"Thank you, Miss." Ellie answered cheerfully giving her the tiniest curtsey.

Then came the making of the bed. Not a task that was too hard. The family in Argyle Street had insisted their beds be made the same way as the fancy hotels in London, so had taught Ellie how to do it from one of those books on proper housekeeping.

First a sheet to cover the mattress. Then came the top sheet. Most sheets had a wide strip of fabric at one end to help tell the top from the bottom. This was the part of the sheet that went under your chin when you were in the bed. You could also tell by the pattern of the stitches. So that end at the top, then lift up the whole mattress at the bottom and tuck the sheet under, so only two floppy 'ears' of fabric remained, one on each side.

With a practiced hand, Ellie took an 'ear' and folded so that it formed a perfect triangle, like the sail of her father's cockle. Whatever fabric remained was tucked under the mattress. Easy. Repeat other side and with the blankets too. If she did it properly, you could bounce a shilling off the taut bed.