‘Oh, yes sir, thank you, sir.’

‘Good. And I have a little gift for you, to thank you for the extra work you are doing.’

He held out a small package. May took it and was immediately enveloped in a waft of perfume. ‘What is it?’ she asked.

‘Just some soap, but it’s lavender scented. I thought it was appropriate.’

May lifted the parcel to her nose. ‘Is this what lavender smells like?’

He gave her that look again, as if something was hurting him. ‘You have never smelt lavender?’

‘No, sir. Oh, it’s lovely! Thank you so much.’

‘Not at all. Now, can you find your own way back?’

‘Oh yes, sir, I think so.’

‘You’d better get along then. You’ll have your work cut out to get that dress ready in time.’

Back at the house Mrs Wilkins greeted her with a grim look. ‘You’re back, then. You’d best get your apron on. There’s still all the dishes from breakfast to be washed and then I need you to peel the potatoes for lunch.’

‘Yes, Cook,’ May said meekly and moved towards her little room. Mrs Wilkins sniffed. ‘And what’s that I can smell?’

‘It’s lavender soap.’

‘Lavender soap! What does a girl like you want with lavender soap? You haven’t got yourself a follower, have you?’

‘A what?’

‘A follower. You’ve not got some boy hanging round, hoping to walk out with you?’

May felt herself blush. ‘No, Mrs Wilkins. I haven’t.’

‘No? So who gave you that soap, then?’

May lowered her eyes. ‘Mr Freeman gave it to me.’

‘Mr Freeman gave you soap?’ The cook sounded incredulous. Then her tone changed. ‘Oh, he did, did he? Well, don’t just stand there. Get on with your work.’

As soon as lunch was over and the dishes washed, Mrs Wilkins decided that the scullery windows needed cleaning. May was about to start on them when one of the bells above the kitchen door jangled.

‘That’s the mistress, in her bedroom,’ Mrs Wilkins said. ‘What does she want up there at this time of day? Well, I’d better go, I suppose.’

She stomped off irritably. May knew why. She usually expected to put her feet up for an hour after lunch, and now she had to climb two flights of stairs to attend to her mistress’s whims. Serves her right! May thought.

The cook was back in surprisingly short time. ‘It’s not me that’s wanted. It’s you. Missus wants to see what you brought back from the shop this morning.’

May pulled off her working apron and replaced it with her afternoon one. Then she collected the parcels from her box and carried them up to Mrs Freeman’s room. The green dress was laid out on the bed as before.