Approaching the kitchen door, Mrs Petty knocked and it was answered almost instantly by a young maid in a starched white apron and mop cap.

‘Ah, come in,’ the girl said in a friendly fashion. ‘Miss Wood is expecting you, Mrs Petty.’

Mrs Petty ushered Ruby ahead of her into the most enormous kitchen she had ever seen. She had thought the one at Maddie’s was big but that was small by comparison.

A woman with a ruddy complexion and a kindly face approached them and smiled at Mrs Petty. From the way she greeted her Ruby guessed they must know each other.

‘Hello, Ethel, you’re looking well.’ She glanced towards Ruby and winked before gesturing to the table. ‘Sit yourselves down, there’s tea in the pot and I’ve no doubt you could do with one after being out in the cold. Miss Wood shouldn’t be long. And this is Ruby, is it?’

‘It is,’ Mrs Petty confirmed. ‘And thank you, Ada, a cup o’ tea would go down a treat. It’s enough to cut you in two out there.’

Ruby sidled onto a chair and sat down as the woman bustled away, returning a moment later with two large, steaming mugs. ‘Help yourselves to sugar.’ She pointed to the pressed glass bowl on the table, then turned her attention back to Ruby. ‘Have you been in service before, bab?’

Ruby shook her head as she warmed her hands on the mug. ‘N-no, I haven’t, but I used to work hard in me dad’s baker’s shop.’

‘That’s good. Oh, and I’m Mrs Baxter, but everyone just calls me Cook.’

At that moment the green baize door at the end of the room opened and a woman with fair hair wound into plaits about her head and blue eyes appeared. She was slim and straight-backed and dressed in a plain bombazine gown with a chatelaine about her waist. The keys that were attached to it jingled when she walked but her eyes were kindly as she approached Mrs Petty with her hand held out.

They shook hands and only then did Miss Wood turn to look at Ruby. ‘Hm, she’s quite slight, isn’t she?’ she commented worriedly. ‘I just hope she is able to stand up for herself. As you know, Miss Miranda can be quite, er . . .’ She paused as though searching for the right word and ended, ‘Challenging, shall we say?’

Ruby frowned. Who the hell was Miss Miranda and what did it matter to her how big she was?

‘Ah well, the thing is, I ain’t actually had a chance to explain to Ruby what her job is to be,’ Mrs Petty explained with a worried glance at Ruby. ‘But all the same I feel she’ll be up to it.’