Her head shot up at the sound of a man’s voice. He was no more than twenty-five, she guessed, and his dark green and gold livery marked him as a footman. ‘I’ve come from Mrs Dearing’s agency about the job of under housemaid.’

He stepped aside. ‘Come with me.’ He led her through an enormous kitchen, which was lovely and warm after the cold wind outside. She received curious glances, but the cook and her staff were too busy to stop what they were doing. The footman led her along a dark passage and rapped on a door at the end.

‘Young kid here about the job, Mrs Douglas.’

The door opened to reveal a small, comfortable sitting room, and a woman who was not so small. She was wearing a black dress with a chatelaine at her waist from which hung a large bunch of keys and various useful items. She gave Jenny a quick head-to-toe appraisal, then without a word turned and walked back into the room. The footman winked as he pushed Jenny over the threshold before closing the door behind her.

The housekeeper held her hand out for the letter Jenny was clutching to her as if it were a good-luck talisman. She fought to stop her hand trembling as she handed it over, though it was so difficult. She was shaking from her feet upwards; it wouldn’t take much for her teeth to start chattering. The words Miss Patterson-Hay had drummed into them at the school echoed in her mind: ‘Remain serene and composed at all times. Never show fear or anger.’

Remain serene! She could feel a hysterical laugh bubbling up inside her. That was impossible. She was so terrified that her legs wouldn’t hold her much longer …

‘No references.’

The housekeeper’s voice made her jump, and with a sense of desperation she gathered her scattered thoughts together. ‘No, Mrs Douglas, but I’m a hard worker.’

‘You had better be,’ she snapped. ‘I don’t tolerate slackness in this household.’

Jenny couldn’t help comparing the Winford housekeeper with this one. She didn’t seem quite so severe, but there was little to choose between them. Were they all like this?

‘Come with me. I’ll find out if madam will see you.’

The housekeeper sailed out of the room, heading for a flight of stairs, drawing Jenny along in her wake. At least she hadn’t been sent away as soon as she’d arrived, so perhaps there was hope. She had to get this job or she didn’t know what she was going to do. If she went to anyone she knew, they would only go straight to her mother. Anything like that was doomed to failure and would bring the wrath of her aunt down on her. She gave an involuntary shudder; that was too awful to think about.