Her face was so hopeful that he felt himself shrivel. Removing his cap, he shook his head sorrowfully. ‘I’s afraid not, Mrs Ainsley. I can only imagine she must have hit an iceberg that was below the surface. We saw the SOS flares and got to her soon as we could but it were too late by then, she’d already gone down! I’m so sorry.’

Unable to take the terrible news in she stared at him numbly.

It was Edward who asked, ‘But surely there were some survivors?’

The captain gulped and nodded. ‘Aye, there were, but not many, lad. Seven we fished out o’ the sea but two of ’em passed away shortly after an’ your dad an’ yer brothers weren’t amongst ’em. I’m so sorry fer your loss.’

He replaced his cap and with a nod moved on into the waiting arms of his wife as Alice and her sons stood there trying to absorb the news. Someone had sent word to Greenacres and minutes later Barnaby Greenwood appeared, his face grave as he jumped down from the horse’s saddle and went to seek out the captain of The Mermaid.

The younger widows were crying and wailing, and their children, seeing their mothers so distressed, joined in, but Alice just stood there, too numb with shock to show any emotion. Her lovely, kind Eli and her beautiful boys, all snuffed out like the flame of a candle. It was just too much to comprehend.

After a while, Barnaby clambered onto a large coil of thick rope to address the crowd.

‘To those of you who have suffered a loss, I give my condolences,’ he said with a crack in his voice. He gulped as he tried to pull himself together. The news had shocked him too. ‘But rest assured you will all be compensated.’

‘Oh aye,’ one young wife shouted as tears pumped down her pale cheeks. ‘An’ what cost a life, eh? A lovin’ husband an’ father?’

Barnaby stared at her helplessly; he had no answer and had never felt so bereft in his life. He jumped down from the rope and once again he moved amongst the crowds, dishing out coins to the bereaved until, at last, they all filtered away. He stood for a long time on the deserted quay staring out to sea and thinking of all the lives that had been lost. One thing was for sure: for many people, their lives were never going to be the same again and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to make it better for them.