For the rest of the morning they went through the designs, deciding which ones should be sent to the workshop first, and Ruby found she was enjoying herself immensely. Both Mr Pembroke and Mr Chatsworth spoke to her as an equal and it made her feel warm inside. This was all so different to the way her adoptive father used to bark orders at her and make her feel worthless.

The time seemed to pass in the blink of an eye and she was shocked when Caroline rushed in and grinned at her from ear to ear.

‘So, what do you want to do first, then? Lunch or shopping?’

‘Actually . . .’ Ruby swallowed but found the courage to say, ‘If you wouldn’t mind, what I’d really like to do is go sightseeing. There are so many places I want to see.’

Caroline giggled. ‘That’s no trouble at all. Where do you want to go first?’

‘Buckingham Palace,’ Ruby said without hesitation as she reached for her hat and coat. She had brought her warm cloak too, for although the snow was thawing it was still bitterly cold.

‘Take an omnibus if you must go gallivanting; it’s very cold out there,’ Mr Chatsworth advised, but he smiled at their bravery. When he was their age the cold hadn’t bothered him at all either, but now when he wasn’t working, he preferred the comfort of his own fireside.

‘We’ll be fine,’ Caroline assured him cheerily and taking Ruby’s arm she almost dragged her from the shop, keen to get started on their adventure.

‘Oh, this is such fun,’ she chirped once they were seated on an omnibus rattling through the city towards Buckingham Palace. ‘I wish you could come in June when Queen Victoria is celebrating her Golden Jubilee! There are going to be so many parties being held in London around that time, and balls, I shouldn’t wonder. Did you know she’s supposed to have invited fifty European kings and princes from all over the world to celebrate with her? Now that really will be a party!’

Ruby smiled. Caroline’s happy nature was infectious and already she felt as if she had known her forever.

‘Of course, I had to tell George he wasn’t allowed to come today,’ Caroline prattled on with a giggle. ‘It’s just us girls this afternoon, I told him, so he’ll probably be sulking now. He only wanted to come because of you anyway. Had I been on my own, wild horses wouldn’t have dragged him away from his precious books! He can be very boring . . . Ooh, look, there’s the River Thames. If it wasn’t so cold, we could go on a boat ride.’