What a way to go. Mind you, it would save him a lot of bother, if he were dead.

He should be on top of the world. He was away from the bombing, he’d finally been given some real responsibility and he was living like a toff.

But it was no use; he still felt glum.

Everyone seemed to hate him. Miss Sharp – Cynthia – definitely hated him. He was ‘officious’ and he’d ‘got beyond his station’. Those had been her actual words, before she’d stormed off to Lord Ashford’s office, yesterday, to make her complaint.

He wasn’t entirely sure what ‘officious’ meant but it was definitely an insult. He could tell by the way she’d spat it out.

The other chaps weren’t entirely on his side now either. When he said he wouldn’t be joining them at the pub this evening, no one had tried to persuade him otherwise.

The girls were listening to the wireless in the drawing room. Ray had no interest in that these days. The news was bleak; it brought him down.

Now, if It’s That Man Again!, his absolute favourite, had been broadcasting, wild horses wouldn’t have kept him away. Tommy Handley hardly had to open his mouth to have Ray in stitches. But ITMA had been off the air for a while now, so that was that.

He didn’t think he’d be that welcome in the drawing room, in any case. He didn’t seem able to cheer the girls up these days. Over dinner, Nancy had complained about being bored and she hadn’t taken too kindly to his suggestion that she should put on a pair of boots and go for a walk.

‘Walk? I never walk anywhere!’ she’d said, looking down at her feet and pulling a face that made everyone laugh. ‘Look, my shoes are already muddy. As for boots, no thanks. I’d look like a baby elephant!’

On top of everything, the promotion that Ray had been so proud of had turned out to be temporary, merely to move all the staff and office equipment here. Perhaps this new position, in charge of ‘morale’ was merely something his Lordship had invented to make him feel better. It was all too clear that Lord Ashford, the one person he really wanted to impress, doubted his ability.

Oh, what did it matter? He should give it his best shot. If he could prove himself, he might be trusted with something else.

‘Whooaaa!’ The ladder shook as the library door swung open and Ray tore the page he’d been studying.

It was the girls. Pam first, followed, as always, by Nancy. Then, Elsie stomped in, arms folded, looking as though she was there under duress and finally, bringing up the rear, Maggie Corbett. Miss Sharp, he was relieved to see, wasn’t with them.

‘Crikey!’ Nancy exclaimed, looking around. ‘Books, everywhere! They’ve got more than Foyles!’