Whilst every fibre of her being wanted to say no – and not just because of the way they looked; Callum hadn’t said or done much, but it was the way he held himself: there was an air to him that she found most unpleasant – Roz knew that it would be ludicrous for her to pass up the opportunity to move to Liverpool. She came to a decision. ‘I’ll get my things and say my goodbyes.’

Lilith Haggarty beamed. ‘Splendid!’

Roz was about to walk away when she remembered something. ‘My friends will want to keep in touch, what will be my new address?’

‘Fourteen Ranelagh Street,’ Lilith replied promptly.

Roz shot Suzie a sharp glance; the other girl was frantically coughing into her hand. ‘Are you alright?’

Suzie nodded as tears ran down her cheeks. ‘Fine,’ she gasped before giving her grandmother a furtive glance, which, Roz noticed, was returned with a steely glare.

Roz had no idea what the secretive glance meant, but if she were to guess she would say that Suzie and Callum had no desire to be in Harwich and had only accompanied the older woman so that she wouldn’t have to make the journey on her own. She made her way back to the girls’ dormitory and gathered her belongings. She would miss Felix and Adele, there was no question about that, but the prospect of being reunited with her parents filled her with glee.

She entered the canteen to see an expectant Felix and Adele waiting for her.

‘Well?’ asked Felix, before his eyes fell to her suitcase. ‘Oh,’ he said, the disappointment clear in his voice.

Roz smiled apologetically. She knew Felix would miss her as much as she would miss him. ‘They’re a little unorthodox, but they live very close to the Liver Building.’

‘What do you mean, a little unorthodox?’ said Felix suspiciously.

Roz shrugged. ‘They’re not like the other families who’ve come by, and if you went by appearance alone you’d think they were paupers, but they’re far from that, if their address is anything to go by. It’s more the way they present themselves. The father and daughter are …’ she paused whilst she came up with a kind description, ‘… preoccupied, but the grandmother seems pleasant enough.’

‘How do you mean, preoccupied?’ Felix asked.

‘It’s hard to explain,’ said Roz after some thought. She knew if she were to show any doubts, Felix would try to talk her out of it. She was already teetering on the edge of staying at Dovercourt as it was, and that would ruin her chances of being reunited with her parents sooner rather than later. ‘If I were to guess, I’d say this was the grandmother’s idea.’

‘I think you should stay here with us until someone better comes along,’ said Felix protectively, ‘someone who’ll appreciate you.’

Roz smiled kindly. ‘Felix, we’ve been here for a couple of weeks, and this is the closest I’ve come to a foster family. What’s the likelihood that someone else will come along who lives as close to the Liver Building as they do?’