‘That’s all very well, Nancy, but I said I’d have little Ellen that evening,’ Dolly told her. ‘Rita’s worn out with her, and I promised to give her a few hours when she can grab some unbroken sleep. And no, before you ask, Sarah’s working, Ruby’s apparently going out with a friend and Violet is keeping the shop open late. I can’t risk having Georgie if he’s got a bad chest; he might pass it on to Ellen and she’s far too tiny to cope with that.’

Nancy all but stamped her foot in frustration. ‘But, Mam—’

‘Don’t you give me any of your soft soap, my girl,’ said Dolly sternly. ‘I love Georgie to pieces, and well you know it, but there’s someone else smaller than him to consider now. You might as well get used to it. You’ve got his other grandmother who could help out, after all.’

Nancy huffed in indignation. ‘I’d sooner let him play in the dock road. She’s useless, Mam, all she goes on about is how she’s suffering ’cos Sid’s a POW, as if she’s the only one who’s got anything to complain about. I wouldn’t trust her to notice when Georgie was hungry or if he needed anything. She’s not like you and Violet, you know.’ She turned on her dazzling smile, but it was wasted on Dolly.

‘Well, has she got him now?’ she demanded.

‘You have got to be joking!’ Nancy pouted. ‘No, she hasn’t.’

‘Where is he, then?’ Dolly wanted to know.

‘With Maggie Parker, as was. You know, Betty Parker’s big sister. Her house got bombed out and she’s moved back in with her family here and she’s got a kiddie just a bit younger than Georgie,’ Nancy explained. ‘I thought it would be nice for him to have a playmate the same age. Particularly if everything here is going to revolve around a new-born baby,’ she added crossly.

‘Nancy, you can’t be jealous of your own little niece,’ Dolly sighed in exasperation. ‘Betty Parker, now there’s a name from the past. She was Sarah’s best friend all the way through school, then she went and joined the Land Girls, didn’t she? They’re a nice family, so they are. Why don’t you ask them to mind Georgie on Saturday? It’s not as if you’ll be out late, is it?’ She gave her daughter a straight look.

Nancy squirmed, but couldn’t exactly say what she’d had in mind for Saturday. It certainly didn’t involve coming home directly after the dance. Common sense told her to quit while the going was good, though. ‘That’s an idea, I’ll ask,’ she said. ‘I’ll go and do that right away – it’s time I was picking Georgie up anyway.’