The greeting was the same as ever from Danny’s mother. Rosie hugged her warmly and smiled brightly, though the worry never quite left her eyes. Kate was saddened to see that Rosie was no longer the bouncy chatterbox; Danny’s disappearance had caused that.

They can’t know about me, Kate thought, as she allowed herself to be ushered into the kitchen and pressed into the chair near the range. Kate looked around. ‘Where’s – the baby?’

‘Robbie’s asleep in the back garden,’ Rosie said. ‘Me Uncle Georgie brought one of those big baby cars home. He’s buried in it, poor little mite.’ She held back the curtain at the kitchen window and Kate looked out to see a black perambulator in the middle of the strip of grass outside the window. It was so deep that only the covers were visible. From here she could see no sign of the baby in its depths.

‘He’ll wake up soon. Always hungry, he is. I’ll fetch him in then for you to see him. He’s growing so fast, ain’t he, Nan? We call her Nan now. She loves being a grandma, don’t you?’

Beth smiled gently, her brown eyes soft with love for her grandson. Then, in her quiet, concerned way, she asked Kate, ‘How’ve you been then, lovey?’

Kate glanced from one to the other of them. Did they know? They were looking at her, but their expressions gave nothing away.

‘Er – well . . .’ She hesitated, twisting her hands together in her lap.

Beth touched her hand lightly. ‘It’s all right, Katie, we know about the bairn.’

The gentleness in her tone touched Kate more deeply than her own mother’s wrath. Tears sprang into her eyes and there was such a lump in her throat that for a moment she couldn’t speak.

She brushed the tears away from her eyes with the back of her hand, like a child. ‘I’m sorry. It’s just that – me mam’s that mad . . .’

‘Oh, we know all about yar mam being mad,’ Beth said grimly. ‘I’ve heard her.’

‘She’s told you?’

Beth shook her head. ‘Oh, no. She’s not speaking to me again now. I heard her through the wall when she comes to see Grannie Harris next door. Ranting and raving, she was, one day. I could hear ev’ry word.’

Kate sighed with resignation. ‘I might have known you two wouldn’t be speaking again by now! I really thought it might be different – I mean, after the bomb, and then how she came at once to Rosie when Robbie was born. Didn’t need asking twice . . .’