As they walked up the stairs Jane realised how lucky she was to have a place of her own in a nice part of London. She’d taken a liking to Emma and Rachel, and it seemed so unfair that they should have to live on a rundown and crime-ridden estate. She suspected that even if she did put a word in with the council on the sisters’ behalf, they probably wouldn’t give them preferential treatment.

As Emma unlocked the flat door Rachel held her open hands, palms up, towards Jane. She bent her fingers back and forth at the knuckles in short, repeated movements, then put the tips of her fingers together to form the shape of a roof.

‘She’s welcoming you to our flat,’ Emma said.

Jane smiled and said, ‘Thank you.’

The kitchen was to the right and opposite it a cupboard storage space, next to which was a bathroom, then a separate toilet and another room, which Jane suspected was a bedroom. Opposite was a room with the door open, in which Jane could see two single beds with handmade multicoloured patchwork throws on them. At the end of the hallway Emma opened a door, which led in to a reasonably sized living room. As Jane walked into the room, she recognised the musty smell of dampness and could see a small area of black mould on the wall under the large wooden-framed double window. Emma turned on the electric fire.

‘Sorry about the damp smell – once the room heats up it goes away. Rainwater’s been leaking in through the window frame, which is starting to rot. We keep cleaning the mould off with bleach and water, but it always comes back.’

Rachel looked at Jane and mimed drinking a cup of tea from a saucer.

‘That would be lovely,’ Jane replied, and Rachel went to the kitchen.

‘Let me take your coat and I’ll put it in the hallway cupboard for now.’

While Emma helped Rachel make the tea, Jane looked around the neat and tidy carpeted living room. In front of the two-seater settee was a small wooden coffee table. On it were some coloured sketches of different styles of skirts, dresses and women’s blouses, which Jane assumed were sewing designs. On the wall above the fireplace were some small black chalk figure drawings; there was one of a young girl kneeling and cleaning a floor, a similar one with an older woman doing the same thing and another of an old man digging in a field with a spade. The drawings looked familiar, but Jane couldn’t remember where she’d seen them before.