She considered her other options. Violet was growing bigger and bigger, her own baby nearly due, and so her mother’s house revolved around getting everything done before the child arrived. Any spare time was taken up with looking after Ellen, now crawling and getting in the way of everyone. On top of that Dolly sometimes saw to Tommy’s evening meal as well, if Kitty was on lates. Nancy tapped her front teeth with one of her elegant nails. Tommy liked Georgie. Maybe he would like to mind him when he finished work? She could pay him a few pennies, make it worth his while. She’d think about it.

‘Is that you?’ called the hated voice of her mother-in-law.

‘Here, Georgie, let me have your coat,’ Nancy said, bending to help unbutton the toggles on the duffel coat that her son was fast outgrowing. ‘Of course it is,’ she shouted over her shoulder. ‘Who else would it bloody be?’ she muttered under her breath. It wasn’t as if the woman had any close friends who might come round. Her general air of spite and misery had made sure of that.

The Parkers had fed Georgie, and so Nancy took him up to bed, tucking him in, pulling the curtains against the bright moonlight. She looked at his pinched face as it turned on his threadbare pillow. He looked like his father, which sometimes gave her a jolt. The child had never even met him. Nancy gave a little shiver. She tried not to think about Sid if she could help it. There was nothing she could do about his situation anyway. She ran her hand over her son’s brow, and murmured to him to sleep tight. Then she slipped quietly from the room and down to the front parlour, which was hers alone.

Lighting the mean amount of kindling in the grate, she pulled a chair close to it and drew out her precious letter. There was just enough light to reread it by. She savoured its short message.