The bank was ready to take possession of the mill, such as it was. Only a few of the workers remained. But Mags hoped to pay off the estate debt with the sale of the house. Money was still coming in from the tenanted farmers, but that would cease, as all the land would be sold with the house – land that was her most valuable asset. Harold hadn’t changed or interfered with the running of that part of the estate, but had simply taken the rents and squandered the money.

As Mags continued her evaluation of the place, she could feel there were still traces of the love she’d experienced with her mother and father: it was in the walls that had enclosed them, and in the floors they had trod; in the fireplaces they had sat round, and in their spirits – although she knew they must be restless, she could still feel them in each room.

She had chosen to leave her five-month-old daughter Elizabeth Flora Ella, known as Beth, in Scotland with Betsy and Susan, but was regretting that now as she felt as if part of herself was missing. Beth was named Elizabeth after Betsy, who had been christened by that name, and Flora and Ella to complete the honouring of Mags’s most precious friendships.

Thinking of Flors and Ella made Mags determined to go into the rooms she’d avoided until now – those that had formed her own suite. But as she climbed the stairs she thought herself silly to imagine that her bureau would still be in its place. When she saw that it was, and that her little sitting room was untouched, she wanted to give in to the tears that tightened her throat.

Memories assailed her. How did it all go so wrong? But then I brought evil here. I mistook charm and skill for reality. I was a fool. I should have listened to Flors.

Going to the bureau, she found the button to the secret drawer. Its click seemed louder in the empty building as the drawer shot open. And there it was: Flora’s precious letter with her address. Mags didn’t waste a moment, but sat and wrote to Flors there and then, deciding to give her solicitor’s address because then, no matter what her future decisions, as she had many ideas about how she was to go forward, she knew she would receive a reply.

Her heart poured onto the pages. There was so much to tell, and somehow she felt cleansed when it was all out of her. And the feeling gave her a longing to be with Flors, to be held by her and soothed by her wise words and helped to cope, as Flors always had helped; and to take pictures with her of Flors’s nephew, Billy, and her niece, Sibbie, so beautifully painted by Montel. But most of all she wanted to take Beth to meet Flors. She wanted Beth to grow up knowing both Flors and Ella.