Judy placed her bag at the foot of the stairs, not knowing what else to do. The house was much smaller than she had imagined it to be, and she could hear children’s voice coming from a room upstairs, followed by the deeper tones of their nanny.

‘I hope I’m not inconveniencing you, Mrs Marshall,’ Judy said anxiously.

‘Not at all, my dear.’ Minnie opened a door to her right and led the way into a small, but well-proportioned living room, which was furnished for comfort rather than elegance. Minnie sat down in a chair by the empty hearth, motioning Judy to follow suit. ‘Daisy’s telegram said you would be arriving today, and that you needed help to find a suitable position in London.’

Judy retrieved a wooden doll from the chair before taking a seat. She clutched it in her hands, holding on to it like a good luck charm. ‘I’m afraid it was very short notice, but I had to get away. It was a rather difficult situation. Mrs Walters has written you a note.’ Judy put the doll down and took the sealed letter from her reticule. She handed it to Minnie, who opened it and studied it intently.

‘I understand, Judy. I expect we’ve all experienced times like that at one point or another in our lives. Would this have anything to do with Jack’s return from university?’

Judy stared at her open-mouthed. ‘How did you know that?’

‘I didn’t, but from the urgency of your departure I guessed it must be something of the sort, and it was always obvious that you two were close. Anyone could see that, even when you were just children.’

‘I suppose I should have stayed where I was, but I couldn’t make him understand my position.’

Minnie smiled and nodded. ‘He’s a man, my dear. They believe what they want to believe, and I suppose Jack wants to keep his freedom, but he needs you to be there for him every step of the way.’

‘Yes, that’s about it, Mrs Marshall. I had to come away or who knows what might have happened? Jack is master of the house now, and I’m just a servant, or rather I was.’

‘And you didn’t tell him you were leaving?’

‘I couldn’t,’ Judy said simply. ‘He would have persuaded me to stay.’

‘Then I think you did the right thing, and I would mploy you if it were possible, but, as you can see, this is a very small house. We’ll be moving to a much larger residence in the near future, but that doesn’t help you now.’

‘I was just hoping you might know of someone who would employ me. I can cook and Mrs Ralston has taught me household management. I’m honest and hard working.’

‘I know all that, Judy. Mrs Tattersall was always singing your praises when we visited the manor house.’ Minnie jumped to her feet at the sound of crockery rattling together in the hallway. She wrenched the door open in time to rescue the tea tray as Sukey tripped over her feet and stumbled. ‘Thank you, Sukey. That will be all for now.’