Nicholas agreed to pay for an extra governess to assist Lucy in looking after the children while she and Florence spent four days with their sleeves rolled up to their elbows and petticoats tucked into their drawers, scrubbing the last traces of silt from the walls and furniture. They agreed the kitchen table should stay to serve as a workbench. When their orders grew, they would invest in a new one. Lillian was secretly pleased to keep it. It reminded her of the conversations she and Patricia used to have sitting at it drinking tea. In one small way at least, her sister was still with her. She hoped Patricia would be proud of what she was setting out to do. She missed her terribly.
They decided to paint the tongue-and-groove walls rather than repapering and selected a cheery lemon yellow
