‘Large or small bottles, madam?’ the girl asked and Ruby laughed.

‘Why, large of course. When have you ever known me take less?’ Ruby was clearly well known here and the girl nodded.

‘And would you like them delivered to the usual address?’ she asked.

‘Perfect!’ Ruby was off like a greyhound again. Kitty wondered why they couldn’t have taken the bottles with them. After all, she was more than capable of carrying them but it was already becoming apparent that Ruby did nothing for herself if there was someone else to do it for her, and furthermore, she almost seemed to have forgotten that Kitty was with her. Suddenly Kitty couldn’t help but compare this new-found mother with Sunday, who was always dashing about after one or another of them, loving them and putting herself last. In that moment, she realised what a momentous step she had taken and another great wave of homesickness swept through her. She was in one of the busiest department stores in the whole of London, surrounded by people – but she felt more alone than she had ever felt in her life.

Chapter Sixteen

‘Ah, so here you are at last,’ Miss Fox said disapprovingly when they finally returned home late that afternoon. ‘What’s all this lot? It’s been arriving at regular intervals all afternoon.’ She gestured to a number of bags and boxes piled up at the side of the door. ‘You must have spent a king’s ransom.’

Kitty bowed her head guiltily. Most of the bags and boxes contained things that her mother had insisted she must have, but Ruby only said carelessly, ‘Oh, now don’t be a grump and start on that again, Foxy. It’s almost all things that Kitty needed, although there are a few bits in there that I couldn’t resist for myself.’

‘Huh! As if you hadn’t got enough clothes already,’ Miss Fox grumbled. Then turning to the maids she asked, ‘Fetch us a good pot of tea into the drawing room, would you? Kitty here looks ready to drop.’

‘Oh, I’m all right really,’ Kitty protested. ‘And I’m sure some of the things could be returned. I did say I really didn’t need so many new clothes.’

‘They will not be returned, young lady,’ Ruby said indignantly. ‘You’re going to need smart clothes if you want to meet people in the business and to go on stage.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Miss Fox frowned.

‘Come into the drawing room and I’ll explain over our tea.’ Ruby tripped away as the other two followed close behind her.

‘Now what’s all this then?’ Miss Fox demanded as Ruby gracefully sank into a chair and straightened her skirts across her knees.

‘Well, Kitty was saying earlier that she had taken singing lessons so I thought I might introduce her to Max. He’s my agent,’ she informed Kitty. ‘If she’s half as good as me, he could get her some bookings and I shall be her manager.’

‘I think we’ll have this conversation later on when we’re alone.’ Kitty noticed that Miss Fox’s lips had set in a grim line and wondered why. She found the idea of singing on stage quite exciting. Of course, as her mother had pointed out, she would have to listen to her first to ensure that Kitty was good enough, and she planned to do so that very same evening, immediately after dinner.