To whom it may concern

It has been brought to my attention that you provide a safe and wholesome refuge for babies and children who are unable to live with their own families. I applaud you for this and with regret have to ask you most earnestly if you would do the same for this child. She was born yesterday and her name is Katherine. You will find a sum of money within the envelope that is intended to provide her with all she needs for the near future. Please rest assured that there will be more to follow at regular intervals.

With sincere thanks and kind regards.

Tom then rummaged in the envelope and produced a wad of banknotes that made both his and his wife’s eyes bulge.

‘So it’s a little girl – I shall call her Kitty,’ Sunday breathed as her eyes returned to the perfect little face. She was easily the most beautiful baby she had ever seen, and a mass of dark hair lay about her head like a tiny halo.

At that moment, Em’ly came clattering down the stairs, closely followed by Cissie Jenkins, who was in charge of the babies’ nursery. Cissie was heavily pregnant with her third child and was huffing and puffing by the time she reached them.

‘Not another one!’ She shook her head resignedly. ‘Ah well, it’s only a little scrap of a thing. I dare say it can sleep at the bottom of one of the other babies’ cots till I get my George to fit an extra one into the nursery. That’s if – an’ I presume you are – lettin’ it stay?’

Sunday gave her a guilty grin. ‘Yes, we can’t turn her away. It’s a little girl and her name is Katherine but we’re going to call her Kitty.’

‘Hmm, well, that’s a nice straightforward enough sort o’ name,’ Cissie said approvingly, then leaning over she remarked, ‘Lordie, but she’s a pretty little thing, ain’t she?’

‘She certainly is. She was born yesterday, wasn’t she – and what is it they say? Monday’s child is fair of face!’

With that, Cissie took the child from Sunday’s arms and headed back to the nursery with her.

‘I’ll be up to help you just as soon as dinner is over,’ Sunday called out.

‘Take yer time,’ Cissie answered, and Sunday watched her climb the stairs until she and the precious new addition to Treetops Children’s Home were out of sight.

Once in the dining room, Sunday found that she had quite lost her appetite, and Lavinia and Tom exchanged an amused glance. Knowing her as they did, they were both aware that she was longing to get her hands on the baby again.

‘Now come along and eat something, darling,’ her mother urged. ‘You’ll be up in the nursery soon enough.’

Sunday flushed and dutifully lifted her knife and fork. Despite the fact that she and her mother had been unaware of each other’s existence for the first sixteen years of her life, they were as close as could be now – and sometimes Sunday was sure that her mother could read her like a book.