‘Like I said before,’ said Dorothy, ‘my husband had a detrimental effect on Johnny’s character, and I doubt you’ll hear from him again.’

‘But he promised,’ said Connie, finally.

Dorothy gave her a look as if to say you poor thing. Connie clenched her fists.

‘There was another girl,’ Dorothy went on, ‘in the last place we lived. She thought Johnny was the bee’s knees. Mooned over him night and day. Always at our door. Pretty little thing, truth be told, but not enough to hold onto Johnny. When we moved, there was no backward glance.’

‘But . . .’ Connie struggled to understand. ‘In my case, it’s different, we . . .’ She wanted to say they loved each other, but she thought it would sound foolish. ‘We care for each other,’ she said instead.

Dorothy sat back, hands folded. ‘Then why hasn’t he written to you?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘How far along are you?’

‘Three months,’ Connie mumbled, her nails digging into her skin.

Dorothy sucked in her breath and shook her head. ‘It’s a pity you didn’t come and see me earlier. Have you tried anything at all?’

Connie stared at her. Yes was the answer. She had moved heavy furniture and run fast as if she might dislodge the baby. But she didn’t want to admit that, so she shook her head.

‘No? Well, it’s not too late.’

‘But . . .’

‘The thing is,’ Dorothy continued quietly, ‘you’re not the first young woman to have made this decision and you certainly won’t be the last. When I was a midwife, you wouldn’t believe the things I saw. Young girls – younger than you, giving birth.’ She shook her head slowly. ‘Fourteen, fifteen years old. No fathers to be seen. The babies were passed off as their siblings to avoid the shame or sent for adoption.’

‘Adoption?’

‘Yes. And frankly that wasn’t always what the girls wanted. It was their parents.’

‘They were forced?’

‘More or less. Of course, the girls had to sign papers, more often than not, but . . . yes. It’s the shame, you see. There’s no shortage of fingers pointing when society comes across an unmarried mother. There are plenty of young girls with loose morals these days and that’s all very well, unless you’re caught out.’