After a short while, Ruby moved on and soon she found herself standing over the road from the bakery staring into it through the stalls. The first thing she noticed was that the windows were filthy. That had always been one of her first jobs of the day to clean them and sweep the floor inside and out, but now they looked as if they hadn’t been touched for months. She could see Lil standing behind the counter in a dirty apron with a pipe dangling from the corner of her mouth, and as she watched she saw her father enter from behind her with a basket of fresh bread, which he plonked down on the counter. From what she could see, they appeared to be rowing as her father started to wave his hands about, and although she had never been a spiteful person, she found that she was smiling. Perhaps he was finally getting what he deserved. Suddenly plucking up her courage she crossed the road, and as she marched into the shop the bell above the door tinkled and her father looked towards it. Shock registered on his face as he saw who it was and he was momentarily struck dumb.

‘Hello, Dad, you’re letting your standards slip a little, aren’t you?’ She wiped her finger along the edge of the counter and grimaced as she held it up to show the dirt it had collected.

‘Why you . . . you cheeky little bitch! I don’t know how you dare show your face in ’ere after yer left me in the lurch as yer did!’ he spluttered.

Her face hardened. ‘And why did I leave you in the lurch, eh? Perhaps you would like me to tell Lil?’

The colour drained from his face as he waved towards the door. ‘Get out – go on! We don’t want no trouble here!’

‘With the greatest of pleasure,’ she answered calmly and glancing towards Lil she smiled. ‘I hope you’ll be very happy together.’ And with that she turned about, her elegant skirts swishing, and marched from the shop with her head held high, wondering why she had ever feared him so much.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

‘Oh . . . hello, Miranda.’ Ruby looked mildly surprised when she answered the door the following week. She had visited the Pembroke household the week before and Miss Wood had told her that they were expecting Miranda home from school for Christmas, but Ruby hadn’t anticipated seeing her at her Aunt Hermione’s quite so soon.

‘How are you, Ruby? I’m sure you’ve grown again,’ Miranda said as she hurried in out of the cold. ‘Father tells me your designs are proving to be really popular now and that you’ve been spending some time at the school and in the shop.’