‘The bathroom is two floors down at the end of the passage,’ said Miss Harringey. ‘You will need two pennies for the meter, and the bathroom is not to be used after ten at night.’

Daisy walked into the room. She crouched down before the mirror and adjusted her hat. Her rather protruding green eyes in her small face stared back at her.

Rose will hate this, she thought. Good, it might bring her to her senses.

‘I’ll take it.’

‘In that case, we shall descend to my sanctum and I will give you a receipt.’

‘Oh, good work,’ said Rose when Daisy returned with the news of the room.

‘It means we’ll need to sleep together,’ warned Daisy.

‘Oh, things will be fine.’ Rose had overcome her fears and was now looking forward to the new adventure. ‘I have received a letter from Mr Drevey. We are both to start work next Monday. Eight in the morning until five-thirty in the evening. We are each to receive fifteen shillings a week.’

‘Won’t go far,’ cautioned Daisy. ‘Not after what you’ve been used to.’

‘You have paid three months’ rent in advance, have you not? So we will have thirty shillings a week between us. We have our clothes. We can eat cheap food.’

‘That Miss Harringey said there was to be no cooking in the rooms, but from the smell of the place, I don’t think anybody pays any attention to that.’

‘The smell?’

‘Well, it does smell a bit. But that’s life on the lower side. I mean, it isn’t as if we have to stick at it, now does it?’

‘We must stick at it. I’ll wager that horrible Captain Cathcart is laying bets at the moment that we won’t be able to last the pace.’

‘He wouldn’t do that. I don’t know why you are so agin him.’

‘Against,’ corrected Rose. ‘He did not even have the courtesy to acknowledge our visit.’

‘Stands to reason. That old frump of a secretary doesn’t want to lose her job. She probably never even told him.’

‘Oh . . . well, no matter. We’ll probably be very happy in our new life at Drevey’s bank.’