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saw something that made her
gasp with fright. Leaning over Beth's cot was a
tall figure dressed in a flowing white robe. Eloise
stuffed her hand in her mouth to stifle a scream.

Chapter Four
    Without stopping to think, Eloise took a flying
leap off the bed and dived across the floor with
the ferocity of a female tiger protecting her
young. 'Go away,' she screamed. 'Leave my
babies alone.'
    With a strangled cry, the woman crumpled to
the floor, covering her head with her arms as if to
ward off a rain of blows. Eloise stopped short,
staring at the cowering figure in a mixture of
shock and dismay.
    'Don't hurt me, missis.' The muffled voice
sounded oddly childlike and the woman was
trembling violently.
    Eloise laid a tentative hand on her shoulder.
'I won't hurt you. Get up and let me see your
face.'
    Obediently, the woman rose slowly but she
backed away from Eloise, keeping her head
bowed. Although the poor creature was head
and shoulders taller than she, Eloise was oddly
touched by her obvious distress. Now that she
knew her children were safe her heart had ceased
to thud painfully against her ribs and she was
able to think rationally. 'Are you a servant in this
house?'
    The woman shook her head.
    'Then who are you? What are you doing here?'
    Staring down at her bare feet, the woman began
to weep. 'I did no wrong. Don't punish me.'
    'Sit down, please.' Eloise pulled up a chair,
hoping that the distressed creature would sit
before she collapsed onto the floor. 'Don't be
frightened. No one is going to harm you. Won't
you at least tell me your name?'
    'My baby,' the woman whimpered, burying
her face in her hands. 'I came to find my baby. I
heard her crying, I know I did.'
    Realising that the woman was past reasoning,
Eloise approached her cautiously. She took her
gently by the hand and led her to the chair. 'I am
sorry, but that is my baby, not yours.'
    'N-not mine? But I heard a baby crying.'
    'The baby you heard is mine. Her name is
Elizabeth, but we always call her Beth, and my
son Joseph is sleeping in the other cot. We call
him Joss and my name is Eloise. What do they
call you?'
    'Ada, that's what she calls me.'
    'And who is that, Ada?'
    'Miss Joan. She'll be cross with me and beat
me. You won't tell her that you saw me, will you?
I just wanted to see my baby, but you say she's
not here.'
    Eloise slipped her arm round Ada's thin
shoulders. 'No, dear. Your baby is not here. I am
so sorry.'
    'I'll go now,' Ada said, rising unsteadily to her
feet. She bent her head to peer into Eloise's face.
'I like you.'
    'And I like you too,' Eloise said gently. Even in
the dim light she could see that Ada's face was
smooth and unlined like that of a young child,
although she was clearly an adult and could
have been any age from twenty to forty. 'Shall I
take you back to your room, Ada?'
    'N-no, missis. I'll get a whipping if she finds
out I've been wandering again. I'm not supposed
to wander. They mustn't see me.'
    'Who mustn't see you?'
    'The others. The servants and the other people
in the house. I have to stay in my room.'
    'All right,' Eloise said slowly, not wanting to
alarm her further. 'But I still think I should see
you safely to your room and make sure you are
tucked up in bed. Shall I do that, Ada?'
    As trusting as a small child, Ada held out her
hand for Eloise to hold. 'My mama used to put
me to bed. She's dead, you know; that's why I
had to come to live with Miss Joan.' Ada
clamped her hand over her mouth. 'I shouldn't
have told you that.'
    Eloise led her to the door. 'I won't tell a soul.'
    Seemingly satisfied with this, Ada allowed
Eloise to accompany her along the corridor and
up the staircase to the servants' quarters on the
top floor. At the very far end of a long narrow
passage, Ada opened a door that led into another
and even narrower passage. It was obvious from
the musty smell and the mesh of cobwebs
dangling from the ceiling that this part of the
house was little used. It was so dark that Eloise
could only just see