‘Hmm, then I’ll think about it,’ Alice promised as she rose to stir the porridge that was simmering on the small range. She could hear Jeremiah moving about upstairs and she didn’t want him to go back to Scarborough on an empty stomach. Meanwhile Amber began to get dressed for outdoors. She would be collecting the dirty washing for her mother from the big houses on the hill this morning, because even if her mother did decide to leave, she would hate to let her customers down.
By the time she went back into the kitchen her mother and uncle were in earnest conversation and he paused to smile at her.
‘Your mother has agreed to come to Scarborough to live.’ He was clearly pleased with Alice’s decision. ‘But can’t I persuade you to come too? You know you would be very welcome. Martha would love to have you living there again.’
Amber smiled at him. ‘I know you would, but I’m a big girl now wi’ a job waitin’ for me up at Greenacres.’ She had no intention of going back there ever again but she wasn’t about to admit that to them. ‘In fact, I might have a word wi’ Mrs Boswell this very mornin’ when I collect the laundry.’
‘Very well, if you’re quite sure. But just remember there will always be a home with us should you change your mind,’ he told her sincerely.
After they’d said their goodbyes, Amber began to tug the old cart through the snow towards the hill, finally allowing the tears she’d been holding back to fall. She was pleased for her mother; it would do her good to start afresh somewhere new and she felt sure that she would be happy living in Scarborough, but now she wondered what the future held in store for herself?
She was breathless by the time she reached the top of the hill and she paused to stare down at the town where she had been born. Perhaps it was time for her to seek pastures new as well, she thought. Depending on when her mother decided to leave for Scarborough this could well be the last time she had to do this and she wasn’t sorry.
It was almost lunchtime by the time she dragged the cart down the drive at Greenacres and as she approached the kitchen yard, she spotted Barnaby over at the stables talking to the groom. She quickly averted her eyes, hoping he hadn’t seen her. The less she had to do with that man the better, as far as she was concerned. But as she knocked on the kitchen door, she heard him approaching. To her relief he swerved away when Nancy answered, and she gratefully entered the warmth.
The cook ushered her towards a chair saying, ‘Eeh, come an’ get warm, lass. You look perished. I’ll get you a nice hot cup o’ tea, eh?’
Whilst she bustled over to the stove Nancy joined her at the table to tell her in a hushed voice, ‘Ooh, you wouldn’t believe what’s been goin’ on up here! The mistress’s parents sent for a fancy doctor from London to look at the mistress an’ apparently, she’s really ill.’
When Amber raised her eyebrow, she rushed on, ‘Some sort o’ tumour in her stomach he reckons an’ there’s nowt that can be done for her, poor thing.’
Amber looked shocked. ‘But what about the babies?’
Nancy shrugged. ‘That’s another thing. Nanny ’as just given the master notice so he’s asked me to take over wi’ ’em for a while till he can find a replacement. Poor little mites.’
‘That’s terrible.’ As much as Amber hated Barnaby Greenwood she felt sorry for the mistress – doubly so now.
The cook bustled back with a steaming mug for her just then and asked, ‘Nancy told you the gossip, has she?’
Amber nodded as she sipped the drink gratefully. ‘Yes, it’s very sad. And I have a bit o’ gossip an’ all, as it happens.’ She went on to tell them of her uncle’s offer to have her mother go and live in Scarborough with him and when she was done Nancy frowned.
‘That’s good for your mam but what’ll you do now?’
‘Ah, well, that’s where I was hoping you’d be able to help me.’ Amber swallowed. She hated asking but what choice did she have. ‘I was wonderin’ if per’aps your mam might let me stay there just till I found another job.’ All attempts at improving her vocabulary had gone out of the window since she’d returned from London and she was now speaking in her broad Yorkshire dialect again. ‘I know it’s a big ask,’ she rushed on. ‘But I could pay me way. I’ve still got some o’ the money I earned from the Temples that’ll tide me over for a while an’ hopefully by then I’ll have got another post.’
‘Why don’t you just come back here?’ the cook asked. ‘Mrs Boswell’s been sayin’ we need another laundry maid.’
Amber flushed as she and Nancy exchanged a glance. Only Nancy knew the real reason why she had left her job as laundry maid so hastily and that was the way she wanted it to stay.
‘Though you’d ’ave to be quick,’ the cook went on. ‘I mean, since that ship went down it won’t take long to fill the position.’
‘Right, with cook’s permission, I’ll pop down to see me mam this afternoon an’ ask her about you’re stayin’ fer a while,’ Nancy said quickly, keen to get the cook on to another topic of conversation. ‘Just so long as you know what you’re lettin’ yerself in for,’ she added with a grin. ‘They’re packed in to that cottage like sardines in a tin, but I suppose it’s better than nothin, so leave it wi’ me, eh?’
Amber gave her a grateful smile as she quickly drained the rest of the tea then followed Nancy outside to collect the dirty washing from the laundry room. It had been packed into pillowcases and once it had been loaded onto the cart Amber set off for home.
She was nearing the bottom of the hill when she saw Bertie Preston and her stomach flipped. She’d done her best to avoid him since refusing his last proposal but it was clear he had seen her so she kept on towards him.
‘Well, well, well, how the mighty are fallen, eh?’ he sneered, staring pointedly at the dirty laundry in the old cart. ‘One minute a posh nanny to the nobs’ kids in London, an’ then a washerwoman, eh?’ His hat was set at a jaunty angle and beneath his heavy topcoat, which was trimmed with a thick fur collar, she could see an embroidered waistcoat.
‘Don’t start, Bertie,’ she said wearily. ‘I’ve had a long day and I just want to get home.’
‘Hm, but it won’t be home for long though, will it, if what your mam told my mam this morning is right. Off to pastures new in Scarborough to live wi’ your uncle, ain’t she? An’ then what will you do? I don’t suppose you’ll be able to afford to keep the cottage on.’
‘That’s none of your business,’ Amber retaliated as colour rose in her cheeks.
He shrugged nonchalantly as he examined his fingernails. ‘You’re quite right.’ He grinned spitefully. ‘But it’s funny, ain’t it? The rapid recovery your uncle has made, I mean? Makes me wonder why you werereallyhidin’ away in Scarborough all those months.’
Amber’s stomach did a somersault. What was he hinting at? Could it be that he’d found out about the baby she’d been carrying? Dread coursed through her. If he had, just one word from him and it would be all over the town in no time and her reputation would be gone for ever. Even so, her gaze remained steady as she pulled the cart past him avoiding his eyes.
