Dolly sat down at the table and crossed her slim legs. ‘I came to see you and your adorable little family before I left for America,’ she replied. ‘Frank told me what’s been going on, so I left Carol with him, did a bit of business in the town and drove over.’

‘You’ve brought Carol with you?’ asked Pauline. She sneered and her eyes hardened. ‘Is she going with you to America, then?’

Dolly took her time to remove her gloves and light a cigarette. ‘That has always been the plan,’ she said coolly. ‘But then you knew that.’

‘Hmph. I don’t know why I’m surprised,’ Pauline muttered. ‘She always was your favourite.’

‘She’s certainly more pleasant company than some I could mention,’ said Dolly, her gaze steady on her eldest daughter. ‘And if her husband and baby had survived, she definitely would have loved and cherished them – not given them the cold shoulder and hounded them from the family home because they’d displeased her in some very minor way.’

‘It’s none of your business,’ snapped Pauline. ‘If you’ve only come here to poke your nose in and interfere, then you might as well leave. Take Carol to America, for all I care. That general isn’t my father, after all.’

Dolly smoked her cigarette and glanced across at Peggy. ‘I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with all this,’ she said on a sigh. ‘I’ve spoken to Frank, and the poor man is worried sick over how to resolve the situation.’

‘Hmph. You always were on Frank’s side,’ muttered Pauline sourly.

Dolly ignored her and continued her conversation with Peggy. ‘I understand it won’t be too long before their house is ready for occupation, so I’m in the midst of negotiating with the property company to rent one of their newly finished flats in the next village for the interim. I have to go back in an hour to finalise things.’

‘Oh, but you didn’t have to do that,’ gasped Peggy. ‘I’m very happy to have them here.’

‘I just bet you are,’ snapped Pauline.

Dolly dismissed her interruption with a wave of her hand. ‘The flat has three large bedrooms, and if Brendon agrees, Frank will move in with them until he can find somewhere else to live.’

Pauline stared at her in shock. ‘What! But he can’t leave me. He’s my husband, and has a duty to look after me.’

‘You’ve left it rather late in the day to remember that,’ said Dolly. ‘I did warn you the last time I came down you were in danger of losing him, but it seems you took no notice. As for his duty to you – he’s served that sentence quite long enough, and has earnt his freedom.’

‘How dare you talk about our marriage as if it was a prison sentence,’ gasped Pauline.