Once she was settled in her armchair, the knock came again. ‘Better see who that is, Jen. If it’s a hawker, then he’s wasting his time in this street. No one here’s got money to spend on anything but rent and grub.’

Jenny opened the door and the man standing outside came as a shock. Matthew Stannard must be around twenty now, she guessed, and looking every inch the fine man, even in his overalls smeared with grease.

‘Hello, Jenny.’ He smiled in a friendly manner. ‘My mother asked me to call.’

‘Come in, young man,’ Ma called, craning her neck to get a good look at him.

He stepped inside. ‘Thank you, madam.’

She waved a hand dismissively. ‘My name’s Ma.’

He held out the parcel he’d had tucked under his arm. ‘Cook’s sent you a few things, Ma.’

‘Ah, that’s right kind of her. Give it to Jen. The other food she sent us was a real treat. We shared it with the neighbours. It was much enjoyed, young man.’

‘The name’s Matt.’ He stood in the middle of the room, so tall and broad he seemed to dominate the small space.

Ma was scrutinizing him through narrowed eyes, then, as if satisfied, she grinned. ‘Sit down, Matt, you’re blocking out the light.’

He did as ordered, watching Jenny as she took the food to the kitchen.

She soon returned with a broad smile on her face. ‘There’s another meat pie there, Ma. I think we ought to give Agnes and Jimmy some for their dinner, don’t you?’

‘I do. A good meal is just what they need today.’

‘I’ll take it there in a minute.’ Jenny sat next to Ma and looked at Matthew. She was expecting him to say that his mother couldn’t help with the centre, but that wouldn’t be a surprise; even asking her had been a terrible cheek. Still, she thought cynically, Mrs Stannard had sent the most attractive of her sons to break the news.

As if reading her thoughts, he raised an eyebrow quizzically, then said, ‘My mother has gathered together some of the best charity workers around, and they believe they can set up something in this area.’

‘Who’s going to pay for it?’ Ma wanted to know.

‘They’ve already got the backing of two charities who deal with the underprivileged, and they’re fairly sure they can get help from the social services.’

‘’Bout time they bloody well got their fingers out.’ Ma folded her arms and glared at Matt. ‘My poor Jenny’s running herself ragged trying to help, but they won’t listen to the likes of us. Don’t say nothing to no one around here until your mother’s sure she can do this. We don’t want folks getting their hopes up for nothing.’