This was a beauty. Matt, deep in thought, lifted the bonnet of a Rolls-Royce Phantom. He was curious to know more about Jenny’s father, Cyrus Winford. What kind of a man had he been? How could he have left his young daughter at the mercy of Gertrude Osborne and Greaves? And why the hell was her mother allowing this to happen? What was the matter with her? He ducked his head to take a closer look at the engine.

‘Don’t touch that!’ Jake Porter called.

Matt grinned at his boss. ‘Just looking.’

‘Oh, yeah? What’s that spanner doing in your hand, then?’

He slipped the tool into his pocket, chuckling.

‘Now I feel safer,’ Jake grunted. ‘I’ve never met anyone with such an urge to take apart anything mechanical.’

‘Are you going to let me work on this with you?’ Matt asked.

‘You can watch. Give me ten minutes and I’ll be there. In the meantime –’

‘I know, don’t touch anything.’

‘You’ve got it.’ Jake disappeared into the office.

Matt bent over to examine the engine again, whistling to himself, his former concerns dismissed as he contemplated the excitement of working on this beautiful vehicle. He loved it here, and once everyone had seen his enthusiasm and willingness to take orders, he had been accepted without question.

‘She’s a beauty, isn’t she?’ Harry said.

Matt straightened up and rubbed his hands in anticipation. He’d made friends with Harry Butler as soon as he’d arrived here. Although their backgrounds were very different, they’d hit it off at once. ‘Absolutely wonderful. Who owns her?’

‘Used to belong to a bloke called Winford, but it’s been booked in this time as Greaves.’

‘What the devil is he doing with the Winfords’ car?’ Matt was astonished to come across that man’s name at the garage.

‘Said he’d bought it from them.’ Harry studied him intently. ‘I keep forgetting that you come from a rich family. Do you know him?’

‘I’ve only met him once.’

Someone called out for Harry, and, after giving the car an affectionate pat, he hurried away to see to a customer. Harry was twenty-five and an excellent mechanic – another of Jake’s successful apprentices. Matt hoped to be as good one day. In the beginning he’d wondered if, because of his background, there would be hostility towards him, but that hadn’t happened. It had added to Matt’s pleasure in the job.