It was then that he noticed Hermione at the window and by the time Mrs B had let them in she was standing waiting for them in the drawing room, her face pale. She looked tired, as if she hadn’t slept well, although her back was as straight as ever and her head was high.

‘Good morning, Aunt.’ Oscar pecked her on the cheek. ‘We’ve come with what I hope you will think is good news.’

‘And I’m afraid I have some not so good news for you.’

‘Oh!’ Oscar was taken aback. Hermione had never been an overly demonstrative person but his welcome was usually warmer than this. ‘And what would that be then?’

‘It’s Ruby . . . she didn’t come home last night. It was her day off and she said she was going to do some shopping yesterday morning. That was the last we saw of her.’ She omitted to tell him that she had been up for most of the night, hovering by the window.

Oscar and Serena were visibly shocked. ‘Has she ever done this before?’ Oscar asked.

‘Never. But there’s worse . . .’ She hesitated before rushing on. ‘I went to check the workroom this morning to see if perhaps there was a note or anything. There wasn’t, but while I was there, I thought I may as well try to get some work done while I waited for her to come back, and when I opened the safe . . .’ Clearly distressed she swallowed. ‘I discovered that some very valuable jewels are missing.’

Oscar raised an eyebrow in query.

‘It’s the diamonds you brought recently for the design Ruby was working on. They are worth hundreds of pounds and they’re all gone.’

‘But surely you can’t think that Ruby would have taken them?’ Serena said in a shocked voice.

Hermione shrugged. ‘I don’t know what to think. If asked I would have sworn hand on heart that the girl was trustworthy, but I can’t deny the evidence. She is gone and so are the jewels.’

‘What about her clothes? Has she taken any of them?’ Oscar asked. He and Serena had arrived with such good news but now everything had gone awry.

Mrs B entered the room carrying a tray of tea and Oscar saw that she too was upset. Her eyes were red and her usual sparkle was missing. ‘I’ll go up and check her room,’ she offered and without another word she set off.

She was back within minutes. ‘Everything is just as she left it, she ain’t took a thing.’ She frowned. ‘But I’ll tell you now I don’t believe for one minute that Ruby would just up and leave. Someone is behind this, I’d stake my life on it.’

Serena nodded in agreement, her eyes filled with tears. ‘I think you are right, Mrs B, there has to be some plausible explanation.’