She was surprised and touched to find the entire household waiting for her in the hallway. The children, ranging from the youngest to the eldest, were all there, as well as the staff, who were all teary-eyed.

Kitty kissed the children one by one, and then each member of staff stepped forward and she kissed them too, with a large lump in her throat.

‘You look after yourself now,’ Cook said solemnly, wiping her eyes on her huge white apron and then she was gently nudging the girl towards the door, where Kitty paused to take one last peek at the familiar surroundings.

Tom and Ben were already outside waiting for her with her bags strapped securely to the rear of the car. Sunday was in the back waiting and so the men climbed into the front seats after Tom had settled her beside Sunday. And then they were off and everyone stood on the steps waving until the car turned out of the drive and they were lost from sight.

This was turning out to be far more difficult than Kitty had imagined it would be and she had no doubt it would be harder still when she had to say goodbye to Sunday, Tom and Ben. It was as they were driving along that Sunday slipped a thick envelope into her hand, telling her, ‘I want you to tuck this away in your bag, and when you get to your destination put it somewhere safe. There’s a large sum of money in there that we’ve been saving for you over the years – so that if ever you should need to, you will always be able to get home to us.’ It was the money that she and Tom had saved for Kitty each year from the money that had been left for her keep. She was also given a tiny gold locket on a slender gold chain and Kitty knew that she would treasure it forever.

Kitty rammed the envelope and the box containing the locket deep into her bag before giving Sunday a grateful smile. Just for a fleeting moment their eyes met and she knew that she should say thank you – but she was too full to speak now that the time for parting was drawing close. She knew how fortunate she had been to have Sunday and Tom as her guardians and she would never forget them … and so she merely clung to Sunday’s hand.

There was so much that Kitty wanted to say and yet the words lodged in her throat, and she was wise enough to know that the worst was still yet to come when they arrived at the station. She stared at the back of Ben’s head, noting the way his hair blew in the wind and his broad shoulders. And it was then it hit her like a bolt of lightning. She was starting to have feelings for him, and not those of a sister for a brother as they had used to be! Perhaps if she had stayed at Treetops they might have come together one day? She would never know now.