Minutes later Sunday stumbled into the kitchen and told Cissie what the solicitor had said. Cissie dropped heavily onto a chair, but then, as always, her spirit roused her from her despair and she told her dearest friend, ‘We’ll get through this, pet. We’re not beaten yet. Me an’ George have a bit put away fer us retirement and I’m sure the girls will pitch in some o’ their wages to keep the house runnin’ till Mr Dixon’s sorted somethin’ out. One good thing is we own our cottage thanks to you an’ Tom so you’ll not be wi’out a roof over yer heads. Let’s face it, this great old place was gettin’ a bit too much fer us to manage anyway an’ though it’ll be a bit of a squeeze at our place we’ll get by one way or another.’

‘Oh, Cissie … what would I do without you?’ Sunday sobbed and suddenly she was in her friend’s arms and she clung to her like a drowning man might cling to a raft.

The next day an agent came to value the house and contents and soon after Mr Dixon returned.

‘I have collated all your debts,’ he told her gravely, ‘and unfortunately Treetops will have to be sold to meet them. However, I noticed as I drove in that there is a small lodge at the entrance and I wondered, if you sold the estate but kept that, how you would feel about living there?’

Sunday blinked. The lodge, or the gatehouse as it was sometimes referred to, was a pretty little dwelling built just to one side of the entrance gates to the estate. It had arched stone windows and a little turreted roof and had not been occupied for many years. She couldn’t even really remember what it was like inside, although she knew that it did have three bedrooms, which would accommodate herself and the girls. And it would be a way of staying close to her beloved Treetops.

‘I suppose it is a possibility,’ she said uncertainly. ‘But the girls and I would have to go and have a proper look inside it. It’s probably fallen into disrepair after being empty for so long.’

‘Well, if you did decide to do that the good news is that there would be a certain amount of money left. Enough for you to live frugally on for a few years at least.’

‘I’ll go and look this evening, just as soon as the girls return from work and I shall let you know tomorrow. But what happens then?’

The kindly man sighed. ‘I would advise that you put Treetops on the market as soon as possible,’ he said solemnly. ‘I can instruct the agent to do that for you if you wish?’

Sunday nodded miserably, she really didn’t have much choice.

Chapter Eleven