Now with the sounds of laughter echoing from the lawn, Sunday returned her attention to the packet and after withdrawing a sheet of notepaper, she began to read. And then she systematically went through the rest of the contents, which consisted of several unopened letters addressed to her and Tom. Seconds later she was on her feet and racing through the house, shouting, ‘Tom! Tom!’

‘All right, all right, pet! Where’s the fire?’ He appeared from the direction of the kitchen and she thrust the letter into his hand. ‘Read this!’

After quickly doing so, he stared at her. ‘Isn’t this Miss Fox the servant who came from Kitty’s mother to take her off to London?’

Sunday nodded. ‘Yes, and she’s saying that Kitty is in trouble and in dire need of our help and will we please take her back? What shall I tell her?’

‘Tell her that of course we will!’ Tom lifted his wife off her feet and swung her about. ‘And there’s no time like the present. Write back now, and I’ll get straight off and put it in the post.’

Ten minutes later he was heading for the post office in Nuneaton with a broad smile on his face. Of course he and Sunday were concerned about what sort of trouble Kitty might be in – but whatever it was, they would help her through it.

One day soon afterwards, Miss Fox called Maggie into the kitchen to make an announcement. ‘My dear, you and Kitty are going home – to Treetops. It’s all been arranged. You will see that she gets there safely for me, won’t you?’

Maggie paled. Treetops was very close to the Daweses’ home in Witherley and she was terrified of bumping into the man who had abused her – but even so, for Kitty and her unborn baby’s sake, she would risk it. Miss Fox pressed some money into her hand. She had pawned the rest of Ruby’s jewellery, her own savings having dried up long ago.

‘There’s a train leaving for Nuneaton at seven o’clock this evening,’ she said, ‘and I want you, Kitty and Tallulah to be on it. This should be more than enough for the tickets, and Sunday and Tom will be meeting you at the station.’

‘Oh, Foxy, I shall miss you,’ Maggie cried in a rare show of emotion, and she was shocked to see that there were tears in the older woman’s eyes.

‘It’s better for Kitty this way,’ Miss Fox told her huskily. ‘But now go and get packed – and not a word to Ruby, mind. There will be a cab calling for you at six and I want you to be ready. There’s something else you need to know, but I want you to promise to keep it to yourself until you get back to Treetops. Will you do that?’

Maggie promised, and just for a second Miss Fox’s chin drooped to her chest. But then with an enormous effort she explained about the letters that had never been sent. Sensing her pain, Maggie embraced her, and not another word was said.