‘No need. You’re filling a gap in the staffing and it’ll save me advertising.’ He turned to his daughter. ‘You’d better take Gus upstairs and show him his room. Then when you’ve unpacked I hope you’ll join us for dinner.’

The room was small, but not as small as the box room he had occupied in Nan’s house, and it had a view of the garden with its exotic trees and brilliantly coloured birds.

‘I’ll leave you to settle in,’ Victoria said. ‘I’m so glad you’ve come back, Gus.’

As the door closed behind her, he dumped his bag on the bed and stretched his arms. He had a room and a job and he was among friends. He could hardly believe his luck.

* * *

In Liverpool, as the summer weeks passed, May and James continued their explorations. They walked the towpath along the Liverpool-to-Leeds canal and watched the barges, drawn by their slow-plodding horses, carrying coal to the city or cotton to the mills. They took the train as far as Southport and listened to band concerts in Birkenhead Park or New Brighton.

On each occasion they found a secluded spot to exchange kisses, but May never allowed them to develop into the frantic passion she had shared with Armando. It was not that she did not feel the same desire for James’s caresses. If anything, it was stronger; but it was that very strength that made her hold back. She remembered very well with Armando how their mutual passion had exhausted them both, in the knowledge that it could not be satisfied for many years. Her love for James was too precious to allow that to happen; and besides, she was still unsure what future consummation it might have. James seemed to understand all this without it being spoken. At any rate, he was prepared to exercise the same restraint and patience.

As the summer drew to an end, a shadow fell over both their lives. James was becoming increasingly concerned about his mother’s health. The pains which she had put down to indigestion had worsened, and no amount of bicarbonate of soda, or the various other nostrums she was advised to try by friends, seemed to help. A doctor was consulted and prescribed rest and a light diet, but there was no improvement.