‘Thought that was funny, did you?’ she barked, heedless of who heard her. And lunging forward she took the boys by their ears and began to haul them back towards their own room.

‘Ow! Ow! Get off me,’ Harry shouted, slapping out at her ineffectually.

At that moment Mr Temple appeared from his room further down the landing. ‘What the hell is going on here?’ he demanded. ‘You’re making enough noise to waken the dead!’

‘Shall I tell him, or shall you?’ Amber spat as she shook the two boys, making them screech louder than ever. ‘Actually, sir, these two thought it were a huge joke to put a wet sponge in me bed,’ she told her employer. ‘An’ that were after almost chokin’ me by puttin’ pepper in me tea earlier on!’

‘I see.’

Mrs Temple appeared at his shoulder and glanced worriedly towards the boys as she saw that Amber was holding each of them by an ear, but her husband put his arm out and ushered her into the room.

‘I suggest we deal with this matter in the morning before we wake the whole household,’ he said with authority as he glared at the boys. ‘Meanwhile, you two get yourselves to bed this instant, and Miss Ainsley, I suggest you ring the bell in your room and the maid will supply you with dry sheets.’

‘Yes, sir.’ Amber reluctantly released the boys and looking aggrieved they rubbed at their sore ears before slinking back into their room.

Amber realised now that she shouldn’t have got so physical with them but she wasn’t sorry. Mr Temple could dismiss her for all she cared. She’d be damned if she’d let those two little devils get the better of her.

Once back in her room she reluctantly rang the small bell to the side of the fireplace, hating having to disturb any of the maids so late at night. Had she known where the linen cupboard was, she would have got the dry sheets herself, but as it was, she didn’t have much choice.

Daisy appeared within minutes, and half an hour later the bed was dry and newly made up again.

‘Eeh, they’re little buggers, them pair are,’ she said as she collected the wet sheets into a pile, and then she blushed. ‘Sorry, miss. Me mouth tends to run away wiv me. Me ma allus says it’ll be the death o’ me one o’ these days.’

Amber shook her head. ‘It’s all right, Daisy. I agree wi’ you. If I don’t get the sack in the mornin’ I reckon I’m goin’ to have to start puttin’ me foot down wi’ ’em else they’ll be runnin’ rings round me, the little blighters. I have to say Mrs Temple didn’t look none too pleased wi’ me at all.’