by Pat Herbert
Elvira Rowan smiled to herself as she sat in the first-class compartment of a steam train bound for Bootle. She was leaving Wandsworth and Appleby Cottage behind forever. The solicitors had informed her that the second Mrs Rowan had moved out of the family home to be with her ailing sister and, under the terms of her father’s will, it was now all hers.
She would sell it, of course. Move right away. To France. Her schoolgirl French had been brushed up considerably at night classes during the past few months and now she was ready.
When she had received the letter from Jeanne Dupont telling her she was expecting a baby, she had been delighted. The mother-to-be was very happy, but the father had been killed in a motorcycle accident the day after she had shared the good news with him. It had been a shattering blow. The future would be tough for a single mother without any grandparents near at hand.
It was time for Elvira Rowan to make herself useful again.