Miss Fox took her life in her hands by stepping into the busy road and holding her hand up to hail a cab. Within seconds one had drawn into the kerb and after pushing Kitty and the bags inside it, Miss Fox had a hasty word with the driver, then joined her.

‘How far away is my mother’s house?’ Kitty asked as she settled back against the worn leather squabs. The sawdust on the floor was dirty and smelled quite strongly but she supposed it was better than walking.

‘A couple of miles, I should say.’ Miss Fox yawned then. It had been a long couple of days and she was beginning to tire now. She would be grateful to get home.

Kitty then began to stare from the window looking for the landmarks that she had only ever seen in books, and she became so engrossed that the journey was over in no time.

‘We’re in the King’s Road in Chelsea now, almost there,’ Miss Fox informed her and sure enough, soon afterwards they drew up in front of a very smart-looking townhouse. After climbing out of the cab, Miss Fox paid the driver while Kitty stared at what was to become her new home. The swirly writing above the front door read BRUNSWICK VILLA.

The house was one in a long terrace of dwellings that seemed to stretch up into the sky forever. White-painted railings with steps going down to what Kitty supposed must be the basement kitchen ran all along one side of it, and grander, marble steps led up to a door that was painted a bright cherry red. It all looked very grand, but at the moment the house was the last thing on Kitty’s mind. She was about to meet her birth mother – and that knowledge was quite daunting. But she had come this far and there was no going back now. So after taking a deep breath, she followed Miss Fox sedately up the steps with her young heart in her mouth.

Chapter Fourteen

‘Ah, Mabel. In the drawing room, is she?’ Miss Fox asked the neatly dressed little maid who opened the door to them as she handed over her hat and began to unbutton her coat.

‘Yes, ma’am,’ Mabel replied politely, eyeing Kitty curiously. Kitty looked to be about sixteen or seventeen and was quite pretty with dark brown hair and brown eyes.

‘Well, don’t just stand there, my girl,’ Miss Fox told Kitty bossily. ‘Take your hat and coat off, and look as if you’re staying.’

Kitty immediately did as she was told, her hands shaking as she tried to undo her buttons. Suddenly she was all fingers and thumbs. At last she handed the coat and hat to Mabel, who hung them on a large, solid coat-stand to one side of the door. ‘Shall I fetch you both a tray of tea, Miss Fox, to keep you going until dinnertime?’

‘Yes, please.’ The woman smiled at her and when the maid had shot away she asked Kitty, ‘All ready to meet her then, are you?’