Her face was ugly with jealousy and spite. ‘Well, I soon put a spike in ’er balloon, and that’s a fact,’ she said with a nasty sneer.

Dolly turned away and headed back to the car, unable to bear being in her presence a moment longer. ‘Poor Stan,’ she murmured, settling behind the wheel. ‘How on earth did you get so taken in by that hard-faced, jealous harridan?’

She glanced across at Ethel, who’d collected her booty and was now striding with righteous indignation down the hill. Dolly gave a shudder and switched on the engine. She had a fair idea of how Ethel had snared him. He’d been lonely, flattered by the attentions of a much younger woman, and so smitten he’d turned a blind eye to all the faults others must have seen in her. She knew from her letters that Peggy had had her doubts about the match – as had Ron. Dolly could only hope that her old friend would never have cause to lose those rose-tinted spectacles, for if he did, he would end up being very badly hurt.

It was with a heavy heart that she drove down the hill, over the bridge past a few stragglers from the factory and along the High Street before turning into Camden Road. She pulled up outside the Anchor, relieved to find that it was still too early for the shutters to be drawn back, which probably meant that Ron was on his morning walk to the Memorial with Harvey.

Dolly drew the envelope from her pocket. It was grubby from frequent handling, and torn carelessly open, which suggested that Ethel had never had any intention of delivering it.

Dolly was caught on the horns of a dilemma. She didn’t really want to read the letter, for it was none of her business and there had been prying enough, but what if it was Rosie’s final farewell to Ron? He was already hurting at the thought she might have left him, and Dolly couldn’t bear the thought of him going through the agony of having his suspicions confirmed in Rosie’s own hand.

And yet she couldn’t believe that of Rosie; sweet, vivacious Rosie who didn’t possess a cruel bone in her body. If she’d wanted to end things between them, she’d have respected Ron’s feelings and done it face to face, not by letter – especially not one carelessly left to another to deliver.

There was, of course, the possibility that the letter contained a reasonable explanation for her sudden departure, which would give Ron hope and clear up any lingering suspicions.

Dolly sat there for a long moment, turning the envelope over and over in her hand before coming to a decision. Climbing out of the car, she thrust it through the Anchor’s letter box, her curiosity unsatisfied but her conscience clear.