‘Beg pardon, ma’am. Angela then. I’m the only one who can get her to stop crying and eat, but next week I’ve got to go to my needlework classes instead of coming to the nursery …’

‘Well, what do you want? Get to the point, girl.’

‘Could I be excused from needlework and go on looking after Angel … Angela … instead?’

‘Good heavens, girl! I’ve never heard such nonsense. Do you really imagine that you are so indispensable? The child will eat when she’s hungry, or go without. We’ve no time here to pander to her whims. And you have your classes to attend. Now, get along and stop wasting my time.’

There was nothing for it but to submit. All May could do from then on was to spend every spare moment she could find in the nursery. To her great delight, as soon as she saw her, Angel would stretch out her arms and babble ‘My-may’.

‘She knows me! She’s trying to say my name.’

‘That’s all very well for you,’ was Smithy’s response. ‘She keeps it up even when you’re not here. I’m sick of hearing My-may.’

Mrs Kelly, the needlework teacher, was a widow who had earned her living as a seamstress before her marriage. She was small and plump, with a sharp nose and small, bright eyes that made her look, May thought, a bit like one of the robins who hopped around the yard outside the bakehouse looking for crumbs. May admired her skill when she demonstrated new techniques, her nimble fingers flying over the fabric, creating tiny, almost invisible stitches. She was softly spoken and patient with the clumsy efforts of some of the girls, and they all loved her.

Much of the work involved patching and mending the clothes worn by the other inmates, or making shirts and shifts to replace those that were worn out; but girls who showed sufficient skill were sometimes set the task of making articles for sale to the general public, to bring money into the coffers of the workhouse. Occasionally, there would be a special commission from someone who knew that this was a way of getting very high-quality work at a lower price than they would have had to pay elsewhere. May was good with her needle, and was one of those chosen for this more highly skilled work.