentment and jealousy and ill will was a feeling akin to love. She would give the world to be able to turn back time to that New Year’s Eve and change things, but of course that was impossible, and anyway, she wouldn’t have Alice if that night had been different.

Alice stood up in the water, her wet skin gleaming in the sunlight like a seal’s, and offered her mother one of the bowls saying, ‘Dink, Mama, dink.’

Olive took the bowl and pretended to drink. ‘What a lovely cup of tea, thank you.’

Alice giggled delightedly, plonking down in the bath again and continuing her game. For the hundredth time it struck Olive just how like Ruby her daughter was. Alice had the same sunny nature and zest for life, the same ability to captivate folk and make them love her – everyone except her own father, that was. She bit down hard on her bottom lip.

She hadn’t been too worried at first when Adam had refused to have anything to do with the child. Lots of men were nervous of newborn babies and didn’t want to hold them, but then as the days and weeks had gone by she had realized it was much more than mere male apprehension at dealing with such a little person that was bothering Adam. He didn’t look at Alice if he could help it; in fact, he ignored her presence altogether. It was as if the baby didn’t exist.