There was a mad exodus as the children immediately discarded the ornaments they were holding and headed off as if they hadn’t eaten for a month.

‘Phew!’ Cissie sighed with relief and looked up at Sunday, who was balancing rather precariously on a stepladder in order to decorate the top of the tree. It was only inches from the high ceiling and like Cissie she was feeling a bit on edge. She just hoped no one let Barney the labrador out of the boot room where he’d been put to keep him from ‘helping’. The cats would no doubt come and investigate. One year, they had pulled the entire tree down.

‘Aren’t you going for your dinner, pet?’ Sunday asked Kitty as she tentatively descended the ladder. The child was standing observing the tree with her thumb jammed in her mouth.

‘I wanted to wait for you,’ she said.

As Sunday’s feet landed on the ground the child took her hand and Sunday’s heart melted as she felt the warm tiny fingers in her own. She suffered all manner of guilt feelings about the love she felt about Kitty; after all, she had always promised herself that every child in her care should be treated equally – but try as she might, she couldn’t stop herself from having a soft spot for this little one. There was something about her that was just so appealing. True, she grew prettier with every month that passed, but it wasn’t just her looks that made her so lovable, it was her character too. The little girl rarely complained about anything, even Maggie’s sulks. This worried Sunday, for she was aware that she wouldn’t always be there to protect her, and Kitty’s passive nature meant that others might easily take advantage of her. She had often remarked on this to Tom, but he waved aside her concerns. ‘That’s a long way off,’ he would tell her – and she supposed he was right.

Now she and Cissie headed for the dining room with Kitty walking sedately between them and found themselves amidst noisy and less than organised chaos. A scrimmage, in fact. Kitty instantly skipped off to claim the seat at the side of Ben. Maggie had already positioned herself on the other side of him and she made a face at Kitty as Ben affectionately tousled Kitty’s shining dark hair. The children were all highly excited about the delivery of the tree and the fact that Christmas was almost upon them, and they were so noisy that the four adults could barely make themselves heard above the laughter and chatting.

‘Bloody ’ell, I reckon I can feel a headache comin’ on,’ Cissie groaned as she began to ladle vegetables from a large tureen onto the nearest children’s plates.

‘At least they’re happy.’ Sunday winked at her as she served the children at the other end of the table and eventually when their plates were full, they quietened a little in order to wolf down their food. The way they saw it, the sooner the meal was over the sooner they could get back to decorating the tree – hence the food disappeared at an amazing rate.