‘Quite enchanting,’ he commented to Ruby. ‘I can see you are related. She’s your sister’s daughter, did you say? And you reckon she can sing as well?’

This must be how the poor beasts in the cattle market feel when the farmers are walking around them considering which one to buy, Kitty thought.

‘She has the voice of a little angel,’ Ruby assured him, then smiling at her daughter she told her, ‘Kitty, this is Max Thomas, my agent, the one I told you about.’

‘How do you do, Mr Thomas,’ Kitty said politely and he threw back his head and roared with laughter.

‘I do very much better for meeting you, dear girl,’ he chuckled, then to Ruby: ‘I see what you mean about her being unspoiled. The public would love her.’

Kitty flushed, wishing they wouldn’t keep talking about her as if she wasn’t in the room.

At last he directed a comment to Kitty when he told her, ‘I think it would be a good idea if you came along to see your aunt perform at the Prince of Wales Theatre in a couple of days’ time. You can decide then if a life on stage is really what you want.’

‘And do you have any more bookings lined up for me yet, darling?’ Ruby purred, feeling slightly jealous of all the attention he was bestowing on Kitty.

He shook his head. ‘Not yet, I’m afraid. But let’s wait and see how this next booking goes, eh?’

She pouted her pretty red lips and he grinned and was putty in her hands again. It was almost as if he had forgotten that Kitty was there.

‘Did you need me for anything else, Aunt?’ Kitty was beginning to feel decidedly in the way.

Max was seated at the side of Ruby now, stroking the soft skin on her inner arm.

‘No, dear. I just wanted to introduce you. Do go back to whatever it was you were doing,’ Ruby murmured, fluttering her eyelashes becomingly.

Kitty hastily left the room. It was looking rather as if Max Thomas was a little more than just her mother’s agent and she was only too glad to leave them to it. But at least I’ve got the theatre trip to look forward to now, she thought, and humming merrily she wandered back upstairs to her room and her book. There wasn’t much else to do. She now had someone to cook, clean and wait on her hand and foot, and if truth be told it wasn’t turning out to be as nice as she’d imagined it would be. In fact, half the time she was bored almost to tears and thought back fondly to the full and busy life she had led at Treetops. But she had made the choice to come here and now, the way she saw it, she had to become accustomed to it. It didn’t stop her missing everyone though and some nights her silk and lace pillows were damp with tears from where she had cried herself to sleep. I’ll ask Ruby where I might post my letter tomorrow, she promised herself as she was drifting off to sleep. She still hadn’t got round to sending it, and until she did it was unlikely she would hear from them as they didn’t have her address.