John shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. But I am not the most observant of people, and we shared a room, of course, so she had the right to be there.’ His voice lost its edge. ‘You should have told me.’

‘Should is a terrible word,’ said Ursula. ‘Should is all about blame. Blaming oneself, blaming others.’

John turned back to Isobel. ‘You found your necklace in Ann’s box?’

‘Yes, sir. Or at least, I found the coin. It was hidden under the tray at the bottom. I had to remove everything before I discovered it.’

‘What I don’t understand is how she managed to get into your room, Isobel.’

‘It’s very simple, sir; the door doesn’t have a lock.’

‘No lock?’ It was John’s turn to be surprised. ‘But I remember buying locks and keys for every room in the house when it was built. It was one of the last things I paid for.’

‘Oh, there was a lock at the beginning. But I came home from my afternoon off one week, and I found the keyhole jammed up with paper. The key was useless. And after that Mrs Black used to walk in whenever she felt like it. It wasn’t until she was really quite ill and she couldn’t manage to get up the stairs from the kitchen that the room was my own again.’

‘Why have you never mentioned the lock not working?’ John knew the answer to this question already. Isobel wouldn’t have dreamed of complaining about anything like this. He made an effort anyway. ‘I could have had it repaired for you.’

‘It doesn’t matter now. None of you would dream of coming in uninvited.’ Isobel stood up straight, as though she had made a decision. ‘But I understand if you would like me to leave. I was wrong to go through the jewellery box. I have broken the trust you had in me.’ She turned around and left the room without waiting for permission.

‘I am a charitable man,’ said John, ‘and I like to think the best of people, but this takes the biscuit. And for it to be happening under my own roof and me to be ignorant of it is shocking.’

Ursula pointed at Ann and Finlay. ‘I hope that you two have learned not to be so quick with your assumptions.’ She looked across the room at her husband. ‘And you and I are going to speak with Isobel and see if we can persuade her to stay. I think that is the very least we can offer.’

Chapter 28

August 1911

Isobel was hurrying, Ursula could feel it.

‘Is everything alright?’

‘Yes, yes. I’m just making sure that all my jobs are done properly before I go off this afternoon.’

Ursula looked out of the window. ‘It looks like another beautiful day.’