May took the coins and slipped them into the pocket of her apron. ‘Thank you, sir. Can I clear away now, please?’

‘Yes, yes. Carry on as usual.’

Back in the kitchen May said nothing to Mrs Wilkins. As soon as she could, she went to her room and hid the money beside the bar of lavender soap in her box. In bed that night she lay awake for a few minutes, thinking about it. When she was a child, a penny had been a fortune. Now she owned … twelve times fifty – six hundred of them. Could she really walk into a shop, a shop like Mr Freeman’s, and buy things. He had said so, but when could she do it? The only time she left the house was on Sunday mornings for church and the shops were shut then. She closed her eyes and put the thought out of her head.

Next day Mrs Wilkins was summoned to speak to her mistress and returned with a grim expression that made May fear the worst.

‘It seems you’re to have a half day off every two weeks – every other Wednesday, starting tomorrow. What I am supposed to do with tea to serve and dinner to prepare I do not know, but the master insists, I’m told.’ She eyed May narrowly. ‘You’ve wormed your way in there, somehow, but don’t get too cocksure. It won’t last.’

Lying in bed, May tried to decide what she would do with her time off. She had never experienced a time when her activities were not prescribed for her, and the thought was daunting. She could go back to Mr Freeman’s shop. She could ask Elsie if it was all right for her to buy a cape … her mind drifted … Then she came awake with a start. Of course, she knew what she must do tomorrow. She must go to the Industrial School and see Gus. That was far more important than any shopping.

The next day, it took May an hour to walk to Kirkdale and she had to ask the way several times. It was an unseasonably warm day, so by the time she arrived at the school at the top of the hill she was sweating and her feet hurt. She gazed up at the building in awe. It might have been a castle in a fairy tale, with its turrets and gables. At length she plucked up courage to walk up to the main gate and found the porter’s lodge. She knocked and a window opened at the side of the door.

‘Yes?’ said a gruff voice above her head.

‘Please, sir, I’ve come to visit my brother.’

‘Name?’

‘I’m May Lavender. He’s Gus … Augustus.’

‘Lavender?’ The tone was different. ‘You are Augustus Lavender’s sister?’

‘Yes, sir. Can I see him, please?’

The window was closed abruptly and a moment later the door opened and a thickset man in uniform came out.