‘Then I hope everythin’ goes well for you,’ Amber said sincerely. Nancy had been a true friend and had stood by her through the most difficult of times so it would be nice if she could find a little happiness; she deserved it.

They met Barnaby just coming out of the nursery when they arrived back at Greenacres and the hint of a smile twitched at the corner of his lips as he noted the state of them. Amber had a dirty smear across her nose and their clothes were filthy.

‘How did it go?’ he asked and still unable to look him in the eye Amber paused and nodded as Nancy went ahead of her.

‘We’ve got the kitchen and the parlour clean an’ we’ve been able to save almost all o’ the furniture, although all the curtains an’ soft furnishin’s were beyond repair. We’re goin’ to tackle the hallway an’ the stairs tomorrer an’ make a start on the bedrooms, though I’m guessin’ we’ll need all new bed linen. We’ll need new curtains for each room an’ all.’

‘Could some of the ones we have here be cut down to size?’ he asked.

Amber nodded. ‘Yes, they could an’ they’d look lovely in the house. Me an’ Nancy could alter ’em.’

‘Then take whatever you like. The same goes for bed linen or whatever else you might need. I dare say if the house is to be sold my in-laws won’t miss them.’

There was a note of bitterness in his voice and again Amber almost felt sorry for him. As Nancy had pointed out, after what had happened to him, most men would have turned tail and run as far away as they could get but he was still here, trying to do right by as many people as he could.

He smiled again as he nodded down at her old soiled skirt. ‘I won’t keep you any longer. I’ve no doubt you’ll be longing to get washed and changed and have something to eat. I’ll see that Mrs Boswell sends you both something up, although I believe it’s stew again. She’s an excellent housekeeper but I’m afraid her abilities as a cook are rather limited. Oh, and er . . . thanks for what you’re doing, Amber.’

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him abruptly that she wasn’t doing it for him, she was doing it for Charlotte, but she bit back the words and merely nodded.

*

Later that evening, when Charlotte was sleeping, Amber left her in Becky’s care, and she and Nancy wandered about the house collecting curtains, bed linen, cushions and anything else they thought would help to make the house comfortable.