It was unfathomable that her mother could believe she would want to be in the same room as her, let alone at the same table, and Alice shook her head in disbelief.

“You might not understand now, Alice, but you will, in time.”

Alice’s gaze fell to a stain on the linoleum, and she felt herself go limp. All she could think of was how Eadie had felt the last time she’d held her: her warmth, the scent of her crown, her weightlessness. And of how quickly their fragile bond would be broken.

“Just tell me she’s all right. If you’re not going to tell me where she is, at least tell me who she’s with.”

Ruth glanced up at the ceiling and clenched her jaw, the muscles in her neck tightening. “There are people who are experienced at this, Alice. People who do this all the time and know how to take care of things.”

Alice stopped crying and held her breath.

“Eadie has a wet nurse. That’s all I can say.”

Alice gave her an icy stare, unable to speak.

“There won’t be so many choices once this war is over. It will take all our young men. You should know; war took your brother—”

Something in Alice cracked at the way Ruth was using William to justify herself. “What makes you think I would want a husband more than my own child?”

Ruth folded her hands in front of her. “It’s too late,” she said matter-of-factly. “I don’t know where the baby is.”

“You must have a number, an address—”

“No, nothing.”

“But how did you contact them?” she asked as a numbness crept through her.

“It was an advert in the newspaper. They had a postal box number—they wrote back to me and arranged the place and time. Then I met them at a hotel in the city.”

“What newspaper? Who are they?”

“It was the Daily Mail, and I told you, I don’t know who they are. Just a couple who look after babies and find them good homes. They thought it was best if I didn’t know too much, and I agreed. I only saw them twice before . . . before they took her.”

The bile Alice had been fighting back finally rose in her throat, and she tried to swallow. This was far worse than she could ever have imagined.

“What kind of woman gives her grandchild to strangers?” she spat.

Ruth pressed her lips together. “There are couples who can’t have babies, who are grateful of the chance to raise a child together. Married couples.”

Alice was moments away from vomiting, but she had to concentrate: perhaps Ruth was on the verge of giving away important information. Then something occurred to her. “Did they come with you, when you stole her?”