‘Have you ever acted?’ Margaret asked.

‘When I was eight I did. It was for a charity. Papa put on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I was Puck. It was lovely.’

Miss Grey glanced at the two girls. ‘I don’t know if it will be possible. But I will try and arrange that Margaret does lessons with Katie. Katie needs another child to work with and it will be convenient when rehearsals start for I can fit her in when she is free.’

Triumphantly Sarah and Margaret, with all the frocks and coats and hats, went home in a taxi.

‘Imagine Sir John paying me two pounds a week just to look after you!’ said Sarah.

‘Now we know I’m going to earn four pounds a week would you lend me enough money to buy some shoes?’ Margaret asked.

‘Of course, dear,’ Sarah agreed. ‘A pity your feet were bigger than Miss Katie’s.’

Margaret looked at her feet.

‘I do despise boots,’ she said.

Chapter Seven

THE CALENDAR

It was Lou who found accommodation for Sarah and Margaret.

‘My room’s all right for me,’ she said, ‘and it’s handy for the theatre and all that but it’s on the rough side round here. What you and Margaret want is a couple of rooms and a kitchen in a more select neighbourhood.’

It was not easy to find rooms in what Lou meant by a more select neighbourhood, because people in select neighbourhoods did not let off rooms in their houses; it was not considered genteel. However, by a bit of luck, Lou heard of rooms which sounded just what they wanted and she could not get home quickly enough to tell Sarah the news.

‘It was Miss Violet de Lang,’ she explained, ‘second boy she is in our panto. I was fitting her gold tunic for our all-gold finale when she happened to tell me where she was staying, it’s in an ever so nice square not far from here. Seems her auntie was cook to a lady and her husband was odd job man, and when the lady died, having no relatives, she left the house and all in it to Miss de Lang’s auntie. But it’s too big for her and her hubby so they want a nice quiet let. Well, when I told Miss de Lang about you and Margaret she said you sounded just what her auntie was looking for.’

The next day Sarah and Margaret went round to see Miss de Lang’s auntie. They combined the visit with going to a shoe shop for Margaret’s shoes. For the occasion Margaret wore some of her new clothes, and very nice she looked. Both Sarah and Lou were most impressed when she was dressed.

‘Might be anybody,’ said Lou.

Margaret did not fancy her position in the world being judged by her clothes so up went her chin into the air. ‘Well, I might be anybody, I’ve told you how I was found in a basket …’

Lou was tired of hearing that story which, in any case, she did not believe.