‘Marjie, really, you don’t have to explain. You deserve Wills’s love, and the happiness he gives you. You are so courageous. If I had the news about my mum that you had of yours, I would go to pieces. I nearly did anyway, as it was devastating to hear what poor Aunt Flors and Aunt Ella have been through. I know you went to pieces at first, but look at how you have dealt with it. You are truly amazing, and you inspire me. Let’s have one of our hugs.’

As they hugged, Sibbie thought that having Marjie by her side would help her and drive her actions. I will always think of her safety before my own – that’s not what we have been taught, but it is what I’ll do, and that will help to give me the courage I will need.

When they arrived at Wills’s apartment the next day, they were taken aback, when faced with the truth of his wealth. His home wasn’t really an apartment, as they had thought, but a four-storey house in Kensington.

The basement, accessed separately, was where his main staff lived: his cook and her husband, who was Wills’s driver and manservant. The ground floor housed the kitchens at the back, with the entrance from street level at the front of the house. This took you into a magnificent hall, from which a spiral staircase with golden, intricately designed spindles and a highly polished deep-mahogany handrail led up to Wills’s living quarters – a sumptuous four-bedroom, four-bathroom two-storey apartment that was just beautiful. The first floor of the apartment was divided into three rooms: a study, with the usual mahogany desk, red leather chairs and book-lined walls; and a music-cum-leisure-room, with a grand piano, an assortment of deep-seated cream sofas and matching armchairs. Occasional mahogany tables were dotted about, some of which housed games – chess was laid out on one; backgammon on another; and a third table had a green baize top, with two packs of playing cards neatly stacked on it. Magazines were piled tidily on another. A drinks cabinet, which was almost a full bar, graced one corner of the room; and on the opposite wall, behind royal-blue curtains, was a French door, which led on to the walled flat roof of the floor below. This was immaculately laid out as a garden, complete with a small fountain.