As more letters were exchanged between Edith and Charles, a clear plan emerged in Edith’s head. As far as she was concerned, it was imperative that she slipped away from Mary Vale without leaving a forwarding address or any hint of where she might be going or what she might be doing. She acknowledged to herself that the Home deserved better treatment than her sloping off like a thief in the night, but there was no room for sentimentality in the execution of her plan. Though the residents weren’t up to scratch, the staff and nuns had behaved more than decently to her. But, if she did the right thing by her employers – hand in her resignation, serve her notice and leave on an agreed date with her replacement already installed – she would leave a paper trail of where she might be going next and could therefore be traced. No, though her behaviour would be seen as sly and underhand, and it would certainly leave the Home understaffed, Edith had no choice. Knowing that her Rottweiler-like mother would be on her tail, desperate to get hold of her money to feed her addiction, Edith delighted in the knowledge that this time, if all went to plan, the old witch would get nothing.

By changing her name, Edith would slip through the net and disappear into rural Cheshire, where she would shake off the bonds of a family and a life she had loathed. When Edith had informed Charles that she intended to change her name, explaining that she didn’t want to be associated with the Harrogate nursing home where the scandal concerning their relationship had broken out, he appeared quite pleased. That was as much as she intended to reveal to her lover who had ingeniously tracked down ‘a man who knew a man’, someone whom, if paid enough, was prepared to forge new official papers for Edith.

Though they hadn’t settled on an exact date, Edith had agreed with Charles that she would go to him as soon as her new position was approved.

‘I’m sure it won’t be long, dearest Edith,’ he had written, adding that he had already prepared the bungalow for her arrival. ‘Everything is in readiness, my dear,’ he had promised.

‘Our love nest,’ happy Edith thought romantically.