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hastily and hurry upstairs. Once in the bed they shared they pulled the bedclothes over themselves as quickly as they could. On cold nights Helen would cuddle her to keep her warm.
    Helen . . . Elsie wondered briefly why the lady hadn’t brought Helen here as well. Then she remembered. When they had first arrived at this house she had been asleep, but she had woken up as she was being carried upstairs. In her bewilderment she had called out, ‘Helen – where’s Helen?’
    â€˜Hush, darling,’ the lady had whispered. ‘Helen is going to live with your Aunt Jane, and she told me that she wants me to look after you.’
    â€˜Did she?’
    â€˜Yes, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.’
    After that Elsie was taken to a bathroom. At home a tin bath was kept under the kitchen bench and on bath night it was dragged out and placed before the range, then her mother or Helen would fill it up with kettlefuls of hot water. Here the lady simply turned on taps. She had poured pink bath salts into the water from a pretty glass jar with the picture of a rose on the front.
    Elsie knew about bath salts. Last Christmas they had all saved their pennies and given them to Helen, who had bought some at the chemist shop on the corner. She had bought them loose in a paper bag and put them in an old jam jar, then put on the lid and tied a pink ribbon round it. That had been their Christmas present to their mother.
    â€˜Look, darling,’ the lady said as she swirled the bath salts around and made pretty pink patterns in the warm water.
    Then another lady appeared. She was much older and wore a black dress. At first Elsie thought she might be the lady’s grandmother but decided she couldn’t be when she asked, ‘Do you need any help, madam?’
    The conversation that followed had been confusing, mainly because the lady seemed to have muddled up her name with another little girl. A girl whose name was Elise.
    â€˜No, that’s all right, Mrs Reynolds. I shall bathe Elise myself. However, you can take these clothes away.’
    â€˜Do you want them laundered?’
    â€˜No. She won’t need them any more. Elise is going to start a whole new life here.’
    â€˜Very well, madam.’
    Elsie thought that Mrs Reynolds pursed her lips and shook her head but her lady didn’t notice.
    â€˜And tell Susan to bring the tray up in about ten minutes’ time.’
    After her bath Elsie was dried in a huge soft towel and dressed in a pretty nightdress with a pattern of little rosebuds. The lady looked at her critically and then smiled. ‘A perfect fit,’ she said. ‘I had to guess your size when I ordered your new clothes so I only bought a few essentials. Oh, Elise, darling, we shall have such fun shopping together!’ She paused and then asked, ‘Why are you frowning? Don’t you like your new nightgown?’
    â€˜Oh, yes, I do. It’s lovely. It’s just that my name isn’t Elise, you know. It’s Elsie.’
    The lady smiled. ‘I know, my pet, but I decided that as you are going to start a new life you should have a new name and Elise is such a pretty name, don’t you think?’
    â€˜I suppose so.’
    â€˜Well, then, Elise it shall be. Now what is it?’
    The lady’s smile faded and Elsie found herself desperately wanting to bring it back. ‘It’s just . . . just that I don’t know what to call you.’
    â€˜Ah . . . for the moment you should call me Mrs Partington, but soon I hope you will want to call me something else.’
    She gave Elsie no time to question her further. She held her hand and led her along a softly carpeted corridor to the room where she lay now.
    â€˜I know it’s not really bedtime,’ she said, ‘but you have had a tiring day. We’ll sit by the fire and have milk and bread and butter, and would you like some biscuits?’
    â€˜Chocolate