Please send my love to Vinny, Roy, Michael and Brenda. I wish all of them happy and healthy lives. Also give my regards to Albie, please. Whatever your thoughts on him, Albie has a good heart.

There is so much more I want to say to you, darling, but if I carry on writing, it will turn into a book and I don’t want to bore you.

Therefore, my final words to you are, try to remember the good times if you think of me in the future. Our hop-picking days in Kent, the laughs we had at the beach in Southend. Think of the pre-war days, my love. The good old days.

Stay healthy and be happy, my beautiful firstborn.

Your loving Mum, Molly xx

PS I forgot to mention Mrs O’Leary’s rosary beads. I am so sorry I lost those for you. Never in a million years would I have done such a dreadful thing on purpose. Please forgive me for that mistake too. I don’t expect you to love or cry over me. But if you could forgive me for all my sins, I would be a very happy lady looking down on you. Xx

Tears streamed down Queenie’s cheeks. She might not have looked up to her mother, but she realized now she had loved her, deeply.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

I still felt dreadful when I woke up the following morning. Try as I might, I couldn’t get that letter out of my head. Mum had obviously seen herself as totally worthless. I’d have given anything to spend one more day with her, make her feel special; tell her how wonderful and loved she actually was. But I’d left it too late. Years too late, in fact. I felt gutted and empty inside.

I waved Brenda off to school and made myself a cuppa. I was just about to drink it when Vinny came bounding in like a bull in a china shop. ‘Whatever’s the matter?’ I asked.

Vinny smashed his fist so hard against the kitchen worktop, some of my tea slopped out of the cup. ‘I know you’ve been out having romantic lunches with a pig, I thought I told you to stay away. Shagging him are ya, Mother?’

‘Don’t talk so bleedin’ daft. Freddie is a friend. He needed some advice, that’s all,’ I said. I couldn’t believe we went all the way to Barking for lunch and I was still caught out.

Vinny was raging, his eyes glinting dangerously as he approached me. ‘Don’t you fucking lie to me. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, reefing around you like a lovelorn puppy. Now tell me what’s really going on. Why you sneaking off to Barking with him?’ Vinny snarled.

For the first time in my life, I felt wary of my own son. ‘I’m not lying to you. I bumped into Freddie yesterday morning. He’s met a new love, wanted my advice on what he should do, so I agreed to go for lunch with him. That’s it. I swear on my life.’