‘Yes, Mr Black. You break up the toast and put it in the pot with the hot water and wait for ten minutes, and then you pour the water into the cup. I brought a strainer for you as well.’ She straightened up, looking rather pleased with herself. ‘It’s a well-known remedy.’

On the other side of the room, Ursula tried not to laugh.

Chapter 20

Tuesday 9 May 1911

‘Are you ready yet?’ Finlay waited in the hall with his coat on. He leaned against the narrow table and drummed his fingers on the polished mahogany.

Ann appeared at the top of the stairs. Her hair had been put up for the occasion, and she wore her best dress and coat, and her new green bag hung diagonally across her body. She walked down slowly, not wanting to disturb her new hairstyle.

He looked up at her, realising for the first time that his little sister was not so little any more. ‘Very nice,’ he said grudgingly.

Ursula frowned at him from the drawing-room doorway.

‘Not that you need me to say that,’ he added.

‘I’ve put some money in this envelope with the tickets,’ said Ursula, handing it to Finlay, ‘so you can catch a cab there and back. You’ll be able to catch one at the rank near Morningside station, and it will take you to the end of Chambers Street. You can walk up from there, it’s not more than a couple of hundred yards.’ She gave Ann a hug. ‘The performance won’t finish until after eleven o’clock and your father told me that he wants you to do that rather than getting the tram. And when you come home there will be cocoa and cake and you can tell me all about it. I want to hear every detail.’

*

The crowd outside the theatre was huge. Everywhere there were people in their best dresses and suits, pushing their way towards the entrance. Finlay was determined to do things his way. ‘You need to hold my hand.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes. Definitely.’

‘I’m almost grown up now and that’s what little children do.’

‘I don’t want to lose you.’

‘But I’m right here beside you, you can see me.’

‘Do you know how many tickets have been sold for tonight?’

‘No, but I expect you’re going to tell me.’

‘Three thousand. There are two thousand, nine hundred and ninety-eight other people here, wandering about, and they will all be trying to find their seats. They’ll be standing up at the ends of the rows, talking with their friends and we will have to get past them.’

‘Three thousand? I don’t believe you.’

‘Father told me before we left.’

‘Oh.’ If her father had said it, Ann decided it must be true. ‘Alright then.’