‘All the best for the future, miss.’ The butler smiled and held the door open for her.

By the time she had reached her bedroom and closed the door behind her, Eugenie had made up her mind. There really was only one thing she could do, and that was to find a job. It would have to be something with accommodation, and she had only three days.

The panic sweeping through her was so overwhelming that she leant against the wall and sank down until she was sitting on the red Persian carpet. Even if she could find something in such a short time, what could she do that would put a roof over her head and food in her stomach? What skills or talents did she have? Very few was the honest answer. She’d been taught how to arrange flowers, set a table for a dinner party, how a meal should be served …

She leapt to her feet. Of course she didn’t have any business skills, but she could go into service. What was it Gerry had said? He was a footman because that was the only job he could get. If she could find a place in a large household, it would be a start. Perhaps a governess?

The sight of herself in the mirror, still wearing the light grey and maroon school uniform, was enough to convince her that she was too young. They would want someone more mature. However, she was fired up with the idea now. It would be a solution to her immediate problem and would keep her away from that awful man. Even scrubbing floors would be better than that!

Eugenie had always had a methodical mind – everything in its place, and a place for everything – so she began to lay her plans. It wasn’t going to be easy, she knew that, but all she had to do if she became discouraged was to think of Albert Greaves. That would stiffen anyone’s resolve.

She was going to have to make herself look like a servant. Holding her long hair up and away from her face made her look plainer and a little older, so it would have to be cut short. She would need different clothes and that would take money – something she didn’t have. Her aunt had said that nothing could be removed from the house; she would have to sell her own things. How she longed to have someone she could go to for help, but this had to be kept a secret. When she walked out of the house in three days’ time – and she was determined to do that – no one must know what she was doing or where she was going; otherwise her aunt would find her. And however hard her life was going to be, that mustn’t happen.