‘I like singing too,’ Kitty informed her proudly. ‘I must get that from her.’

‘No doubt you do,’ the woman agreed.

‘And my father? Was he well known too? I believe you said he was a politician.’

Miss Fox looked a little uncomfortable. ‘He was, and he worshipped the very ground that your mother walked on for years.’ She cleared her throat. ‘I’m sure he would have wanted to keep you, under other circumstances,’ she ended lamely.

‘I see – but then if he wanted me so much and cared so deeply for my mother, why didn’t he divorce his wife and marry her?’

Miss Fox sighed. ‘You ask a lot of questions, don’t you, young Kitty? But the answer to that is he didn’t dare. His widow is a very rich and powerful woman from a very good family and she would have seen him crawl in the gutter if he’d done that to her.’

Kitty nodded absently as she tried to get her head around everything. She was quiet for a time – much to Miss Fox’s relief – staring from the window at the towns and countryside they were passing through. And all the time she was acutely aware that every mile they travelled brought her closer to her mother … and her excitement began to mount again.

After what seemed like an eternity the train finally chugged into Euston and Kitty felt as if she’d been transported to another world as she stared at the platform from the carriage window. She had travelled to Southend-on-Sea and Skegness with Sunday and Tom and the other children for summer holidays, but neither of those places had been anything like this. Here everything was hustle and bustle, with people milling about everywhere. There were women in uniform, nannies and governesses shepherding children around, and maids, and other ladies in smart outfits and fashionable hats. The gentlemen, she noted, were rushing about as if they hadn’t a minute to live. She felt overwhelmed.

‘It’s very busy, isn’t it?’ she commented with a nervous smile and Miss Fox laughed.

‘If you think this is busy, you should see it when everyone finishes work,’ she said. ‘Why, the platforms are so packed sometimes with people trying to get their trains home that you can hardly put a pea between ’em. But pick up your bags now and we’ll hail a cab to take us the rest of the way. Been to London before, have you, dear?’

Kitty shook her head as they alighted from the train, and she made sure to keep close as Miss Fox marched along. It occurred to her then that she still hadn’t actually asked for her mother’s full address. Sunday and Tom hadn’t got it either: they had simply been told that Ruby Smith lived somewhere in Chelsea, so it was imperative that she didn’t lose Miss Fox now.

Kitty had thought the station was busy but when they emerged onto the main road, her mouth gaped open and she looked around with alarm. Everywhere was positively teeming with people and the road was full of traffic. There were motor cars, horse-drawn carriages, trams and omnibuses crammed with passengers.