Memories of this complex woman came to her. Her energy, when Mags was just a child. How she would play all the boisterous games that a child loved to play, despite being in her forties. Her insistence that Mags should have all the privileges that a son would have – too many, if the truth be known – joining shooting parties; straddling a horse and not sitting side-saddle; being allowed to ride at a gallop, learn to jump fences and ride with the hounds. All this Mags had loved, but nothing could surmount the loneliness of her formative years.

And yet amidst it all, her mother hadn’t forgotten to teach her the graces that a young lady should have, and had been careful in not letting Mags become too boyish, but had encouraged her to grow into a strong young woman who could hold her own in a crowd of men, whilst maintaining her femininity. It had been her mother who had insisted that Mags should be taught everything about the mill, and the necessary business skills, so that one day she would be able to take over the running of her father’s business.

Mags had loved every minute of the learning process: helping to unpack the bales of cotton imported from America; then the cleaning and straightening, which turned the raw cotton into yarn. There were many stages to this and it was heavy work, so she had only been allowed to watch and learn. Next had been the drawing out and spinning, which turned the cotton into stronger yarn, ready for weaving. From there, she’d moved on to learn all there was to know about exporting the yarn to many countries, as 80 per cent of their produce was sold abroad. The rest went to weaving mills in Lancashire to be woven into cloth.

Their mill was the most modern, with electricity fully installed, and working conditions that complied with all the regulations. Still, Mags worried about the health of their workers, as they toiled for long hours in the humid, dust-laden conditions. She wanted the workers to have regular hearing tests, and had lobbied her father many times to provide earplugs to combat the effect of the constant loud noise.

In many ways, her life was unconventional. The girls she went to school with had gone on to finishing schools to learn how to be a lady and how to run a large mansion – managing housekeepers, hosting parties, as well as knowing the correct dress for each occasion – while she had gone into the mill, where she’d only had Betsy Bainwright for company.

Not that she minded, for she loved Betsy. They had become close from their first meeting, when Betsy had been thirteen and had begun working in the mill. Mags, the same age as Betsy, had come to the mill during her breaks from school. They had forged a relationship that had deepened to friendship, as Mags helped Betsy sweep the floor and gather the stray bits of raw cotton, which were then spun into cheaper rough-weave for selling to the factories that produced hessian for making into sacks.