She finished by saying, ‘I am really ruined now. It will be in all the newspapers tomorrow. My engagement to the captain is over. If I don’t find someone quickly to marry me, we will be sent off to India. That is, if I don’t end up in prison.’

‘We could run away,’ said Daisy. ‘You’ve got loads of jewels. We could sell them and go to Scotland or Ireland or somewhere like that. I know, we could go back to the Shufflebottoms in Yorkshire.’ Rose and Daisy had been sent to stay with Bert Shufflebottom, a village policeman, the year before, when Rose’s life had been in danger.

Rose shook her head. ‘Mr Shufflebottom is a policeman. If it was found out he was harbouring us, he would lose his job.’

‘We could ask Miss Friendly for suggestions. She told me that before her father ran through all the money, they used to travel.’

‘We cannot involve her.’ Rose had rescued Miss Friendly from a life of genteel poverty and had employed her as a seamstress almost around the same time as Harry had rescued Phil Marshall from destitution. She remembered thinking their similar actions had formed a bond between them, and felt like crying again.

‘I cannot face tomorrow,’ said Rose, ‘but where can we go?’

‘Perhaps some seaside town. We could stay in a quiet hotel. It’s out of season. There won’t be many folks around.’

‘I do have a certain amount of money at the bank,’ said Rose slowly. ‘I could draw it out tomorrow. It would occasion too much comment if I tried to sell my jewels. The jeweller might feel obliged to contact my father. A reputable jeweller would be sure to ask how I had come by them and a disreputable one would not give us value. If you remember, my Aunt Matilda died a few months ago and left me a tidy sum. But how will we get out of the house tomorrow with all the press on the doorstep and the servants watching my every move?’

Daisy frowned in thought. Then she said, ‘They’ll assume I have gone to work. I’ll get into your bed and pretend to be you and say I’m not feeling well and wish to he left alone.’

‘But if I go to the bank with stories about me all over the newspapers and draw out money, the manager may well phone my father.’

Daisy sat back on her heels. ‘I’ve got it,’ she said. ‘There’s quite a bit of money in the safe in the office.’

‘Pa’s money! No, we couldn’t.’

‘Yes, we could. I’ll rob it and leave a note saying we’ll pay back everything when the fuss has died down. That way, it wouldn’t really be stealing.’

‘But luggage! How do we get it out of the house?’

‘We’ll pack up tonight and when everyone’s asleep, I’ll leave it behind the shed in the garden and put a ladder against the garden wall.’

‘How will you get into the safe?’