Daisy had been enthusiastic about the prospect of moving into the flat. With her promotion to manageress and the accompanying rise in wages, and without having to pay rent on the house where she had been living, she was much better off financially. The children were still off school for the summer holidays and her girls had great fun organizing their bedrooms, the three eldest sleeping in the largest and Sarah and Katy in the room which had been Betsy’s. Daisy was sleeping on a sofa bed in the sitting room.

It had been strange for Rose to see the little home where she and Betsy had been so happy changing, but she knew she was doing the sensible thing. Alexander had put a notice advertising a change of management in the shop window, and one outside for good measure, and so the die was cast.

Amy had been delighted for Daisy and thanked Rose each time she called in. ‘It’s made all the difference, you taking her on at the bakery and now this,’ she said as she sat feeding the baby, John Wilbur, who was named after his two grandfathers. ‘Our family can never thank you enough, lass. You know that, don’t you?’

‘Don’t be silly. Think how you all helped me when I arrived here not knowing a soul, Amy. And Betsy loves Daisy’s girls. They’re the sisters she’s never had and I’m so grateful for that. She could have been lonely, being an only child.’

It was the evening before the wedding and Betsy had stayed at the Hall helping Arabella with the last-minute details. Both the parish church and the ballroom at the Hall where the wedding breakfast was being held were a mass of flowers; Arabella had had the staff working from sunrise to sundown but both she and Betsy were delighted with the result. Even William had unbent a little and got involved, and the day before he had taken Betsy for a walk in the rose garden, naming all the different roses growing there. She had sensed a softening in Alexander’s father – certainly towards Betsy – over the last days and although she didn’t understand why, she was thankful for it.

Amy had finished feeding little John and she had just passed him to Rose when Betsy arrived with Alexander, full of the day’s happenings. All of that paled into insignificance, though, once Betsy was settled in a chair holding the baby on her lap. She adored him and her greatest delight was being allowed to cuddle him before they had to leave.

Once they had said their goodbyes and were on their way home, out of the blue Betsy piped up, ‘Are you and Uncle Alexander going to have a baby, Mam? Alice said that’s what happens when people get married.’

Alexander swerved slightly but kept his eyes firmly ahead.