‘That would be most acceptable. Thank you, Mrs Ainsley.’ He removed his hat and, flicking the tails of his fine coat aside, he sat down at the table. She hurried to push the soot-blackened kettle over the fire and while she was preparing the cups he asked casually, ‘And how is your brother now, Mrs Ainsley? Improving, I hope?’
‘Er?.?.?. yes, as far as I know,’ she answered cagily. ‘I ain’t had a letter off our Amber fer a couple o’ weeks or so now.’
‘Oh, so you have no idea when she might be returning to work?’
She shook her head a little too quickly and Barnaby detected a tremor in her voice when she answered, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t think it’ll be any time soon. Probably another two or three months at least, I should say.’
He nodded. ‘Then this money might come in handy for her if her uncle is unable to work.’
‘Oh, our Jeremiah ain’t short of a bob or two,’ she boasted proudly. ‘He’s got a thrivin’ hardware shop in the town an’ staff to run it if he ain’t there, so they’ll not go short.’
‘That’s good to hear.’ They lapsed into silence while she made the tea and as soon as it was poured, he drank it hastily and departed, leaving Alice to ponder on why he should have come. The excuse that he owed Amber money didn’t quite ring true somehow. But there were nets waiting to be mended and as soon as she became absorbed in her task, she forgot all about him.
Barnaby, meanwhile, was galloping homewards, content that at least now Amber’s uncle should not be too hard to find. After all, he thought, how many hardware shops could there be in Scarborough? And once he found the uncle, he would find Amber.
Chapter Seven
‘Iwas thinking,’ Jeremiah said hesitantly to Amber one evening as they sat at dinner. ‘Perhaps it’s time you stopped working in the shop now.’
When she raised an eyebrow, he flushed and nodded towards her stomach. ‘Your, er?.?.?. condition is becoming more noticeable and I wouldn’t like my customers to think that I was taking advantage of you.’
Amber sighed. She knew her uncle was right. Only the night before she had sat up until the early hours of the morning letting the waist of her dress out yet again, but the thought of the long days ahead with nothing to do filled her with dread. At least when she was working in the shop, she didn’t have time to think about the way Barnaby had betrayed her.
‘Very well, Uncle. If you think that is for the best.’
‘I do,’ he said, looking very uncomfortable. ‘And I hope you don’t mind me asking, but have you thought of what you might do once the baby has arrived.’
Her hand dropped to her stomach where the child was kicking lustily. It was funny, since she had started to feel it moving inside her, her feelings towards it had changed. She still had no intention whatsoever of keeping it, that was quite out of the question, but she knew now that she could no longer bear to just leave it on the steps of the poorhouse. Instead, she and Mrs Carter had come to an agreement. Once the baby was born it was Mrs Carter who would take it there saying that she had found the babe abandoned. At least that way Amber would know that the child had been passed into safe hands.
‘I was planning on going back to Whitby to my old job, but I’ve had second thoughts about that and have no idea where I might go or what I might do yet.’ She crossed her fingers behind her back as she said it knowing that she would never return to Greenacres now. It would be too painful to see Barnaby every day.
Eager to change the subject her uncle asked, ‘And have you heard from your mother lately?’
Amber nodded. ‘Yes, I had a letter from her only the day before yesterday. She says that it’s becoming very busy in Whitby now that they’ve started on the trainline. It’s going to run into Pickering and will make it much easier for the fishermen to get their catches transported inland. And she says that both Ted and Will are actually thinking of leaving the shipyard and going to work on the tracks.’
‘Hm, but what happens when the track is finished?’ he queried sensibly.
‘Well, they’ve already looked into that, apparently. Once that train is running there are new lines springing up all across the country, so it seems the boys wouldn’t be short of work for years to come. The only trouble is they would live where they were working and I don’t think our mam is too keen on that idea. Still, as I told her when I replied to her letter, they’re young men now and quite capable of choosing what they want to do.’
‘Quite.’ He dabbed at his lips with his napkin and poured himself another glass of wine. He and Amber had slipped into a routine now and he found her surprisingly good company for a young woman. She was very intelligent and loved to read the newspaper each day when he had finished with it so was able to converse on most anything. They’d discussed politics, travel and all manner of things and already he had realised that he would miss their chats when she left. In fact, her company had suddenly made him realise what a lonely existence he led. But that was life, he supposed.
‘Uncle,’ she said then, bringing his thoughts back to the present. ‘I know it’s not my place to tell you this because it’s really none of my business, but as you know, Mrs Carter and I have taken to having a stroll together some evenings after dinner and I couldn’t help but notice that?.?.?.’ She paused, wondering if she should go on. She shrugged inwardly, in for a penny in for a pound, she decided, before continuing, ‘Well, the thing is I’ve noticed how she stops to stroke almost every dog we meet and when I mentioned it, she confessed it had always been a desire of hers to have her own little dog.’
Jeremiah’s eyebrows almost got lost in his hairline and Amber gulped, wondering if she had overstepped the mark.
‘A dog?’ he looked incredulous.
‘Yes, but only a little ’un and then she could keep it in the kitchen and the yard. You wouldn’t even have to see it if you didn’t want to,’ Amber said cajolingly. ‘And she’d be so delighted. She’s such a nice woman and I think it would do her good.’
‘I’d never even thought of owning a pet, let alone having one in the house,’ he admitted.
Amber smiled at him. ‘So what do you think of the idea?’ she persisted. ‘A lady we meet often on the beach was telling us that a friend of hers has the most adorable litter of miniature dachshunds.’
When he looked at her uncomprehending she rushed on, ‘Some people call ’em sausage dogs. They’re quite low to the ground with long bodies.’
‘Hm, then I suppose I’d better give it some thought,’ he answered, not wishing to commit himself to anything.
‘In that case you should have this,’ Amber said with a cheeky grin as she fumbled in the pocket of her gown to take out a scrap of paper. ‘This is the address of the lady who has the puppies. She only lives over in Queen Street just off the north bay and I thought if you’d even entertain the idea you might want to go an’ have a look at ’em.’
