Pepa and Angela were at the wash-house, leaning over the troughs and scrubbing the clothes. Baby Rafa had been left on a blanket beside them, where he smiled at every passer-by. Most of them picked him up and played with him, stopping to gossip with the girls.

"I've never seen you at the wash-house before, Angela," said Marcia-Belén.

Angela paused in her scrubbing and pushed her hair back off her face with the back of her hand.

"We?ve got a spring at home," she ...