When she was finally left alone with her daughter, Ada examined her little hands and feet and stroked the silky wispy hair on her head. Then, holding her to the breast, she called her for the first time by the name that she and Jamie had chosen for her.

‘Catherine,’ she murmured dreamily. ‘Catherine,’ she repeated in sheer delight. ‘I’m your mummy and you have a daddy too, a wonderful, strong, brave, clever daddy who, please God, is alive and well,’ she prayed with a full heart. ‘And already loves you very much.’

43. Missing Person

The following morning the police arrived to question the staff about Edith’s sudden disappearance. Matron took Dora and Sisters Theresa and Mary Paul to one side.

‘I don’t want Ada brought into this,’ she started. ‘We all know how loyal and devoted she is to her friends and colleagues, and how much she would want to help, but right now she must focus all her thoughts and energy on her new baby.’

Sister Mary Paul, who was looking hot and flustered, bobbed her head up and down. ‘That’s right, Matron, she shouldn’t be troubled at all.’

Ever practical Dora added, ‘Anyway, Ada wasn’t even in the Home at the time of Sister Mann’s disappearance.’

‘So let’s answer the police’s questions as best we can, shall we?’ Matron continued. ‘They might well want to talk with some of the residents too.’

Dora shook her head. ‘How do we explain away somebody who has disappeared like a cloud of smoke?’

‘And WHY?’ Mary Paul cried. ‘Why do such a wicked, selfish thing?’

Not wanting the old nun to rerun her previous irate grievances, Matron swiftly changed the subject.

‘Now that we’re one member of staff down, we’ll have to rework the rota.’

‘I don’t mind doing overtime,’ Dora volunteered.

‘I’ll work as many hours as the convent allows me to,’ Sister Theresa added.

‘Maybe we should advertise for a temporary nurse?’ Dora suggested.

Generous-hearted Theresa said, ‘You never know, Sister Mann might come back.’

The other three woman looked at her sceptically.

‘It’s not a bad idea to advertise, Dora,’ Matron agreed. ‘Let’s get the police enquiries over with first and think about advertising the post later.’

In the sitting room the residents were of course aware of Sister Mann’s absence.

‘She’s taken her car,’ one of them informed the group.

‘Funny, nobody heard her driving away,’ another commented.

‘Maybe she rolled the car down the drive, then jumped in and started it up once she was clear of the House?’ another suggested.

‘That would take some doing in the middle of the night,’ one of the girls pointed out.

‘If that’s the case, Nurse Mann must have known what she was doing,’ somebody else said.

Upstairs in the family room, Rosie and Sybil were also discussing Edith’s actions.