Nancie leaves her job with the Holt Family but remains a friend for life

After about a month's stay at Woodbury Salterton Mrs Holt disappeared to Berlin, and then Marseilles, accompanied by her brother, Stuart Macphail. She didn't tell Nancie where she was going or when she'd be back. Mrs Godfrey told Nancie that she was to take the children to Shenstone in Staffordshire to stay with a family called Nevinson. When Nancie realised that she was expected to travel alone with the three children she said it was impossible, especially with twenty pieces of luggage. Mrs Godfrey eventually agreed to accompany her.

Nancie was pleased to find that there were three young people of her age group in the household. She also received a visit from a Kilmacolm friend, John Bryson who was on his way to Birmingham with a car. Apart from her Mother's visit to Woodley Salterton that was Nancie's first contact with someone from home in 18 months. She was able to catch up with all the village gossip from her own generation.

'Jan' as James, the baby, was called, produced his first tooth during this visit. Nancie was as thrilled as she would have been if he was her own child. His Mother, of course, was still away,' gallivanting' in the south of France.

After their stay in Staffordshire Nancie went home to Scotland for a holiday. She had a date to return to the Holt Family but received a telegram ordering her to come a day early. She refused and was told to 'come early or not at all.'  Then the bank manager arrived to tell her that Mrs Holt had stopped her pay cheque. She was furious. That was the abrupt end to Nancie's first job abroad.

The strange thing is that she stayed friendly with all the Holt Family, including Mrs Holt and they would visit her regularly and write to her over the next sixty years. Major and Mrs Holt had another son, Patrick, after Nancie left. Her 'first' baby James went on to marry and have six children of his own. Nancie was so proud of them all and regarded them as 'honorary grandchildren'. Every Christmas James would write and tell her about his expanding family and she shared all their joys and sorrows over the years.