Maud thought that a sin and a shame. ‘How do you know my son?’ she asked curiously.

‘We worked together at the big house, a long time ago now.’

‘How long?’ The old woman’s memory wasn’t what it used to be.

‘Some eight years now.’ Only eight years, she thought, when it seemed like a lifetime.

‘What’s your name?’

‘Bridget.’

The old woman was suddenly alert. ‘Bridget Mulligan!’

‘Yes.’ Bridget was surprised. ‘How did you know? Did Harry tell you?’

Overcome with emotion, Maud fell back against the pillows. ‘Bridget Mulligan,’ she kept saying. ‘Bridget Mulligan.’ She caught hold of Bridget’s hand. ‘They were rowing… him and Alice. She said he was bad… and you had a child… his child.’

Looking at Bridget intently, she asked, ‘Has my Harry got a daughter?’

Bridget stared at her, not knowing what to reply. ‘I have to go,’ she said, getting up from the bed. ‘I have to watch out for Harry.’

The old lady was already sinking into a world of her own. ‘It’s all right, dear,’ she said, smiling sweetly. ‘You go about your business. What day is it now?’

She had been in such turmoil these past hours, Bridget took a moment to think. ‘Sunday,’ she replied. ‘It’s Sunday morning.’

‘Sunday.’ Maud closed her eyes. ‘Mustn’t go to sleep. Fay comes to see me on Sunday.’

Softly, Bridget left.

So Harry had been told Ruthie was his daughter. How could his sister have known? And had Harry believed her? That could explain what he had said to her just now, about him loving Ruthie too.

It was all too much for Bridget. ‘How can I face you with the truth now, Harry?’ she murmured. ‘What would you think of me if I confessed that I’ve deceived you all these years?’ It didn’t bear thinking about.

Ten minutes later Fay arrived.

Bridget was looking out of the window and recognised her at once. Before Fay could put the key in the lock, Bridget was there, a torrent of words spilling nervously from her lips. ‘Ruthie’s run away. Harry and Joe have gone looking for her. I wanted to go but they wouldn’t let me. I’m minding your mother. She’s all right. She’s sleeping now, I think.’

Astonished at seeing Bridget there, and shocked by the reason for it, Fay did what she could to comfort Bridget. ‘If Harry’s gone after her, you can be sure he’ll find her,’ she said, when the two of them were settled before the fire. ‘Look, you just sit there while I go and see if Mam’s awake. When I come back down, we’ll have a drink and a bite to eat. I don’t suppose you’ve had anything since Ruthie’s been gone.’

By the time she came back down, Bridget had made the tea and was just bringing it to the fireside. ‘I can’t eat anything. I can’t think of anything but Ruthie.’

They got talking, and after only minutes it was as if they had known each other all their lives. ‘I shouldn’t be burdening you with all this,’ Bridget told Fay gratefully, ‘but there’s nothing worse than having no one to talk to.’ She thought of Fanny and Billy, and wondered where they might be. ‘I had a good friend,’ she said. ‘The best. Only she went away and I’ve no idea where she’s gone. That’s where Ruthie went, you see, looking for them. She was close to Fanny’s lad, right from when they were born. Two peas in a pod, that’s them.’