Each night she and Nancy had sat altering the curtains from the enormous windows at Greenacres to fit the windows in the new house, and the material they cut off had been used to stitch pretty cushions for the chairs and the wooden settle. Now every downstairs room looked cosy. Throughout the house they had found framed maps, pictures and ornaments from every part of the globe, no doubt fetched back by the captain and they had all been lovingly cleaned and placed about the house. The furniture they had salvaged had been polished until they could see their faces in it and they had begun to bring pots and pans from Greenacres for the kitchen. The large gardens had been scythed and although they would still need a lot of work, they would be manageable now and somewhere safe for Charlotte to play in.

‘I almost envy you movin’ in ’ere,’ Nancy said dreamily as they waited for Jimmy to come and fetch them early one evening in late May, just days before Amber and Barnaby were due to move in.

Back at Greenacres the majority of the staff had left and it felt strangely empty.

‘I would be lookin’ forward to livin’ here too,’ Amber admitted as she brushed a stray curl from her damp forehead, leaving a smear of dirt over her face. ‘If it weren’t for . . . you know?’

‘Aye, I know, lass. But that’s a small price to pay for bein’ able to bring up your daughter an’ I’ve no doubt you’ll rub along all right. Though I should warn you, when I went to see me mam on Sunday she said the gossip ’as already started in the town. I’m afraid once yer do move in yer name is goin’ to be muck.’

Amber shrugged. ‘There’s nowt I can do about that, is there?’

They heard the sound of the carriage then so after putting away their cleaning things they hurried out, glad of the chance for a rest.

*

When they arrived back at The Crow’s Nest early the next morning, the first sign they had that anything was amiss was the sight of the front door swinging open in the early sea breeze.

‘Are you sure you shut the front door last night, Nancy?’ Amber asked anxiously.

‘Quite sure. I’d not be so daft as to leave it open,’ Nancy responded indignantly.

Jimmy had spotted it too. ‘You two had best wait ’ere while I go an’ check there’s no one inside,’ he said, hopping down from the carriage and tethering the horse to the picket fence.

As Amber and Nancy climbed down, he disappeared inside only to return a few minutes later with a grave face.

‘Someone’s been in, all reet!’ he told them angrily. ‘An’ you’re not gonna like what they’ve done, the rotten buggers!’