Matron had always been a strong woman, but now her madness seemed to give her extra strength. Though Margaret fought every inch of the way, she dragged her into the room where she had been sent to get water and, with the rope that the cabman had tied round her, she fastened her securely to an old mangle.

‘Pull that over if you want to,’ she said. ‘It will fall on you, so if you’re hurt, you’ve only yourself to blame.’

Margaret could see that Matron was not in her right mind, but she still could not imagine why she was in such a fury with her.

‘I’m not a fool,’ she said. ‘I can see it would do no good to pull your mangle over – but why me? What have I done to you?’

A curious noise came out of Matron, more like the screech of a big bird than a human cry.

‘What have you done? Who told lies and put that Lady Corkberry on to having me dismissed without money or a character? Who put the orphans on to throwing vegetables and that at me as I drove away? Who put the police on to me pretending to be drowned in the canal?’

Margaret was astonished. ‘I didn’t know you weren’t Matron at the orphanage any more. Thank goodness you aren’t, for you were mean and cruel, but I didn’t know.’

Matron slapped Margaret’s face. ‘Be quiet, you. There’ll be more work for you to do when I get back.’

Margaret heard the front door key turn in its lock. She was horribly uncomfortable, for at the slightest movement her wrists ached from the rope that tied them. There was nothing for it, she decided, but to be perfectly still. It was then she heard a sound, a sort of scuffling and rustling. Margaret stiffened, and for a second her courage deserted her. Then she managed to raise her chin a little.

‘All right,’ she called. ‘I can hear you.’ She managed to keep the tremble out of her voice. ‘I am Margaret Thursday and I’m never afraid of anything – not even rats.’

Chapter Twenty-one

THE SEARCH GOES ON

Of course the fact that Margaret had been kidnapped could not be kept secret. Mrs Wallow told the neighbours and the neighbours told their neighbours. In the kitchen of the private part of The Dolphin the news soon reached the staff, and Annie slipped out to tell her boy friend, and Hilton told the innkeeper when he had his midday glass of porter. But, though she did not realize she had done it, the one who really spread the news was Sarah.

The moment the fog lifted, Sarah went as fast as her legs would carry her to Lou in the wardrobe of the London Hippodrome. Lou turned quite grey when she heard the news for she was more aware than most of the wicked things that went on in London’s back streets. She looked so pale that Sarah thought she was going to faint and called out for help. At once all the wardrobe staff gathered round with every imaginable remedy for faints and shock and they, of course, heard what had happened and, once Lou was better, could not wait to slip out into the street to spread the news.