‘O’ course I don’t . . . but the poorhouse!’ It seemed too cruel to do such a thing to a helpless baby, but then how could she keep it, even if she wanted to, with no job and no husband to support her?

‘Think of it, if we did that you could come home and no one but your uncle would ever be any the wiser. You could start again with no blemish to your name an’ it would save breakin’ your dad’s heart.’

‘But what would we tell dad and the boys about why I’m going?’ Amber fretted.

‘Hm’ – her mother tapped her lip thoughtfully – ‘I’ll think o’ somethin’. So lass, there’s your choice from where I’m standin’. Which is it to be?’

Amber chewed on her lip. Neither of the options were very attractive to her. As her mother had said, Bertie Preston would wed her tomorrow if she gave him half a chance; they’d grown up together in Argument’s Yard and he’d chased after her since she’d been in pigtails, but could she see her herself tied to him forever? No, she couldn’t. Admittedly he was one of the handsomest chaps in the town, but he well knew it and half the lasses round about were always chasing after him – a fact he took full advantage of. Bertie was well-known for being a bit of a rogue with his fingers into all sorts of pies and he only worked on a trawler at sea with his father and brothers when he was down on his luck. The trouble was he then spent almost everything he had earned in one inn or another, drinking his wages away and Amber could just imagine the sort of life she would have with him, living hand to mouth and breeding a baby a year. No thank you, she thought, that’s not for me. So that only left her with her mother’s second suggestion to consider and much as she hated the thought of it, she supposed it made more sense to go with that one. It wasn’t as if she wanted this baby, after all, and surely the people who ran the poorhouse would take good care of it. They might even find it a home with parents who really wanted a child. The thought made her feel slightly better and turning her teary face to her mother she told her, ‘All right. I’ll go to Uncle Jeremiah’s, if he’ll have me, that is.’