Larry stared at Jed as he continued his well-rehearsed speech. The little bastard seemed to have the woman judge eating out of his hand and, as for sounding uneducated, his use of the English language was top-drawer.

Jed had introduced his parents to the judge and then ordered them to wait outside the room. His mother had a habit of losing her rag and he didn’t want her to balls things up for him. He smirked at Larry and Carol and then turned back to the judge. ‘Shall I bring the children in now?’

The judge ignored Jed’s question and turned to Carol and Larry. ‘Would you like to speak on behalf of Francesca Mitchell now?’

Larry spoke first, then Carol did her very best to assure the judge that Georgie and Harry would benefit from contact with their mother. The judge listened intently about the evening the children ran away, until Carol brought the swear words that Alice had taught them into the equation.

‘This is a court, not a playground, Mrs Cullen. Telling tales isn’t going to sway my judgement,’ she said sternly.

Carol felt deflated as she glanced at Larry. She had attended many of these civil court hearings and had had many success stories, but this particular judge, whom she had never dealt with before, seemed like a complete cow and Carol would put money on it that the old bat was childless herself.

The judge turned to Jed again. ‘Could I speak to the children now?’

Georgie and Harry were waiting outside with Jimmy and Alice and, as Jed left the room to collect them, Larry turned to the judge. ‘You do realise that the children are three and four years old, don’t you? Whatever do you expect to gain by talking to them? Isn’t it blatantly obvious that their father has probably taught them their answers? That’s why he brought them here.’

‘You have no right to say that about my client. His children have every right to air their views,’ Jed’s solicitor said angrily.

The judge ignored Larry’s questions and, as Jed returned with Georgie and Harry, ordered Carol to wait outside. She had never been a fan of social workers and had taken an instant dislike to Carol Cullen.

Jed grinned cockily at Carol as she passed him. She might have passed a load of exams and all that palaver, but she was nowhere near as clued-up as he was.

Because of the children attending the case, the judge had chosen to hold the hearing in a room with a big round table, rather than a formal-looking courtroom. She always did this when young children were involved, as it was less daunting for them and they seemed to speak far more freely in pleasant surroundings.

The judge smiled as Georgie and Harry were helped onto two big chairs. She introduced herself and then asked them if they knew why they were at the court.