She waved a carefree hand. ‘Don’t worry, his bark’s worse than his bite. I’ve got used to it over the years.’

‘Did he say anything after I’d left?’ Ted asked.

She nodded. ‘He said I should’ve slammed the door in your face. He doesn’t like most folk, but it was obvious you’d rattled his cage. What did you say to annoy him so?’

Ted stepped to one side and gestured for her to come closer. ‘Remember how I said I used to be friends with his daughter?’

Mavis gave him a startled look. ‘Are you the …’

Ted nodded grimly. ‘I was her boyfriend, which is why he wasn’t pleased to see me.’

She looked down at her feet. ‘Did you know she was – you know?’

‘Not at the time,’ said Ted truthfully. ‘I moved away, you see, and when I came back I bumped into an old pal who told me of the rumours, and that’s why I called, to see if those rumours were true. Olivia’s father tried to deny it at first, but when I made him aware that I knew about the baby, that’s when he told me what she’d done.’ He shrugged. ‘I don’t blame her – it must have been very difficult.’

The girl held out a hand. ‘I’m Mavis, although I suspect you already knew that.’

He gave her an apologetic grin. ‘I’m afraid so, and for the record, I’m Ted.’

She smiled shyly. ‘I know who you are, because I overheard Miss Olivia and her mother talking about you.’ She blushed. ‘I wasn’t eavesdropping – they were in the same room as me. I think they sometimes forget that staff have ears.’

He shrugged dismissively. ‘Don’t worry about it. You can’t help it if people talk in front of you …’ He hesitated. ‘I don’t suppose you ever heard why Olivia made such a momentous decision without seeking me out first? I blamed her father, but of course he denied it was his idea.’

The maid gave him a wry glance. ‘You’re bang on the money. There was no way Campbell was going to give you and Miss Olivia a chance to meet up, not when he’d got everything so neatly worked out.’

‘I thought as much,’ said Ted. ‘I couldn’t see her doing something like that off her own bat.’

Mavis agreed. ‘He arranged everything, from the birth to the adoption, or at least that was the plan until, well, you know.’

Ted stared at her with a blank expression. ‘Sorry, did you say adoption?’

She nodded sadly. ‘That was the idea, but it’s the only part of his plan that didn’t come to fruition.’

‘Are you certain?’ Ted asked urgently. ‘Because that’s not what he told me – far from it, in fact.’

She nodded. ‘As true as I’m stood here. Why? What did he tell you?’

‘He told me she had the baby aborted,’ Ted said.