She was tempted to shut the door in his face, but he waved his hand when he saw her and snatched off his hat as he came in.

‘We’re not open. I’ll catch it from Mrs Hall if she sees thee.’

‘She’s not here,’ he said. ‘I’ve just seen her in the marketplace. Shut the door. I need to talk to thee. She told me as tha were planning on going away.’ He sounded distraught and Mary felt a bit sorry for him.

‘It’s for the best,’ she said as she resumed sweeping the floor. ‘Thy parents’ll soon have some nice lass lined up for thee,’ she told him. ‘And what would I do then? It’s best if I go, William. I’m grateful. Tha knows that. But I won’t be indebted to thee any more. I prefer to make my own way, even if it means movin’ on from this town altogether. I’m sorry,’ she added when she saw the anguish in his eyes.

‘No!’ He grabbed the brush from her and let it fall to the floor with a clatter. ‘Mary, sit down and listen to me. It’s important.’ He pulled out a chair and almost pushed her into it. ‘I’ve had an idea,’ he said.

‘What about?’ she asked.

‘About going to America.’

‘America?’ She might have known that it would be another hare-brained scheme. ‘What’s brought that on?’ she asked him.

‘I’ve heard of a few people who’ve gone and done really well.’

‘Aye. The chap that had the house on Paradise Lane before us went there. George Anderton, I think he were called. Hannah reckoned he’d asked their Jennet to go with him, but she wouldn’t.’ She could see that William wasn’t listening to her.

‘Would tha go?’ he asked her.

‘What? To America? I haven’t even the fare to get to Preston.’

‘I mean would tha come with me?’ He was watching her with a pleading look. ‘I’ve been finding out about it,’ he explained. ‘We can get a coach from the marketplace that’ll take us right into Liverpool and we can buy tickets there for passage on a ship. We needn’t be fussy. Any ship’ll do.’

‘And what will we do when we get there?’ she asked. She had no idea what America was like and she doubted that he had either.

‘Find work. Get a place to live. We can get married later.’ He held her gaze. ‘I will marry thee,’ he promised. ‘As soon as I can.’

‘Tell him aye and don’t be a fool,’ advised Mrs Hall from the doorway. Mary hadn’t heard her come in, but she must have overheard them, or else William had already told her what he was going to propose. ‘There’s nowt left for thee here,’ she said, putting her baskets down on the table.

But there was, thought Mary. There was John. She couldn’t just go off and leave him. She couldn’t bear to think that he might get into trouble again without her to look out for him.