‘You’ll be ill if you don’t eat,’ he had snapped the day before when he had returned to the room with hot pies, which they showed no interest in.

Sometimes Ben would shout at them with frustration, at other times he would get upset and tell them how much he loved them, but the children didn’t believe that any more than they believed he was their father. Everyone at Treetops loved them and they never shouted at the them, or made them stay in cold, smelly rooms for days on end. And then there was his constant pacing. Up and down, up and down the room he would go, muttering to himself as if the children weren’t even there, until they would cling together shaking with fear, cold and hunger.

Their chance soon came when later the following morning Ben put his coat on and told them, ‘I’m going to go and get us some breakfast. I shan’t be long.’

He smiled at them and left, closing the door softly behind him and they listened carefully as his footsteps clattered away down the bare wooden staircase.

‘Right, Thomas, grab your coat,’ Daisy told him, her heart hammering. ‘He won’t be gone for long so’s we have to be quick.’

Thomas hurriedly did as he was told, fumbling with the buttons on his coat and side by side they approached the door. They sighed with relief to find it unlocked then inched it open. Satisfied there was no one in sight Daisy took her brother’s hand. ‘Come on but be quiet. We don’t want the witch stopping us from getting out.’

Step by step the children tiptoed down the staircase and at last they found themselves in the damp-smelling hallway. Thankfully there was no sign of the landlady, so they approached the front door. It creaked alarmingly when Thomas managed to open it but at last they were standing on the pavement outside in a thick smog.

‘W-which way shall we go?’ Daisy asked falteringly. She could barely see more than a few feet ahead of her and suddenly she was frightened. What would Ben do to them if he found them trying to run away from him?

Thomas glanced up and down the street. They could hear the ship’s hooters in the docks, which were not very far away, and making a decision he took her hand and told her, ‘Let’s go this way.’ He led her away from the noise and at the end of the road they came to a slightly busier one.