‘But this whole set-up is absolutely appalling!’ he stormed. ‘Why, I’ve seen animals kept in better conditions than this. But now I want you to rest – and don’t worry, I’ll see to it that you aren’t locked in.’ He patted her hand and strode from the room and for the first time since she had entered the dreadful place, Ruby felt a stirring of hope.

Once downstairs George headed straight for the matron’s office, but finding no sign of her, he hailed a passing nurse. ‘Do you know where Matron is?’

She shook her head. ‘I’m afraid not, Dr Chatsworth. She said she had to go out urgently some minutes ago and left.’

‘I’ll bet she did!’ he said angrily. ‘Show me where she keeps all the patient files.’

The nurse hesitated, but one glance at his furious face made her rush towards the office. ‘They’re all in that filing cabinet there, sir.’

‘Thank you, that will be all. See that I’m not disturbed.’ And with that he closed the door firmly, determined to get to the bottom of things.

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty

The following morning, Miranda informed her father and Serena at breakfast that she had decided to return to her grandparents’ for a few days and although Oscar felt guilty, he had to admit to himself that he was relieved.

After she’d left, he told Serena, ‘I suppose we should take a look at her room. Not that I believe for a moment she would sink so low, but it would put our minds at rest at least.’ And so, side by side, they climbed the stairs and entered Miranda’s room. The maid hadn’t yet had time to tidy it and there were clothes strewn everywhere.

‘I don’t quite know where to start,’ Oscar admitted as he scratched his head and looked around at the mess.

Serena could see this was painful for him and so she laid her hand gently on his arm. ‘Why don’t you leave it to me? I can tidy up as I go along.’

‘W-well if you’re quite sure.’ He had broken out in a sweat and left the room quickly, needing no further encouragement.

Serena stood with her hands on her hips as she surveyed the mess, then she began to gather the discarded clothes together and dump them on the bed before beginning her search. First, she went through all the drawers, careful to leave everything exactly as she had found it, but there was nothing. Next, she looked beneath the mattress but again with no luck. Strangely, she was not disappointed for deep down she believed that even Miranda, for all her spoilt ways, would not be capable of doing anything so appalling.