Peggy nodded trustingly as Edith passed her the teddy bear she had bought for her and seconds later the little girl’s eyelids were closing. Satisfied that she could do no more for now, Edith crept from the room.

John was waiting for her in the kitchen with a pot of tea on the table ready when she got downstairs and he asked, ‘So what’s all the fuss about then? Is she worrying about Bobby?’

Slumping onto a chair Edith passed a hand across her weary eyes and slowly told him what Peggy had said. By the time she had finished there were tears in John’s eyes and he looked devastated.

‘It makes me ashamed of my sex,’ he muttered. ‘I can’t believe that a father could do that to his own child!’

‘Oh, but some do, I assure you,’ Edith said regretfully. She herself had been beaten as a child, which was why she had left home and married at the earliest opportunity. Not that she had ever admitted it to a living soul, not even her own late husband. The shame had gone too deep, but it meant that now she knew exactly what Peggy had been through.

‘So, what do you think we should do about it?’ he asked as anger replaced the shock.

‘We could report it, I suppose, but the problem is it would be Peggy’s word against his,’ Edith said flatly. ‘And nine times out of ten the police don’t have time for things like this, particularly when there’s a war on.’

‘Well, one thing is for sure, she won’t be going back to that brute!’ John stated.

Edith gave him a sad smile. ‘I really hope not. But right now, I’m worried about Bobby. I was thinking of going to London to try to find him myself tomorrow. We know the address where he lived so there’s a fair chance someone will have seen him, if he managed to get there. I can’t just sit around waiting for the police to bring word of him, it’s driving me mad.’

Seeing the strain on her face he patted her hand affectionately. She was a good woman, was Edith. ‘I think you’ve rather taken to these children, haven’t you?’

‘I love them like me own,’ she admitted. ‘And I don’t mind telling you I’ve been dreading them going home, especially now we know what’s been going on with little Peggy.’