Of course, Cousin Lena! Cousin Lena was a woman of no means who battened on his parents for support and she might make him an admirable housekeeper. Surely she would be pleased to have home and board and would know it was dependent on doing what she was told and keeping her mouth shut. Another week with Annette in the house would do no harm; just one more week with Annette looking after him in all the ways he demanded while he contacted Cousin Lena, the answer to his problem.

When Mass was finally over, Father Thomas bid his parishioners farewell before he stepped out into the street and hurried back to the Clergy House. He would say to Annette that after much prayer he had decided to allow her to stay, without mentioning St Luke’s or her replacement.

When he reached the front door he unlocked it and went straight inside, not noticing immediately that the door to his private study was standing ajar.

He set his hat on the hatstand and called to Annette. When there was no reply he looked first into the dining room, where he found no sign of breakfast being laid, and then into the empty and silent kitchen.

‘Annette!’ he shouted up the stairs, but there was no answer. Where was the wretched girl? And more to the point, where was his breakfast? She couldn’t have gone to the market, as she wouldn’t have been able to leave the house. Sudden doubt came over him and he ran up the two flights of stairs to the attic bedroom. One glance told him she had gone. There was nothing in the room but the tumbled, malodorous bedsheets to show she had ever been there.

For a moment Father Thomas was at a loss. Annette had gone and it was clear that she was not coming back. Well, good riddance! But suppose the wretched girl tried to tell the world how he had used her! A shudder of fear ran through him before he pulled himself together. Of course she would do no such thing, she wouldn’t dare… and if she did, who would believe her?

It was when he went back downstairs that he saw that the door to his study was open. For a moment he froze. Surely the girl had not ventured in there? He pushed it wide and stepped inside. The room was empty, but the windows to the lane stood wide open. Had the wretched girl stolen money from his desk before she climbed out of the window? Father Thomas pulled open a drawer of his desk and saw to his relief that his small leather purse was lying where it always did, hidden beneath his Bible. The girl might have gone, but at least his money had not gone with her.

Comforted by this thought, he went back into the hall, picked up his hat and set out for a rare visit to his parents. There was no point in writing to them now about Cousin Lena—he needed her at once, so he would have to go and fetch her. As he took the omnibus across the city, he considered what he would tell them. He decided to explain that the housekeeper he’d inherited from Father Lenoir, a flighty young girl far too inexperienced for the job, had run off and left him in the lurch. Did they think Cousin Lena could come and look after him until he was able to find a more permanent housekeeper? He was certain his parents would be delighted to be rid of Lena, and once she was installed he was sure there’d be no question of having to replace her for years to come. She would be a fixture.