‘Leave it with me,’ Miss Fox had told her, taking the bills from the woman’s hand, and she had then closeted herself away to go through them. She’d been appalled when she’d seen how much they amounted to, and how many months old they were, and now it was time to have it out with Ruby.

She waited until Ruby had dragged herself up onto the pillows, looking, Miss Fox thought, like death warmed up, but she had run out of sympathy. Taking the pile of bills from her pocket she waved them at her, saying, ‘What’s going on here then? The tradesmen are refusing to deliver to us any more until these are settled. Why haven’t they been paid?’

Ruby rubbed her forehead, which was throbbing. ‘Oh, Foxy, go away, I can’t be doing with things like that right now.’

‘I’m going nowhere till I’ve had an explanation,’ Miss Fox retorted sternly. ‘Just look at the state of you! You should be ashamed. Kitty and Maggie are doing all the housework since the maids left. That’s saved on wages for a start, so what’s the problem? And where is the money coming from now anyway to keep us afloat?’ It was clearly Kitty who was bringing the money in, but it was what she might be having to do to earn it that concerned Miss Fox.

Ruby snapped, ‘Why don’t you mind your own business? Give the bloody bills here and I’ll see that they’re paid.’

‘Better still, you can give me the money and I’ll pay them.’ Miss Fox stood hands on hips as she glared at her and sensing that the game was up, Ruby played for time.

‘Very well. But I can’t give it to you this minute, can I? At least have the grace to let me get up.’

‘Very well. I’ll see you downstairs in ten minutes,’ Miss Fox answered waspishly and turning about, she stamped from the room.

She found Maggie downstairs in the drawing room polishing the sideboard and fixing a smile to her face she asked the girl, ‘How is Kitty today?’

Maggie shrugged. Kitty had been giving them both some cause for concern for a while now. All her sparkle had gone and she looked tired and drained all the time.

‘Oh, no better no worse.’ Maggie paused to look at Miss Fox, then making a decision, she said in a rush, ‘I think Mr Fitzherbert treats her diabolically.’ There, it was said even if it wasn’t her place to say it.

Strangely enough the older woman nodded in agreement. ‘I think you’re right, Maggie, and I wish we could get her away from him. But he seems to have some sort of hold on her.’

Maggie flushed. She knew exactly what that hold was. While Richard and his friends had possession of the photos that Kitty was ashamed of, he would always have her in his power, but Maggie had promised her friend that she would never tell Miss Fox about them and up to now she had kept her promise. They heard Ruby lumbering down the stairs then, and lifting the cleaning rags, Maggie hastily left the room and went in search of Kitty. She found her in the bathroom looking grievously ill and asked, ‘What’s wrong? Have you been sick?’