The hotel was small, and unassuming from the outside but the last word in elegant opulence and service on the inside. Within minutes of her presenting the card, her luggage was collected and she was settled in a large and beautiful room complete with every possible luxury. The bathroom was a dream and as soon as she had unpacked Bella laid out clean clothes for her meeting with her aunt and went for a bath in an effort to relax her sadly frayed nerves.

She felt so unhappy. In all her life, Bella had never felt quite so unhappy. She had always been alone but she had never felt lonelier than she did at that moment, cut off from everything familiar and at her third change of address in the space of a week. The following week term started and she would be back in class and facing hospital placements. But for the first time ever Bella wasn't looking forward to getting back to her studies. The events of the past worrying weeks had taken their toll and she was exhausted.