‘When he gave it to me, just like you, I wondered where he’d got it from. After all, if he’d stolen it from someone then surely they’d have reported it missing?’ Felix nodded so she continued, ‘But what if they were none the wiser?’ Seeing his blank expression, she pressed on, ‘What if he stole it off a dead person?’

Felix’s eyebrows shot to his hairline in horror. ‘Steady on. I know he’s a real scoundrel, but stealing from the dead?’

‘He loots houses during the air raids, Felix, the man’s got no scruples.’

‘So what do we do about the ration book?’ asked Felix. ‘Hand it in to the police?’

Roz looked doubtful. ‘If we do that, they’ll want to know where we got it from, and even though I’d happily tell them, what if they don’t believe me? Or worse still, what if Callum talks his way out of it? I’ve got no proof he gave it to me.’ She shook her head. ‘He’d kill me, Felix, I know he would, or Coconut.’

Felix wiped away the tear which fell down her cheek. ‘Don’t worry, we won’t go to the police, but I do think we should keep it just in case.’

‘In case of what?’

‘In case he starts throwing his weight around or making accusations. If he does, we could use the ration book against him, because if your hunch is correct, and he has stolen it from a dead person, he’d be in real trouble, the sort of trouble that winds you up on the end of a noose.’

‘Collateral,’ said Roz.

He nodded solemnly. ‘We may need to cover our backs, and that book could be the very thing.’

‘By God, queen, you can stay as long as you want!’ exclaimed Bill the next morning. ‘Especially if you can knock up grub like this. There’s nowt better to wake you up than a bowl of hot porridge and a strong cup of tea.’

‘Glad you approve,’ said Roz, giving a mock curtsy.

‘You really didn’t have to make breakfast,’ said Alan, adding hastily, ‘although I’m glad you did, ’cos me dad’s right, this kind of grub sets a feller up for the day.’

Roz watched the men eat their breakfast with a sense of satisfaction. In all the time she had been at the Haggartys’ none of them had ever thanked her for preparing their breakfast. Far from it; they’d either whinged that it wasn’t creamy enough, despite the fact they never had any milk, or complained that the toast was too dry, even though they never had any butter either. It was a welcome change to have praise instead of constant put-downs.