‘Oh, then you are a little younger than me. I’m eighteen,’ Caroline informed her. ‘And George here is twenty-one. Very old indeed.’

Again, he playfully cuffed her ear and Ruby could see that despite the banter they were actually very close. His fair hair was slightly darker than his sister’s but his eyes were the same lovely colour as hers and he was tall and remarkably handsome.

‘How much longer will you be training for?’ Ruby asked him.

‘Oh, I’ve got another month to go,’ he answered. ‘Although I haven’t yet decided what line of medicine I want to go in to yet. I could continue training to become a surgeon, or when I’ve completed this next term, I may decide to become a general practitioner.’

‘And what do you do?’ Ruby asked Caroline.

‘I help out in the shop,’ Caroline told her. ‘At busy times, that is. I’m afraid I haven’t trained for anything else. I think Mama and Papa want to marry me off to a rich husband.’

‘Huh! That’s if they can find one that would put up with you,’ George teased.

Just for a moment, Ruby felt sad. The two clearly doted on each other and she realised how much she had missed by not having any siblings.

They chatted on for a time until Mrs Chatsworth said, ‘I’m very sorry to disturb you young people, but perhaps our visitors would like to freshen up before dinner is served. Would you show Ruby up to her room please, Caroline?’

‘Of course.’ Caroline took Ruby’s hand and trotted her away, talking non-stop all the way up the stairs. ‘I’ve had you put in the room next to mine,’ she told her. ‘How long are you going to be staying?’

‘About a week, I think.’

‘Oh, wonderful! In that case we’ll have time for me to take you on a few sightseeing trips. We could go shopping too. And of course, we must take you to a show. You simply can’t visit London without seeing a show.’

‘Well . . . I’m not sure I’ll have time,’ Ruby answered uncertainly. She had come here to work after all, but Caroline didn’t seem the sort to take no for an answer when she had made her mind up about something.

‘Rubbish!’ she snorted. ‘Of course, you will. I shall ask Papa to make sure of it. You know the old saying: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!” That’s what I keep telling George but he’s such a bookworm.’

They emerged on to a long, narrow landing and Caroline stopped abruptly, causing Ruby to almost barge into her as she threw a door open. ‘This is your room.’