‘I’m sure it will all work out,’ said Rita, hoping fervently that she was right. ‘Let’s go over and see what Nancy’s brought round. I’m glad she offered to dig out some of Georgie’s baby clothes. It’s only right, the time you’ve spent looking after him over the past few years.’

Nancy was holding forth about the filthy state of the city centre as they reached Dolly’s kitchen. She’d arrived back from her WVS shift to find her white sandals were more like grey and their little daisy decorations like withered weeds. ‘And my poor collar!’ She was wearing a neat broderie-anglaise blouse, the hem and collar of which were visibly the worse for wear. ‘I’ll have to spend ages scrubbing it. It’ll ruin my nails.’

Rita shook her head. ‘Never mind, Nance. Look on the bright side. You could dye it grey and be done with it.’ She had little sympathy – her own nails were always kept trimmed short because lifting stock in the shop always wrecked them, let alone what she would encounter when back on duty as a nursing sister.

Nancy tossed her head. ‘I might have known you wouldn’t understand. Anyway, Violet, here’s those clothes I told you about. I don’t know what you’ll want as you don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl, but help yourself.’ She handed over a bulging canvas bag.

‘So many, Nancy! Are you sure?’ Violet lifted the top ones out. ‘They’re really good quality. Thank you.’

‘It’s the one good thing about Misery Guts,’ said Nancy with asperity. ‘She likes to see her little grandson looking right, or else he’ll reflect badly on her. So she spent her coupons on him whenever she could. Then I got a few things in town when I was able to. Doesn’t look like I’ll be giving him a little brother or sister any time soon, so you might as well make use of them.’

‘I should hope not!’ said Dolly hotly, coming in from the back yard. ‘Don’t you be bringing disgrace upon this household.’

‘Joke, Mam,’ said Nancy. Then quickly, to distract her mother, ‘See this little top – you knitted that. He wore that all the time when he was tiny.’

‘So he did,’ said Dolly, her face creasing fondly at the memory. ‘Sure, he was a little angel, that he was.’

‘And where is he today?’ asked Rita, not taken in by Nancy’s tactics for one moment.