The room was beautifully proportioned. The doors of the built-in bookcase, which were open, caught the sunlight outside and reflected it dazzlingly, but there were no books on the shelves and the room was completely empty.

“What is it?” the elderly woman asked, following Carina into the room. “What have you been doin’? I can see you have been up to somethin’.”

“Nanny, I have got a job. It is a strange rather frightening job, but I have it. That’s all that matters. I shall be gone when they arrive tomorrow morning.”

“Now, dearie, are you bein’ wise?” Nanny asked. “After all you would be safe with them.”

“Safe!” Carina ejaculated scornfully. “Who wants to be safe with people like Cousin Emma and Cousin Hubert? You know they have always disapproved of Mama and hated Papa and it would give them great pleasure to be able to patronise me and tell me a thousand times a day how lucky I was to live on their charity. I would rather die, Nanny, as I have told you before. I would rather die than be beholden to them!”

Carina’s voice was passionate and her fingers were clenched together with the intensity of her feelings.

“Now, now, my darlin’,” Nanny said soothingly. “We’ve been over this before and you’ve made your decision. Is it a nice position you have with someone respectable?”

“I think you would hardly call my employer that!” Carina said with a hint of laughter in her voice, although there were tears in her eyes. “But at least it’s a job, Nanny. She has paid me already. She has given me twenty pounds.”

“Twenty pounds!”

The old nurse was obviously taken aback.

“Yes, twenty pounds,” Carina said. “It seems a fortune, doesn’t it, after what we have had to manage on these last few months.”

She pulled the money out of her handbag and extracting two of the five pound notes, gave them to her old nurse.

“Take this, Nanny. We owe you much, much more and I shall be sending you every penny I can spare, but at least it will get you safely to your brother in Hertford and give you a little something to be going on with.”

“I can’t take it. Miss Carina. You’ll want it yourself!” Nanny said, trying to push Carina’s hand with the five pound notes in it away from her.

“I insist, Nanny,” Carina said, slipping the notes into the pocket of her apron. “Don’t be tiresome. We have always shared everything together – and I spent all your savings years ago, you know I did.”

“Well, if you promise to write and ask me if you want anythin’, I’ll save it for you.”