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housekeeper of Marchwood Hall, whoes estate came under the postal address of Marchwood town. Now he recalled the letter and the woman who had showed it to him. She had brown hair and green eyes; could she be the missing housemaid that Lucien was searching for?
    He didn't want to believe it for he had liked that woman but then if she was in fact the same Martha Dawley then she was no woman; at sixteen she was still just a girl.
    Was it her he wondered? He would check his files when he got to the mill later today to see if she was among his employees.
    She was.
     
    Following his father's ultimatum, Lucien had no choice but to tone his temper down and try to act normally. He didn't give up his search however, he simply had the letters sent to Mrs Lassiter now.
    He couldn't ride out as often as before either and so he was forced to correspond with possible witnesses.
    Life at the estate went back to normal for most, save for Lucien; he was still obsessed with finding her and correcting his mistake.
    Finally he received a letter from a cotton mill owner which baldly stated that he had a Martha Dawley in his employ. Lucien concocted an excuse for his parents, that he was going to attend a lecture, then rode to Eastham to find Martha.
    Mr Wilson came out to the mill gate to greet Lucien and ushered the gentleman into his office, clearly eager to make a good impression. That was the trouble with these merchants, Lucien thought, they had money but not status and were inclined to cosy up to their betters and Lucien didn't like that.
    Martha had never been like that. She had worked to improve herself while she worked for his father but she never pretended to be anything other than a working class girl, nor did it seem that she wanted to be.
    They made small talk while they headed to his office; about Lucien's journey and the weather today but Lucien's eagerness to be reunited with Martha made him curt with the other man.
    Although Mr Wilson was obviously wealthy judging by both his mill and his clothes, he accepted the £10 reward that Lucien offered him, clearly more worried about money than making a good impression. As he handed the notes over, Lucien heard a noise from the doorway and turned to see Martha glaring at him.

Chapter Three
    Martha was actually starting to enjoy her life in Eastham. The work was hard and the wages low but she was managing and that was what mattered.
    When one of the overlookers tapped her on the shoulder one day and gestured for her to follow him, she was surprised but not worried, for she knew that her work was good.
    They left the factory floor and headed across the courtyard to the offices on the other side and Martha wondered what on earth the bosses could want with her since she had never heard of anyone but the overlookers being summoned to the offices before.
    He led her down a short corridor to the door at the end and opened it without knocking; clearly they were expected.
    Martha's blood ran cold as she saw Lucien standing in the centre of the office, handing money over to the Master. She glared at him, still hurt from the words that he had said that day in the barn.
    “ Come in!” the Master told her sharply, so she stepped into the office. “Miss Dawley, it has been brought to my attention recently that you are not in fact a married lady but an unmarried girl of sixteen. I'm afraid that I cannot have someone with such loose morals on my workforce.”
    The master handed her an envelope.
    “ These are your wages to date, please leave quickly and quietly once your business with Lord Beaumont is concluded.”
    The master and the overlooker left the office then, closing the door behind them.
    Martha was feeling rather faint. They knew the truth about her; she had been fired. Soon everyone would know the truth, that she was a fallen woman and her friends would disappear, unwilling to be associated with someone of loose moral character.
    Her dream was over and the man standing before her was to