She chuckled but, even so, she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. ‘The house, of course. I’m done with romance. It leads to heartbreak.’

He squeezed her fingers. ‘Only if you fall for the wrong man, little sister. If I ever meet that cad Julian Carrington I’ll give him what for.’

‘He’s not worth it, Toby. Forget about Julian – I have.’ Daisy drank the lukewarm coffee in two gulps and replaced the cup on its saucer. ‘We’d better go home.’

‘It’s not my home, Daisy. I’m going back to London tomorrow.’

‘So soon?’

‘There’s no point staying any longer. I have to find lodgings near the hospital and I take up my position on Monday.’

‘I’ll miss you.’

Toby eyed her speculatively. ‘Come with me, then. I’m sure we can find somewhere suitable for the two of us. You can keep house for me.’

The thought of being her brother’s housekeeper made her laugh. ‘I can’t imagine how that would work out, Toby. We’d argue all the time, and anyway, I want to do something for myself.’

‘Do you want to find another position like the last one?’

She shook her head. ‘No, never. I wasn’t cut out to be a governess, but there must be something I can do. There simply must.’

Toby caught the train to London next morning, once again offering to share his accommodation with Daisy should she change her mind. She was tempted, but she knew that if she were to leave now it would upset her aunt and uncle, and she put a brave face on it, waving goodbye to her brother as the train puffed out of the station. She set off to walk back to the cottage at a brisk pace and was approaching the village when she saw a group of small boys clustered around one of their friends, who was lying prostrate on the ground.

‘What happened?’ Daisy asked anxiously.

‘He were climbing the tree, miss. The branch broke and he fell.’ The boldest of the group wiped his runny nose on his sleeve. ‘Is he dead?’

Daisy went down on her knees beside the child. ‘What’s his name?’

‘Jack Fox, miss.’

‘Fox? Is he related to Linnet and Dove?’

The boy nodded. ‘He’s their brother.’

‘He’s killed hisself,’ cried a smaller boy. ‘Run and get help, Danny.’

Daisy laid her hand on Jack’s chest and she could feel his heart beating rhythmically. ‘He’s not dead.’ She could see that one arm was twisted beneath him and she lifted him gently, straightening the injured limb. ‘I think he’s broken his arm. We need to get him to the doctor.’

‘It’s too far to carry him,’ Danny said, sniffing.

Daisy glanced round in desperation. ‘Don’t just stand there, boys. Find me some straight sticks. I’ll make a splint for his arm while he’s unconscious and then we’ll see about moving him.’ She sat back while the boys scurried off to find the wood. ‘Jack, can you hear me?’ She brushed his dark hair back from his forehead to reveal a large egg-shaped bump that was rapidly turning blue. A head injury could be serious, but there was nothing she could do about that; the main thing was to get the boy home and send for the doctor. Daisy looked up as Danny returned carrying a bundle of twigs, some bigger and thicker than others.