Charlie was still looking quite surly as they pulled into the London station, but he stirred himself enough to help with transferring their luggage from the train onto a porter’s trolley. By the time he’d had a bottle of pop and a sandwich at the railway refreshment room, he started to take an interest in his surroundings, and wandered off to talk trains with one of the off-duty guards.

Anne kept an eye on him, for once Charlie started talking about engines he’d be lost in another world, and she didn’t want to miss their connection and have to wait another hour for the next train. Emily was grizzling because she was tired, and Rose was fidgeting through boredom. Pulling Emily onto her lap, she rummaged in her bag for a picture book to entertain Rose, and then made the rather stewed cup of tea last as long as she could until she heard the announcement blaring out that her train was arriving on platform four.

Hoisting Emily onto her hip, she slung her handbag strap over her shoulder and took Rose’s hand. Charlie saw her and came across the concourse to pick up Rose and carry her on his shoulders. It seemed the interlude with the guard had cheered him up no end, for he was grinning, and there was a spring in his step as he organised their luggage and helped them all on board.

Anne breathed a soft sigh of relief and listened intently as Charlie animatedly told her all about the train they were on, where the engine had come from, when it had been built, and how it would soon be replaced with new rolling stock. She found it all rather boring, but anything was better than having him sullen and uncommunicative, and she could only hope this mood would last for the rest of the journey.

Cliffehaven

Doris eyed her reflection in the dressing-table mirror and nervously patted her freshly washed hair into place before applying her lipstick. She’d dressed carefully as usual, and because it was quite a warm day, had chosen a plain linen skirt to go with the sprigged cotton blouse she’d bought for a snip in the sales. Fastening her single strand of pearls round her neck, she fixed pearl studs into her earlobes and studied the effect dispassionately. She couldn’t do much about the lines on her face that no amount of cream or lotions would iron out, and despite the hairdresser’s efforts, there were definitely glints of silver showing through.