‘Mrs Bainwright? What brings you into my domain?’

‘I beg your pardon, Mr Barnard, but I need to go out.’ Betsy told him of her predicament and how she would need Phil to see to anything that anyone might need while she was gone. ‘Janet usually does that while she is preparing to wait on, and I can’t do it, and neither can you.’

A huge sigh told her of Mr Barnard’s disapproval. Not of her, but of what he called a ‘tinpot setup all round’.

‘Didn’t you take on extra staff? Surely an occasion like this warrants it?’

‘There is no one. Oh, maybe Janet’s sister could have been an extra pair of hands, but I . . . I, well, I’ve not thought on. I’ve a lot troubling—’

‘Our own troubles are secondary to the smooth running of our household, Mrs Bainwright. Lord preserve us! Look, I know you haven’t had the benefit of the training I have had, and it shows, but if I was you, I would get myself in line – and quickly – with how a household is run, as I see ambition in our master, and he is going to want his house run efficiently.’

‘You are speaking of Mr Roford, I take it? Well, our master is Mr Witherbrook, and he don’t entertain in this fashion very often; nor has he ever had need of a butler. And he’s still alive and kicking, so you’d better run this household according to his needs and likes and dislikes. ’Cause if he takes a mind to kick off about it, you’ll all knaw about it.’

‘You can’t even speak the King’s English, Mrs Bainwright, so don’t you dare to lecture me in the way of this, or any other, household. And the answer is “No”. I am not relinquishing my one and only staff member to cover for your inadequacies. So now you can eat your words and sort that one out!’

Shaking more from fury than from all she’d had to contend with today, Betsy stormed out of the room, just stopping herself from slamming the door after her. What now? Did she go after Janet and hope no one needed any attention? Or call Millie to leave her duties and get changed into uniform, and hope that she could catch up and have everything in order in time, once she could return to it?

Part of Betsy’s problem was solved when she entered the kitchen once more. ‘Oh, Cyril. Thank goodness! I have an urgent message I need you to deliver, lad.’ The boy who helped the gardener was in the midst of taking a huge bite out of the sandwich Cook had made for him.

‘He dropped in, on the off-chance. Allus has some excuse, but this time he was just hungry, poor lad. His dad’s drunk again, and his ma’s got nowt in.’

‘Well, you can earn that sandwich and a basket of owt that Cook can put together, lad, if you run like the wind to Janet’s house and come back with the answer.’