Within twenty-four hours her builder had given her a quotation and, unwilling to let the grass grow under her feet, she put in an offer for the premises, which was accepted. By the end of the week she’d been to the building society and everything was under way.

She hadn’t seen Clarissa for some time while all this was going on. Godfrey had finally retired from the army and to celebrate he had whisked his wife off to Europe for a holiday, taking in the sights of Italy and Greece, and finally ending up in Paris for a week or so. And so it was with some surprise that the weekend after the purchase of the new shop was completed, Ruby answered a knock at the door to find Clarissa on the doorstep, as bubbly and effusive as ever. Over coffee, she told her friend about recent events, admitting that the speed with which her latest acquisition had happened had left her feeling shell-shocked.

‘Darling, it’s wonderful, just wonderful.’ Clarissa kissed her on both cheeks. ‘You’re doing so amazingly well and so you should – your clothes are divine. My goodness, a woman of substance! Lady Russell was asking after you only the other day when we spent a few days in London after returning from Paris. She’s never forgotten how you saved my life, and she thinks this new endeavour of yours is fabulous.’

Ruby smiled but didn’t comment. Lady Russell had been present at Clarissa’s party in the spring, and Ruby had got the distinct impression that the aristocratic noblewoman had disapproved of the friendship between herself and Edward. Women from every walk of life having the right to vote was one thing but Lady Russell, like so many of her class, believed that those walks of life should be kept clearly defined with no party stepping over into a different one when it came to marriage and family. Indeed, Ruby had often wondered what Clarissa’s reaction would have been if she and Edward had told her they were in love and intended to marry. Would her friend have welcomed her with open arms, or would there have been reservations? Much as she cared for Clarissa, she rather thought it would be the latter. And she couldn’t blame Clarissa if that was the case, not when she herself could list a whole host of reasons why a match with Edward could have been a disaster. Anyway, all that was incidental now. She had sent Edward away and he had lost no time in making his home abroad and falling in love with someone else, which perhaps indicated that she had been right all along.