Having given up her front door key long since, Ellen raised the lionhead knocker and letting it go with a clang, was taken aback when the door was flung open and there stood her grandad, a look of impatience on his face and the fire poker in his hand. “Yer little bugg -. Well, I never! If it isn’t our Ellen!” Hugging her hard, he laughed out loud. “I thought it were them damned kids from Fitzroy Street. They’ve tekken to knocking on doors and running off.”

Thinking how wonderful it must be to have someone like him in your life, Maddy stood back and watched them. Ellen’s grandad was nothing like she’d expected. While Ellen was small and perfect, this man was the size of a mountain, though obviously fit and strong. And with his red hair and sporty beard brightly speckled with gray, he was a sight to behold. Still striking in look and manner, Maddy suspected he must have been extremely handsome in his youth.

Now, as he peered at her over Ellen’s shoulders, Maddy was very taken by the bright sparkle in his smiling green eyes. “Hello, and who have we here then? Is this the young lady you told me about?” His warm, resonant voice seemed to shake the ground beneath them.

Drawing her friend forward, Ellen explained, “This is my friend Maddy… Maddy Delaney.”

Reaching down, he placed two huge hands on her shoulders and gave Maddy a kiss. “I’m Bob, and you are very welcome in my home, lass,” he told her affectionately. “This is your home for as long as you see fit. You and Ellen both.”

Maddy felt uneasy. “I’m pregnant,” she blurted out. “Did you know that?”

“No matter. You are still welcome to make this your home,” he affirmed. “All three of you.”

Leading them inside, he gave them a quick tour, starting with the sitting room. “I’ve changed a few things since you’ve been gone,” he told Ellen. “This room’s had a coat of paint and a few new pieces of furniture.” Then, ushering them inside the front parlor, he explained, “You might recall this front room was never hardly used. Well, now it’s my workshop. See?” He pointed proudly across the room. “What do you think?”

Beautifully arranged on the brand-new shelves was a fine collection of wooden sculptures. Painstakingly fashioned and polished, there were fiery prancing horses, pretty girls on swings, and all manner of animals and birds in every pose imaginable.

“Oh, they’re beautiful!” Maddy was amazed. “Did you do all these?”

“I did, yes.” The pride shone from his face. “And there are more out in the shed, ready to be sold at market.”

Ellen had always known her grandad was talented, but she had never realized just how much so, until now. “You used to say you would never sell your pieces,” she reminded him.

“Ah, yes… well, that was when your grandma Kitty was here. Everything I ever made was for her alone. After she’d gone, I got to be a bit sad, hour after hour working on these lovely pieces, with no one but me to see them. Then, some time ago, when I had this room done up, the young man who decorated the walls saw the sculptures in the hallway. He begged me to sell him one, for his wife’s birthday.” He scratched his head as he tried to remember. “As I recall, the particular one he fancied was a little lad, holding a butterfly in the palm of his hand.”

Maddy told him she thought it sounded wonderful.

“Mmm. I have to say, I always thought it was one of my best,” he answered thoughtfully. “The idea came after walking through the park and seeing this lad. Running around for ages he was, trying to catch a butterfly. But he never did manage it.”

Maddy could see the boy in her mind. “So, you thought you would let him actually catch the butterfly, is that it?”

He smiled down on her. “Something like that, yes,” he answered, “seems to me that you’ve the heart of a fine artist.”

After lingering in that amazing workshop, and viewing the tiny but serviceable scullery, they were now seated in comfortable armchairs in the homely sitting room, while Grandad Bob insisted on preparing a meal. “Did Nora from next door catch you out?” he asked.

“You could say that,” Ellen replied.

“I hope she didn’t worry you too much?” he called back, going into the scullery.

“No, Grandad. She was just pleased to see us.”

“She’s got a new boyfriend – did she tell you that?”

“What! Are you serious?” Somehow it was not easy to imagine Nora Winterhouse with a man.

“Oh, aye. He’s the third one this month. Gone a bit mad of late, she has. To my reckoning, there’s been men at the house most every week.”

“So, is she looking to marry this latest one, or what?”

“She’ll not marry any of ’em, I can tell you that, lass.”

“Why not?”

“’Cause she’s already said – it’s me she’s after. In fact, she’s been after me ever since poor Kit went to meet her Maker. I might be wrong, and may the Lord forgive me if I am, but I’ve an idea she fetches these men home, just to make me jealous. Huh! She should be so lucky.”

Winking at Maddy, Ellen asked in serious voice, “Poor Nora. So you don’t fancy her then?”

“What! I’d rather be tipped upside-down in a tub o’ wet spinach!”

Both Ellen and Maddy laughed out loud. “I’ll be through in a minute,” he called. “The kettle’s on the boil.”

Still smiling, Maddy felt as though she had known him all her life. “You’re so lucky,” she told Ellen now. “Your Grandad Bob is so nice and kind, and it’s plain to see how much he loves you.”

Ellen nodded. “I know I’m lucky,” she said, “but I’m stupid too – going away from him, from everything I know, when all the time my happiness was right here, under my nose.”

“So, will you never go back down South?”

“Never!”

“And what will you do for money?”

“Well, I shall let out my aunt’s house – I might get Connie to organize all that for me, and pay her. Or I could sell it, I suppose, and buy a little house here for us. Eventually, I’d like to get back to singing – find work on the Northern club circuit. Showbiz is in our blood, isn’t it, Maddy?”

She got up and went over to her friend. “We’ll be all right. Don’t you worry now. You, me and the babe – we’re going to be just fine. I’ve been sensible. I’ve got a deal of money stashed away, so we won’t be desperate for a while yet.” She chuckled. “Who knows? When the money runs out, we could buy an ice cream van and go up and down the front.”

Maddy didn’t think that was such a bad idea. “Sounds like a fun way to earn money. Meanwhile, I’ve got money put away too,” she said, “and I insist on paying my way. Thank God I kept my handbag with me. So, when your grandad comes back in, we’ll have to talk about that side of it.”

“All in good time,” Ellen assured her. “For now though, let’s just be content to be safe.”

For one magic moment, Maddy had almost forgotten about London, and the turmoil they had left behind.

Now, however, it all came flooding back.

And even though they were some two hundred miles distant, the reality of that night was like a living thing in her mind.