‘I don’t want to get out of it, Miss Kitty. I want to go an’ fight for me King an’ Country,’ he told her with his chin in the air.

‘Then in that case I’m very proud of you – but promise me you’ll try to stay safe. It won’t be the same here without you and we’ll all look forward to you coming back a hero. When do you have to go?’

‘They’re sendin’ me for trainin’ next week,’ he informed her. ‘So today I shall have to go into the house an’ tell the missus I won’t be able to come any more after the end o’ this week.’

Kitty nodded. Despite Ruby’s loud protestations that the war would not affect them at Brunswick Villa, it appeared that it was doing so already.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Throughout August, Miss Fox continued to read the newspapers avidly. The British troops had been engaged in a bitter struggle alongside their French and Belgian comrades for the town of Mons, but despite their best efforts it was becoming clear that the fighting skills of their enemy were proving too much, and on 23 August the Allies began to retreat. There had been a great many casualties but the battle raged on in an ever-shifting line from Belgium in the north, to Alsace and Lorraine in the south. In under a month the Germans had swept over most of Belgium and crossed the Sambre and the Meuse, forcing the French to retreat to the Somme, the last barrier before Paris.

‘So much for it all being over by Christmas,’ Miss Fox sighed as she stared at the photographs of wounded soldiers in the paper. ‘If you ask me, this is only the beginning.’

‘Oh, stop being so pessimistic!’ Ruby said, her voice peevish as she studied her face in a hand mirror while plucking her eyebrows. ‘I’m more upset about the shortage of clothes in the shops. They’re getting hardly any new stock in – it’s all hands on deck for sewing uniforms for the troops. Of course, I understand that the men will need them – but what about the women who are left behind? Are we to walk around in our drab old things until this stupid war is over?’

How selfish! Miss Fox tutted to herself, wondering how anyone could even think of something so trivial and frivolous at such an awful time. These were dark days. Men were dying on the battlefield and all Ruby cared about was where her next new outfit was coming from. Maybe if she stopped eating so much and lost weight, some of her beautiful gowns could be adapted to suit the latest slimline designs, intended specifically to save on precious fabric. But then Phyllis had learned long ago that Ruby was thoroughly selfish, with no thought for anyone but herself. Sometimes she wondered why she stayed with her; why she didn’t just clear off and make a life for herself instead of waiting on Ruby hand and foot all the while, but the truth was she loved her and was loyal to her despite her many faults and couldn’t bring herself to do it, even when Ruby pushed her patience to the limit.