Hedley had been persuaded, or more likely bribed by his mother, to attend, dressing imposingly in his captain’s uniform, but he looked embarrassed and ill at ease until Jenny asked him to help sell the raffle tickets. They did this together and Kate was amazed to find that they had sold every last one. Even more surprising was the fact that Hedley seemed to be enjoying himself and Jenny was seized with a fit of the giggles at something her unlikely partner had said. It all boded well for the success of the sale.

It was Kate’s job to keep the tea urn topped up with boiling water from the range in the vicarage kitchen. It entailed a swift walk across the lawn and through a gap in the hedge to the back door of the hall, and she had eight-year-old Frankie to help her. They stood together, waiting for instructions from Martha, who was in charge of the urn, with Ivy standing by to pour the milk. It was seven-year-old May’s job to pass round the sugar and to keep cheeky boys from stealing the precious and expensive glistening lumps of sweetness.

Arabella and Elaine marshalled the other committee ladies to their stations behind the various stalls, selling all manner of second-hand articles, quite a few of which had come from the large houses in the area. These were the items that many of the village women seemed to prize most, and Kate expected to see Mrs Whitely, the butcher’s wife, wearing a bonnet donated by Lady Martin or Lady Lyndon at next Sunday’s church service. There were embroidered hankies, fur tippets and lacy woollen shawls, as well as jars of homemade hand cream, lotions and a vast array of cheaper second-hand clothes, caps, gloves and mufflers. The glass jars filled with colourful boiled sweets were temptation enough, but there were also pyramids of sugared almonds, and trays of toffee with vicious-looking pincers to break it into irresistible chunks. Crowds of children jostled for position, although most of them were simply onlookers, having no pennies to spend. Kate could see their small faces alight with pleasure simply imagining the delights of munching on such treats, and she had a bag of farthings saved for this occasion, which she would hand out surreptitiously so that no one went home feeling disappointed.