‘Oh, David, that is good news. I will take my chances with that.’

‘Oh, I wish you wouldn’t, but I do understand. And about Iris: didn’t you say she had given her notice in?’

‘She was going to the moment I was free, yes.’

‘Well then, I will contact her and make sure that she has. I didn’t mention her and, as she didn’t take part in your escape in the end, it is her word against Michael’s and John’s that she even knew about any plans. Not that it will matter. No criminal offence has been committed, just an internal one; and if Iris has already left the trust’s employment, then they cannot do anything to her.’

Mags stood for a long moment staring at the telephone, analysing what her options were. Four hundred pounds wasn’t a lot in the world she was used to living in, but she could live well within that, and for quite some time, as her experience in Belgium had shown her. She thought for a moment about her own workers at the mill, earning an average of one hundred and fifty pounds a year – and they kept their families on that. Well, I can do the same. And I can surely secure a position in an accounts office, with the experience that I have.

Feeling much brighter about her future, though still unsure whether to risk going to Scotland, Mags ordered dinner, noting the cost of room service for the first time. Tomorrow, and for the few remaining days she had here, she would go out and find a cheaper place to eat. There’ll be no more Ritz for you, Mags Roford! And, thinking about it, no more Mrs Roford. Once I leave here, I will change my name. Then she giggled at the preposterous voice inside her that said: Maybe, one day, to Mags Charvet?

Betsy held the letter from Mags for a long time without speaking.

‘Tell me, lass, what does she say, eh?’

Bill’s tone wasn’t his usual gentle one. Since finding out she was expecting Roford’s baby, his manner had changed. Everything had changed. Their new-found loving in bed at night had stopped, with Bill turning his back as soon as they got between the sheets. No goodnight kiss, no cuddling up to her, and at least a foot of no-man’s-land between them. Betsy couldn’t blame him, for it was a lot for him to live with. She couldn’t even blame him for doubting her, as she deserved no less, although that hurt the most. No matter that her story wasn’t true, Bill didn’t know that and he should trust and believe in her.

Telling him how everything had changed deepened his mood. ‘Naw. Now what? It seems Roford, the swine, holds all the cards. I feel sorry for Mags, but where does that leave us, eh?’

‘Where we’ve allus been, only a little worse off. We have to get jobs, Bill.’

‘What, you in your condition? Who’s going to take on a pregnant wench, eh? Tell me that, if you can.’