She nodded, expecting more questions, but he merely looked her up and down, though not unkindly, before he said, ‘I only have three rooms – we’re not a big place as you can see – and two of them are occupied, the best two. I’ve a smaller one free.’

‘Could I see it?’ She’d pulled herself together now and her voice was stronger.

‘Right you are. Come with me. Here, let me carry them for you,’ he added, taking the bags from her before she could protest. ‘The stairs are steep, you’ll have to hold onto the bairn.’

She followed him through the archway he’d come out of moments before into a gloomy corridor, an open door a few feet away revealing a kitchen where a woman and a younger girl were working at a table. ‘That’s me wife an’ daughter,’ he said conversationally as he led the way to where a flight of stairs disappeared upwards almost totally vertically. She could see now why he had taken the bags. Gathering Betsy in her arms, she climbed the stairs carefully, steadying herself with the stout handrail, and emerged onto a fairly wide landing which had light streaming into it from a window at the far end. The landlord walked past two doors and stopped at a third, opening it with a key he took from a large bunch hanging on a brass ring attached to his trousers. He stood aside for her to precede him into the room. Although it was small as he’d warned, holding a three-quarter-size bed, a single wardrobe and a small table with a china bowl and jug on it, Rose liked what she saw. There was a patchwork quilt, bright yellow curtains at the window and a thick clippy mat to the side of the bed. The floorboards were clean and polished and everything seemed fresh, and although the whitewashed walls were devoid of any pictures or a mirror, the room seemed homely and welcoming.

‘It’s a bob a night, cheaper if you stay for a week. We don’t do breakfast – the wife likes a lie-in – and the evening meals start from five through until the wife says she’s had enough. She’d always rustle up a sandwich or soup for lunch for you and the bairn, though. She does the same for any guests.’

‘I’ll take it.’ Rose put Betsy down, reaching into her pocket for her purse. ‘How much do I owe you for the week?’