Daisy stayed for an hour, but by that time she was satisfied that the children would settle in well and that Mrs Bee and Dove could cope with their antics. Daisy said goodbye to the children although she promised to visit them again before she returned to London. She was reluctant to leave, but she wanted to see her aunt and uncle, although she suspected that they already knew of her arrival. It would have been an irresistible piece of gossip for Grace to pass on, and was probably all round the village by now.

It was a glorious spring afternoon and Daisy set off to walk to Creek Cottage. The recent showers followed by warm sunshine had brought a touch of spring to the woods with buds bursting open and tiny leaves unfurling like ladies’ fans. The white blossom of the blackthorn looked like bridal lace as it adorned the hedgerows; birds were nesting, and small animals scuttled about in the leaf mould. Daisy was even more conscious of the difference between living in the city and life in the country, and although she would never have thought it possible she knew that this was where she truly belonged. However, she had a job to do and she would have to return to the dirt, smoke and crowded streets of London in the morning.

She arrived at Creek Cottage to find her aunt peering out of the window. Daisy chuckled to herself – she had been correct in her assumption that Grace Peabody would have spread the news of Daisy Marshall’s unexpected return home accompanied by four children. She opened the gate in the picket fence and was halfway up the path when the front door opened and her aunt emerged from the house, arms widespread in welcome.

‘My dear girl, how lovely to see you. Grace told us that you had come back from London with several small children, but why didn’t you bring them here?’ She hustled Daisy into the house. ‘I’m sure we’re used to looking after the waifs and strays you bring home.’

‘I knew you would want to help,’ Daisy said tactfully. ‘But the two youngest children are little more than babies and their mother will be incapacitated for months. Her husband was killed in the accident and she has no one to look after her children. They were facing the workhouse.’

‘Oh, how dreadful.’ Eleanora bustled into the parlour where, despite the relative warmth outside, a fire burned in the grate. ‘Anyway, tell me everything from the moment you left us. Your uncle and I have really missed you.’ She rang the bell, but Daisy suspected that Linnet must have been loitering in the hallway as she appeared immediately.

‘You rang, ma’am?’

‘Yes, Linnet. Bring tea and cake, if there is any. If I’d known earlier that you were coming home I’d have asked Hattie to bake your favourite chocolate cake, Daisy.’

‘That’s quite all right, Aunt.’ Daisy turned to Linnet and smiled. ‘How are things with your family?’