Patty turned to May and they hugged each other. ‘We’ll keep in touch, won’t we?’ Patty said. ‘Speke Hall isn’t far away …’

‘We can try,’ May responded, but already she felt that their lives were going separate ways.

‘I’ll come and call for you on my day off, or send you a note,’ Patty promised. ‘I’ve got the address.’

‘Yes, do,’ May said. ‘Goodbye. Good luck!’

Patty climbed aboard the trap and Bill cracked his whip and the pony set off at a smart trot. May watched them disappear round a bend in the road. She had never ridden in a pony and trap, but it might have been Cinderella’s coach as far as she was concerned.

‘Well, are you going to stand there gawping all day?’ a voice demanded. ‘They’ll be expecting you.’

No one had been sent to collect May so, because she did not know her way around the city streets, one of the older women had been told to escort her to her new home. Her name was Ivy and she was a dour-faced character who rarely spoke. May knew she had lived in the workhouse for years, but no more than that. They set off side by side, heading downhill as she had done with Mrs Kelly, but soon Ivy turned left and led the way along a street lined with tall houses. These were the sort of homes she had asked her mother about. It was where rich people lived. She was tempted to ask Ivy if she knew anything about the sort of people who inhabited such grand homes, but the woman had remained silent all through their walk and May felt uneasy about being the first to speak.

Her heavy box was making her arms ache, so she was relieved when Ivy announced, ‘Number twenty-four Rodney Street. This is it. Right, you know where you are now. I’ll be off.’ And without further words she turned and stumped off back the way they had come.

May stood gazing at the front of the house. To begin with she was unsure where No. 24 began and ended, because the houses were built side by side, in a long row. Then she saw that each had a slightly different front door. Some had pillars at each side, others had a semi-circular fanlight above them. Some had windows on either side, while some front doors were next to each other with windows on only one side. All were tall, with three rows of windows rising from street level. No. 24 was one of those with windows on one side of the door only.

With shaking knees, May climbed the steps to the front door and pulled the doorbell. It was flung open more quickly than she had expected, to reveal a short woman with a red face and a flustered expression.

‘Yes?’

‘Please, ma’am, I’m the new maid.’