‘Did she talk about men friends?’

‘Yes, but I never met any of them. She liked men; she preferred their company to women’s, in general. She was very ahead of her time in that way.’

‘You mean she slept with them?’

Molly blushed.

‘You can say it. I was a fallen woman myself,’ Christabel said with a light laugh. ‘I worshipped Reg, and we were “carrying on”, as my mother used to call it, well before we got married. I was pregnant on our wedding day, and barely eighteen. I took it very hard when Reg went off to war. We’d been everything to each other – best friends and lovers – and I missed that.’ She paused, as if remembering.

‘We never intended to spend our entire married life in Mulberry House with my parents,’ she went on after a moment or two. ‘But Sylvia came, then the bad times in the thirties. Reg was a carpenter, and we couldn’t have survived on our own.’

‘Your father was a doctor?’

‘Yes, he was, and my grandfather before that. The practice had always been at Mulberry House. Back when I was a little girl, father went out on his rounds in a pony and trap. They had me quite late in life and, being the only child, I sort of felt obliged to stay with them. And, of course, they loved Sylvia. Then they died, a year apart, in 1935 and ’36, and the house became mine. It was our intention to fill it with children and live happily ever after.’

‘But you had Miss Gribble, the Wicked Witch, in the house with you …’

Christabel held her head in her hands as if the thought of everything that woman had done was too much to bear.

‘Reg was always saying I should make her go,’ she said after a few moments. ‘He said she gave him the creeps because she watched every move we made. He was right, of course, but she’d been there my whole life, and even before that with my parents. Where would she go? At her age, she wouldn’t find another job.

‘Then war broke out and Reg joined up and went off to France, so I was glad of her being there. It was a big house to be alone in with a child. But I’m wandering off a bit. You want to know about Sylvia.’

‘It’s all interesting,’ Molly said. ‘Some other time I’d love to hear how it was for you during the war but, for now, tell me about how Sylvia reacted when you got pregnant.’

‘I told her before I told Gribby and swore her to secrecy. Sylvia was always very mature for her age, and I didn’t have to point things out, she just got it. She was excited about having a baby brother or sister, but scared, too.’

‘What of?’

Christabel shrugged. ‘Mostly of what people would say. And of Gribby too – we both knew she wasn’t going to be a bit pleased I’d been with a man. Since Reg had gone missing, she’d become more and more forceful, taking over everything, as if it was her house. I should have put a stop to it, but I was grieving for Reg and it was easier than confrontation. Then, one day, when I was at least six months gone, she noticed.’

Molly observed that Christabel had leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes and had begun speaking as if she were reliving that day.

‘We were doing the washing. Gribby was hooking the clothes out of the boiler with the boiler stick into the sink, and I was rinsing them. Sylvia was standing by at the mangle, ready to turn the handle when I fed the rinsed clothes into it.

‘It was early January and a wild, windy day, and when I accidentally sloshed water on to my clothes, I yelled because it was icy cold. Gribby turned to me and, where my wet overall had stuck to me, she saw my tummy sticking out.

‘“You little whore!” she said and leapt forward and slapped my face really hard.

‘“Do that again and I’ll hit you!” Sylvia screamed out. When I glanced at my daughter, she had the copper stick in her hands and was holding it, ready to strike Gribby. I remember, she was wearing a flowery red crossover overall over a dark-green jumper, her face was flushed from the steam in the kitchen and her hair had gone into tight curls.

‘“You’ll never lay a hand on my mother again or you’ll be out on your ear so fast you won’t know what’s hit you,” she snarled.

‘My face was stinging. I was icy cold from my wet clothes, but I was so proud of my daughter being so bold and brave in standing up for me.

‘“Yes, she’s having a baby,” Sylvia carried on, jabbing the copper stick at Gribby. “And we’re going to look after him or her between us. If you don’t like the idea of that, there’s the door,” and she pointed the stick at the back door. “Go and get yourself another job and another home, but just remember no other family will tolerate your interference or your bullying.”

‘“How can you speak to me like that when I’ve given my whole life to you and your family?” Gribby whined. “I’m only worried that everyone in the village will be talking about your mother. She won’t be able to bear that. And I don’t interfere or bully either of you. I don’t know how you can say that.”

‘“You don’t know any other way!” Sylvia shouted. “You bullied Granny and Grandpa, then Mum. But you won’t do it to me. I won’t stand for it.”

‘She didn’t stand for it either.’ Christabel opened her eyes again, seemingly unaware she’d been going back in time and reliving the scene. ‘When my baby was born and Gribby saw how dark-skinned she was, she looked at me with utter disgust. But I’d confided in Sylvia some time before, and she picked the baby up to cuddle her and gave Gribby a look that would turn anyone else to stone.

‘Gribby went mad, saying terrible things I can’t repeat. But Sylvia ordered her out of the room, and took charge. I didn’t think of it at the time, but I came to realize later that she never, ever left Gribby alone with the baby.’

‘You think she was afraid Gribby would smother her or something?’

‘Yes, I think so. I wasn’t doing well with feeding her, and I remember Sylvia told me she thought it was best I put her on a bottle and then she could do the night feeds so I could get strong again.’

‘Was that in preparation for Sylvia taking her away with her?’

‘No, I don’t think so, not then, only so she could take the baby into her room at night. I think she thought Gribby might come into my room and do something while I was asleep. Sylvia locked her door. I know, because I tried to go in there one night.’

‘So Sylvia was looking after Petal right from the start?’

‘Oh yes, she said even before Pamela was born that she’d say the baby was hers so people wouldn’t talk about me. Sylvia never did anything in half measures, so I think she believed if she was going to tell people it was her baby then she must act like its mother.’

‘DI Pople said that she registered Pamela’s birth. Did she tell you she was going to?’

‘Oh yes. She made me promise I would keep a constant eye on the baby that day because she couldn’t take her with her. She also told me I wasn’t to tell Gribby where she’d gone. I’m not sure why that was.’

‘Maybe she was already planning to run off and didn’t want Gribby taking the birth certificate from her?’

‘Perhaps.’ Christabel shrugged. ‘But you must understand that, back then, I didn’t believe Gribby could hurt anyone – well, no more than a slap, like she gave me. But Sylvia did. A couple of days before she left she said, “It’s not safe for Pamela here, I’ve seen the look on Gribby’s face, and she hates her.” I told her she was over-reacting but she just shook her head and said, “You’ve always been blind to her faults.”’

‘But did she tell you she was going to take Petal and run away?’

‘Yes, the day before. Gribby was out doing something to the car. Sylvia was washing some baby clothes in the sink. “I’m leaving with Petal tomorrow,” she said. “Don’t try and stop me, Mother, I know it’s for the best. She’s registered as my baby now, so you can’t do anything. If you gave Gribby her marching orders, I’d stay, but I know you can’t do that, she’s got too strong a hold on you.”’