When they reached the market it was immediately apparent that Suzie was well known to the stall holders, some of whom turned away as soon as they saw her approaching, whilst others sighed heavily before rooting through the worst of their stock which they handed over without comment.

One of them nodded his head at Roz. ‘She’s new,’ the man muttered as he went through his apples, picking out the ones that were heavily bruised. ‘Supposed to feed her an’ all, are we?’

‘Not my fault,’ Suzie muttered sullenly.

He gave a snort of disapproval. ‘I daresay not, but that don’t change things. Don’t that old man of yours believe in spending money?’

‘Not if he can help it,’ said Suzie plainly.

A woman tutted loudly as she packed away her wares. ‘There’s some of us who earn a living so that we can buy us food, not go begging.’

‘Bully for them,’ said Suzie, adding, ‘maybe they earn more money than us, and haven’t got an old lady to look after.’

‘Ha! There’s nowt ladylike about Lilith Haggarty!’ said the woman who had made the comment about begging. ‘And she don’t go short on food neither by the looks of her belly.’

Roz’s cheeks turned scarlet. How could Suzie stand by and let people talk about her grandmother in such a manner? She looked at Suzie who appeared quite unperturbed by the woman’s comments. She’s used to it, Roz thought to herself, it’s like water off a duck’s back. Roz didn’t imagine she could ever get used to people viewing her in such a way. On the other hand, she wouldn’t dream of begging. Roz’s own father would never have expected his daughter to beg for scraps; indeed, he would have moved heaven and earth to make sure it never came to that. Yet Callum hadn’t batted an eyelid at the thought of sending his daughter out to beg. Roz wondered how Callum would react if he heard the way people spoke about his family, then chided herself for even questioning it. Men like Callum wouldn’t give two hoots what people said or thought, because if they did, they’d not ask their family to do it in the first place.

Suzie turned and gave Roz an accusing look. ‘Come on, I didn’t bring you along to stand there like you haven’t got a brain in your head.’

Blushing to the tips of her ears, Roz approached a stallholder who was packing up for the day. She opened her mouth to speak but the words stuck in her throat. ‘Have …’ She cleared her throat and tried again. ‘Have you any stale bread or cakes you’re going to throw away?’

The woman paused whilst placing some iced buns into a large wicker basket. She glanced at Suzie before looking back at Roz.