‘I dare say everyone thought that as most of the young men are going to war there won’t be a call for such places now,’ Max said.

‘Hmm.’ Ruby took a long swig of the sweet sherry she had become partial to and Max stared at her disapprovingly. Lately her shapely curves had turned to rolls of fat and she was looking her age. Easy to see why she was no longer in demand. The same was not true for Kitty, of course. The public loved her, simply couldn’t get enough of her, so it was very unfortunate that this should happen now. Oh well. He heaved a sigh. Everyone was saying that the war would be over in no time, so hopefully it would only mean a temporary break in her career.

Max took his leave soon after and Miss Fox entered the room to stare disapprovingly at the glass in Ruby’s hand.

‘I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again! It’s no wonder you’re putting so much weight on, my girl. Drinking at this time of the day and all those chocolates you eat!’

When tears started to Ruby’s eyes the woman’s voice instantly softened. ‘I don’t mean to be harsh on you,’ she said as she placed the stopper back in the sherry decanter and moved it out of reach. ‘But you really should start to take a little better care of yourself. Get out in the fresh air for a nice brisk walk. Kitty could come with you. You spend nowhere near enough time with her.’

‘Oh, here you go again,’ Ruby said spitefully. ‘Why don’t you just lock her in her room where you can keep a constant eye on her and have done with it? I sometimes think you worry more about her than me,’ she sulked.

‘Now you know that’s not true,’ Miss Fox chided, taking a seat at the side of her. ‘But she’s so young and naïve, I just worry that she could be taken advantage of. It’s so easy for a pretty girl like her to have her head turned, as you know to your cost.’

‘I’m sure Kitty won’t make the same mistakes that I did,’ Ruby said as colour flooded into her cheeks. ‘And it didn’t turn out so badly for me, did it?’

Deciding that enough had been said for now on that subject, Miss Fox withdrew a number of envelopes from the pocket of her skirt. ‘These are all bills that are outstanding,’ she said. ‘Can we afford to pay them?’

‘Of course we can.’ Ruby rudely snatched them and began to glance through them.

‘But how?’ persevered Foxy. ‘How can we pay them?’

‘Kitty earns a very good wage,’ Ruby answered shortly. ‘And I as her mother handle her finances for her. Such a young girl would probably waste it all.’

‘Then surely you could put the money away for her?’ Miss Fox said tentatively. It didn’t seem right to her that Kitty’s money was now paying the lion’s share of running the house as well as keeping Ruby in the manner to which she had become accustomed. ‘We could always look round for a smaller house and do away with some of the staff.’