‘I understand,’ Ursula interrupted. She opened the ledger and looked again at the column of figures, now in her own handwriting. ‘Right, Isobel. In the house in which I grew up, the food was very different from this. My father’s mother was German, and when she was a child in Berlin there were often visitors from all over Europe.’ She counted the countries off on her fingers. ‘France, Italy, Austria and Switzerland for a start. There was a lot of cooking and baking. Especially the baking part. I think a small amount of variety, introduced a little bit at a time, will definitely be the order of the day now I am in charge.’ She smiled. ‘And there is no time like the present, so I think we should make a plan for next week, together. These unpaid bills may mean we need some new suppliers, although heaven knows I am sure they all talk to one another.’

‘Yes, Mrs Black.’

‘I will need your advice before I place the orders. I’m sure you have an opinion on the best greengrocer and butcher to use, for a start. If you can tell me which shops we have accounts with, and which ones you think send good-quality produce, that would be very helpful.’

Isobel felt the tension in her shoulders begin to ease. She thought about the columns of figures and the unpaid bills and the checking. All of the checking. She crossed her fingers; if she was careful, perhaps this would be alright after all.

Chapter 8

January 1911

‘I completely forgot, John,’ said Ursula at breakfast, ‘a parcel arrived yesterday. I left it in the kitchen.’

‘A parcel for me?’ he replied.

‘Maybe it’s for me!’ Ann couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice. ‘After all, it’s my birthday soon, and I hope there will be presents.’

Ursula shook her head. ‘I’m afraid it’s for me.’

Ann slumped in her seat, disappointed.

Ursula squashed the urge to walk through to the kitchen and collect the package. ‘I’ll ring the bell and Isobel can bring it through.’

Finlay, engrossed with spreading butter right to the edges of his toast so there was no part of the surface left uncovered, didn’t look up. ‘She won’t hear it. She’s up the garden doing something with clothes pegs and the washing line. I saw her walk up there with a basket a couple of minutes ago.’

‘I’ll get it, it might be for me after all.’ Ann didn’t wait to be told she couldn’t go, and was off her chair and out of the room before anyone could stop her.

‘She’s going to be impossible.’ Finlay lifted the slice of perfectly buttered toast to his mouth. ‘Anyone would think no one in the history of the world had ever had a birthday before, and it’s still months away.’