Sybil didn’t flinch. ‘I feel I must apologize for my relationship with your husband.’

Lady Veronica waved a dismissive hand. ‘Don’t worry, dear, there were so many.’

‘Which makes me all the more ashamed,’ Sybil confessed; then, before she could stop herself, she said, ‘I’m delighted that your father took the initiative and spoke to you of our concerns.’

‘He was awkward and angry in turns,’ Lady Veronica recalled. ‘Having never spoken a word to my father about my husband’s infidelities and his threats to blackmail me, I asked him how he knew; that’s when he told me about your visit to Dowry House.’

Rosie spoke in a voice quivering with happiness and disbelief. ‘We weren’t at all sure if his lordship had taken us seriously.’

‘Don’t you worry, he took you very seriously, Rose,’ the visitor replied. ‘Once my father had established the facts, he was relentless. He hired the best lawyers in the land to handle the case.’

Poor Rosie blushed as she blurted out, ‘He said I was pre …’ She turned to Sybil.

‘Presumptuous,’ Sybil clarified.

‘Presumptuous to suggest you even wanted a divorce,’ Rosie concluded.

Lady Veronica didn’t hesitate for a moment. ‘You weren’t presumptuous, Rose dear,’ she cried. ‘You were spot on. I had begged Monty over and over again for a divorce – frowned upon as they are, I preferred the scandal that would follow to a lifetime with Monty – but he would never agree.’ Holding up a hand, she gave a self-deprecating smile. ‘Please believe me, it wasn’t devotion on his part; he simply wanted the titled connection and the income.’

‘I knew it all along,’ Rosie said with a delighted smile. ‘We all knew it below stairs.’

‘Anyway, enough of me – tell me how you come to be here, Rose.’

Looking like she didn’t quite know where to start, Rosie answered bluntly, ‘My husband was conscripted into the Army. Sadly me and the kiddies saw him only a few times before he was reported missing in action, then we got evacuated. I came here, expecting, but recently lost the baby,’ she concluded with a heavy sigh.

‘My dear, how absolutely awful for you all,’ Lady Veronica commiserated. ‘You’ve been through hell!’

With tears pricking her eyes, Rosie nodded. ‘We have been through hell, ma’am,’ she agreed. ‘And I’ve not even told you a third of the story,’ she thought. ‘But we struggle on – what else can folks like us do?’

‘Brave girl, that’s the wartime spirit; but even so, dear girl, you’ve certainly had a basin full.’

After Rosie had told her tragic story, Lady Veronica asked Sybil what her plans for the future were.

‘I’m leaving the Home this week to begin my training in radar.’

‘No more War Office?’ Lady Veronica asked with a knowing smile.

‘No more War Office,’ Sybil answered firmly. ‘Time to move on.’

‘And you, Rose, what are your plans?’