Ella gasped. ‘Of course I will.’ Leaping up from the supper table, she flung her arms around her grandmother’s neck. ‘Oh, thank you, Gran, thank you.’

Esther wriggled under Ella’s embrace and murmured, ‘There’s no need for all that,’ but when Ella drew back she saw that the older woman’s face was pink and she was still smiling.

‘I’ll write to Peg tonight and ask if it’s all right for you and Janice to go,’ her grandpa volunteered. ‘You could stay two nights.’

On the morning of their trip as she waited in the yard for Janice, Jonathan pressed some money into her hand. ‘Get something nice for your gran, something really pretty and frivolous.’

Ella grinned up at him. ‘If she chunters at it being a waste of good money, I’ll blame you.’

‘She’ll love it, I promise you. She deserves to be spoilt for once.’ He chuckled. ‘But I’m sure she wouldn’t want us to make a habit of it.’

She tucked the notes safely in her purse with her own spending money as the Souters’ car swung in at the gate, Janice’s excited face peering out of the passenger window. ‘Come on, Ella, we’ll miss that bus.’

‘’Bye Grandpa. See you Thursday night.’ Ella ran to climb into the back of Mr Souter’s old car, wrinkling her nose at the inevitable smell of chickens and sitting on the edge of the seat to avoid the feathers.

‘Hang on to ya hats,’ Dick Souter called wheezily from behind the wheel. ‘’Cos I’ll tek ya round corners on two wheels.’

‘Oh, Dad,’ laughed Janice. ‘This car couldn’t possibly go fast enough!’ But the next minute the two girls found themselves rolling from side to side and hanging on for dear life as Dick Souter, foot pressed to the floor, rocketed them into town to catch the bus.

The journey took two and a quarter hours, but Janice, excited at her first trip to a city, never stopped talking, and Ella was quiet with her own thoughts; every mile was taking her nearer and nearer Lincoln.

After all this time – six long years – she was going home.

They got off the bus in Broadgate and walked along Clasketgate into the High Street and to the large department store where Peggy Godfrey worked.

‘Oh, look.’ Janice gripped her arm. ‘Look at all the – the . . .’ her bright eyes flicked from side to side, fearful of missing something ‘. . . things. Oh, isn’t it wonderful?’ She walked through the departments, touching leather handbags and gloves, leaning over the glass counters displaying jewellery, holding her nose in the air and breathing deeply near the perfume counter and staring in amazement at the range of make-up, lipsticks, eye shadows. ‘Oh, look, do look, Ella. I must buy some of this – and this – and oh, look, blue mascara.’