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And in that moment I did. I could not believe that Lilias would ever have stolen my necklace even though she so longed to have some bulwark against a needy future … a nest egg. I marvelled that I could ever have doubted her innocence and loathed myself for having done so.
    “This is a crime,” went on my father. “All these years you have been in my household and I have been harbouring a thief. It is very distressing to me.”
    “I did not,” cried Lilias. “I did not. Someone put it there.”
    “Indeed someone put it there,” retorted my father grimly. “You, Miss Milne. You are the daughter of a vicar. You must have had a religious upbringing. That makes the matter so much worse.”
    “You are condemning me without question.” Lilias’ eyes flashed. It was the spirit of desperation. Who could have put the necklace in her room? What was the point of it? If someone had taken it, of what use would it be to steal it and give it up … just to accuse Lilias?
    “I have asked you for an explanation,” went on my father, “but you have none.”
    “I can only say I did not take the necklace.”
    “Then explain how it came to be in your room.”
    “I can only say that I did not put it there.”
    “Miss Milne, as I said, I could prosecute you. You could then give your explanations in a court of law. But because of your family and the fact that you have been in this house for so many years during which time no thefts have been discovered against you, I am taking a lenient view. I will say that you were overcome by a sudden temptation … and you submitted to it. So … I am going to ask you to pack your bags and leave this house at once. Mrs. Kirkwell will accompany you and make sure that you take nothing with you which does not belong to you.”
    She looked at him with hatred. “How can you? How can you judge me so unfairly? I will not be treated like a criminal.”
    “You would prefer to have your case judged in court?”
    She covered her face with her hands, and then, without another word, turned and went out of the room.
    My father said: “This is regrettable but the matter is closed.”
    Closed? With Lilias dismissed for theft! Her reputation was tarnished. She would live her life in fear of the fact that she had been accused of stealing would be brought to light.
    I went to her room. She was sitting on her bed staring gloomily before her. I ran to her and put my arms about her.
    “Oh, Lilias … Lilias,” I cried. “This is awful. / believe you.”
    “Thank you, Davina,” she said. “Who could have done this to me? What could be the point?”
    “I don’t know. First poor Kitty and now you. It’s as though there is some horrible curse on this house. It’s ever since my mother died.”
    “I shall have to go home and tell them. How can I do that?”
    “Your father will understand. He will believe you. He is a Christian.”
    “I shall be a burden to them. I shall never be able to get another post.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because they will want to know where I have been … why I left.”
    “Couldn’t you say I was getting old. It’s true.”
    “They would get into touch with your father.”
    “Perhaps he would say nothing.”
    She laughed mirthlessly. “Of course he would say something. He would consider it unrighteous not to. He is so holy that he cannot give a woman a chance to defend herself. People like him love to find sin in others. They are so eager to find it that they see it where it does not exist. It makes them feel even more good … thanking God they are not like other men.”
    “Oh, Lilias, it is going to be so miserable without you. I wish I had never seen that necklace.”
    “I should have stood up for myself. I should never have allowed myself to be accused of something of which I am completely innocent. I should have dared him to prove it.”
    “Oh, Lilias, why didn’t you?”
    “It could have been even worse. He didn’t believe me. Perhaps others wouldn’t. If he had