‘Want to talk about whatever it is?’ she asked. ‘I’m a good listener.’

‘Thank you, but I don’t think so. I’ve already spoken to my counsellor.’

‘That’s all right, then.’

They spent the rest of the drive in silence.

As they pulled up outside Number 5, the woman gave Hope a card. ‘Phone me when you need picking up. I’m going to visit a friend a couple of streets away, so it’ll only take me five minutes to get here.’

‘Right. Thank you for doing this.’

‘People helped me when I was in your shoes.’

Hope stared at her in astonishment.

‘Don’t look so surprised. If you’ve come so far along the path to recovery that they’ve given you one of the flats, then like I did, you can go further. It really is possible to get your life back to normal again if you keep trying, and there are a lot of people available to help you work through your problems.’

‘Thank you for telling me.’

‘I’ll tell you one more thing. It helps me if I remind myself that no one in the world is problem-free and most people manage to muddle through life quite happily.’

That thought made Hope feel a bit better as she walked along the path to the front door. She didn’t doubt that her driver had been telling the truth about having been in her place once. There had been such gentle understanding in her eyes.

Janey heard the car stop outside and peeped out to check that it was her mother. Yes, no mistaking Hope scurrying down the path towards the front door – her mother always rushed to get inside after dark.

After opening the front door, Janey locked it behind them. ‘Millie’s in bed, I’m afraid. She was really tired today and fell asleep on my knee.’

‘Could I just peep at her? I won’t wake her up.’

‘Of course. You know the way. Cup of tea?’

‘Yes, please.’

‘And a piece of Winifred’s cake?’

‘Not till we’ve had our chat, if you don’t mind.’

Janey shook her head sadly as she went to make the tea. Her mother looked even more nervous than usual tonight. What could have happened to throw her into one of her tizzies?

She’d been looking forward to a quiet evening finishing off her library book, but saying no to her mother, who didn’t ask her for much, always felt like kicking a puppy. Not that she’d ever kicked a puppy, but she could imagine the same look of uncomprehending pain in a small creature’s eyes as her mother had sometimes got when they lived with her husband, who had been the worst pretence of a father Janey had ever heard of.

When Hope joined her in the sitting room, she nodded thanks for the mug of tea and sat clasping it in her hands for so long that Janey wondered if she was having second thoughts about whatever it was she intended to reveal tonight.