‘I dare say I could manage that, if she doesn’t mind a slice or two of cold pork and some of my home-made pickle,’ the woman agreed. She liked Miss Kitty, there were no airs and graces about her, unlike her aunt who insisted on being waited on hand and foot like royalty.

Within minutes of the woman placing a meal in front of Maggie, she had cleared the plate. She looked very tired, so Kitty then suggested, ‘Come up to my room for a while.’ She didn’t think that her mother would object to her entertaining a friend and she was hoping that Maggie would be able to have a rest before moving to Arthur’s for the night. Then once she was gone it would be time to speak to Ruby and put the second part of her plan into operation. She just hoped that Ruby would agree to it, but only time would tell now. If her mother turned her down, then Kitty wasn’t sure what she would do.

Maggie trudged up to her room but made no comment as she looked around at the luxurious surroundings. Her eyes were dull and lacklustre, and Kitty sensed that it must be something really bad that had made her run away from Witherley. But she didn’t question her. Maggie clearly wasn’t ready to talk about it yet but perhaps she would confide in her, given time.

‘Why don’t you pop onto the bed and have a rest for a while?’ she suggested and Maggie kicked off her shoes and gladly did as she was told, feeling safe for the first time since she had left The Gables after that awful confrontation with her so-called father. Kitty pottered about quietly and when she looked towards the bed minutes later, she saw that Maggie was fast asleep so she tiptoed from the room.

Chapter Twenty-Three

‘Maggie, wake up. Arthur is about to leave now.’ As Kitty gently shook Maggie’s arm, the girl started awake and flinched away from her. Then as she saw who it was, she let out a deep sigh of relief.

‘Sorry. I … I’ll come straight away.’ She slithered off the bed and put on her shoes before following Kitty downstairs and out into the garden. Arthur was there waiting for them, holding the handlebars of his rusty bicycle.

‘I’m afraid it’s a couple of miles to where I live,’ he warned them again, but Maggie told him that didn’t matter.

‘Here’s the money I promised.’ As Kitty slipped the coins into Arthur’s hand his eyes lit up. ‘And here’s a little more for you and Maggie to get the omnibus home. I don’t think she’s up to walking too much further today. My friend needs a good night’s sleep.’

Maggie smiled at her falteringly, wondering why Kitty was being so kind to her and wishing she herself had been nicer to the girl all those years ago.

‘Ta, Miss Kitty.’ Arthur felt like the cat who had got the cream as he thought of his mother’s face when he gave her such a goodly sum of money – behind his father’s back, of course. He was quite sure that she wouldn’t mind having an extra person in the house for a while, for despite being as poor as a church mouse, Clemency Partridge had a heart as big as a bucket.