Janice grinned sheepishly. ‘Maybe. Maybe not. Aw, come on, El, I’ve never been let loose in a place like this before. I’ll just get something nice for Rob, I’m not bothered about anyone else.’

‘Oh, ta very much,’ Ella teased.

Janice gave her a swift grin. ‘Well, you know what I mean.’ Still holding on to the magazine, she came to Ella. ‘Have you got him summat, then?’ And as Ella showed her the book on motorcycles, Janice grimaced. ‘He’ll like that. Trust you to get there first.’ But she said it good-naturedly and together they pondered what Janice could buy Rob for Christmas.

‘How about aftershave?’

‘Eh? Does he shave yet?’

Ella laughed. ‘I think so. Haven’t you seen how dark his chin looks some days and then quite pale another. And I saw a little nick on his chin once as if he’d cut himself.’

‘Can’t say I’ve noticed,’ Janice said airily.

‘Thought he was your boyfriend?’ Ella said slyly and Janice smiled coyly. ‘One of many, young Ella,’ she said patting her long hair. ‘Keep ’em guessing, that’s what I say. Come on, isn’t it time we was meeting yar aunty for dinner?’

They walked though the arches of the Stonebow to where the old sixteenth-century half-timbered black and white building straddled the bridge. The smell of real coffee met them even before they stepped into the small shop. They climbed the narrow wooden stairs to the upper floors and found a seat near the window overlooking the High Street and beyond it the river where swans glided up and down. Ella sighed as she sat down and settled her packages at the side of her. The last time she had been in this café, she’d been about nine and her mother had been at her side. But in Janice’s company, there was no time for maudlin thoughts. ‘Just look down there at all that traffic,’ the girl exclaimed, pressing her nose to the small leaded window panes. ‘Can them double deckers get through that arch, then?’

Ella nodded.

‘There you are,’ came Peggy’s cheerful voice as she slipped in beside Ella. ‘Have you had a good morning?’

‘It’s wonderful, Miss Godfrey. You’re so lucky to live here,’ Janice said, and Ella felt a thrill of pride for the city of her birth. She had always loved the place, but to hear Janice in excited raptures added to her pleasure.

They ordered hot soup and steak and kidney pie.

‘Now, tell me how they are at home?’ Peggy said.

Ella almost said, ‘Fleethaven’s not my home – Lincoln is,’ but for once she bit back the remark. She didn’t want Peggy to think she had been unhappy at Brumbys’ Farm for the last six years, because she realized with a slight shock, it would not have been true, at least not all of the time. There had been some good times.