Another carriage drew up behind it and Barnaby and his in-laws climbed inside. Mrs Greenwood was far too ill to attend and Amber and Becky watched as the sad procession disappeared off down the drive. It was a cold, rainy and overcast day and Amber was glad. It wouldn’t have seemed right to lay David to rest on a bright sunny day somehow. Downstairs was pandemonium as the maids raced about preparing the dining room for the buffet Cook had made for the mourners when they returned.

‘I reckon they’re plannin’ on feedin’ the five thousand,’ Becky told Amber after venturing down to the kitchen. ‘I ain’t never seen so much food all in one place in me whole life. Goodness knows ’ow many people they’re expectin’.’

‘I shall just be glad when it’s all over,’ Amber muttered miserably as she cuddled Charlotte. ‘I still can’t help but think there might have been somethin’ I could do.’

‘Yer can stop wi’ that silly nonsense straightaway,’ Becky scolded. ‘Didn’t the doctor ’imself tell yer there wasn’t?’

*

It was almost an hour and a half later when Mr Greenwood and the rest of the mourners began to arrive home and soon Becky and Amber could hear the murmur of voices from downstairs.

‘Crikey, look at the amount o’ carriages outside.’ Becky was standing in the window, amazed at how many people were turning up, and still they kept coming. It was raining heavily by then and the wind was shaking the glass in the nursery window. Around mid-afternoon the nursery door creaked open and Margaret Hamilton-Tate appeared dressed in a severe black bombazine gown edged with black velvet ribbon that rustled as she walked. Mr Greenwood was close behind her and one glance at his red eyes confirmed to the girls that he had been crying. It was funny, Amber thought as she jiggled Charlotte on her knee, after the callous way he had treated her, she had imagined he didn’t have any finer feelings, but the death of his son had clearly affected him badly.

‘There you are, Barnaby. Didn’t I tell you that the girl would be quite all right?’ the woman snapped unfeelingly. ‘I really don’t know why you feel that you must check on her all the time. She has two people here to see to her needs and she has always been so much more robust than David was.’

She didn’t even glance in the two girl’s direction. Both Amber and Becky had soon realised that the woman considered speaking to servants was far beneath her except when absolutely necessary.

But despite his mother-in-law’s words Barnaby crossed to the child and as soon as he drew near, Charlotte gave him a big grin and lifted her chubby arms to him.