There was the sound of approaching footsteps and the two men said something to each other that she couldn’t hear. Then, after what seemed an age, their footsteps receded and she thought they must have gone round to the front of the house. Fortunately for her, she would not be available to answer the bell when they rang. They’d have to wait several minutes for Edith to rouse herself to go to the door, or for Dora to do so. But unfortunately for Gina, this meant she couldn’t escape down the drive because they’d see her.

Gina remembered a little path to the side of the outbuildings that ran parallel to the drive, then petered out not far from the gates. It may well have had a use when the Hall was built and the courtyard had been surrounded by stables. She crept out, past the bricks and the broom handle she had trained Coco to jump over, and sidled between the two buildings to the side of the courtyard, onto the old overgrown path, then fled down it in a swift kind of tiptoe, her footsteps almost silent on the weedy grass. When it got to the point that the path ceased, she crept to the camellias that bordered the drive and shouldered her way through. She was almost at the foot of the drive, and the policemen had left the big gates open. From the scratchy shelter of the dark shrubs she glanced up the drive and saw their parked car, but there was no one in sight. She’d have to be quick in case anyone noticed her from the windows. In seconds she was through the gates and into the lane.

As she set off at a fast walk in the direction of Great Grindle, she heard a bus approaching from the Whalley direction and she hurried to the bus stop just in time to hail it. What luck! Within minutes of leaving the Hall she was on her way, ultimately to Blackpool, by bus and then by train. She worked out the journey in her mind, not knowing the timetables but hoping to get to Blackpool by the end of the afternoon.

It was only as she sat waiting for the train at Preston railway station that Gina had a chance to catch her breath and think about what she’d done. James had said, ‘I’ll come up and find you as soon as I can,’ but find her where? Not at Grindle Hall. By now the police would have told Mrs Stellion the reason for their visit, and Gina’s absence would be sending out its own message loud and clear. She could not just go back when she’d sold the stolen items to Bella and pretend that nothing had happened.