The horses stopped abruptly and the driver appeared at the window. ‘Sorry, miss, but I ain’t a goin’ in there,’ he told Miranda with a wary glance at the gates. ‘But I’ll wait ’ere for yer, if yer wish?’

‘Oh, very well,’ Miranda snapped as he helped her down from the carriage before turning to do the same for Ruby.

Miranda flounced towards the gates, clearly unhappy at the walk they had ahead of them. As she drew closer to the gates, an elderly man appeared from a small gatehouse. ‘Miss Miranda Pembroke, I am expected,’ she told him imperiously.

He nodded. ‘Aye, you are,’ he agreed as he fumbled in his pocket for the enormous iron key to open the padlock. ‘Come on through.’

On legs that suddenly felt as if they had turned to jelly, Ruby followed Miranda’s portly figure through the gates. ‘Just keep goin’ down the drive. Hatter’s Hall is at the end of it beyond the trees,’ the old man instructed as he locked the gates behind them.

They set off again, Ruby peering ahead, but as yet there was no sign of the hall. The sun was out now and the weak rays shone down through the bare branches of the trees that lined either side of the drive as they hurried along. Eventually they saw light ahead and the hall came into view. With a gasp, Ruby drew to a halt. It was enormous and looked very dark and forbidding with ivy clambering up its walls like green fingers trying to enter the windows. Instead of curtains, behind the glass of each window they saw heavy metal bars and Ruby shuddered.

‘It looks more like a prison than a hospital,’ she said quietly.

‘It does look grim,’ Miranda admitted – she couldn’t truthfully have said otherwise. ‘But I’m sure it will be better inside and perhaps we’ll find that your mother isn’t too bad after all.’

They plodded on until they stood at the bottom of three large steps that led up to a huge set of double oak doors.

Miranda climbed them and yanked on a bell pull to one side and they stood listening to the sound of the bell chime hollowly inside. Other than that, there was not a sound to be heard save for the birds in the trees and the thud of Ruby’s heart, which was hammering so loudly now that she was sure Miranda must be able to hear it as well. Finally they heard echoing footsteps from behind the door, growing louder as the person came closer, and then there was the sound of a key being turned. The door swung open and they found themselves staring at a huge amazon of a woman with hands like hams who was wearing a starched nurse’s uniform.

There was no welcoming smile, she merely looked from one to the other of them before asking, ‘Miss Pembroke?’