Over the next week, the little family started to get into a routine. Each morning before Barnaby left for work, he rode to the nearby farm to fetch them fresh milk, while Amber looked after Charlotte, kept the house clean and attempted to improve her cooking skills. She had been trying her hand at baking their bread and the first few attempts had bordered on disastrous. The first loaf was so firm she was sure one of them would break their teeth on it but Barnaby hadn’t complained, in fact he’d made a joke of it. The second attempt had been slightly better but now she was quite proud of her efforts. The vegetable garden, with Barnaby’s help, was now dug over and planted, but as it would be some weeks before it yielded any crops, she would have to rely on what she could buy in town. It was a task she was dreading but supplies were now running low and she knew she couldn’t put it off any longer.

‘I shall have to go food shoppin’ today,’ she informed him at breakfast.

He reached into his pocket and laid some money on the table asking, ‘Will that be enough? I’m afraid Mrs Boswell saw to all the bills so I have no idea what you’ll need. I shall have to make you a weekly allowance for that, and for anything you or Charlotte might need. Will you be taking the barouche?’

She shook her head. She’d had a couple of lessons that had gone quite well, but she didn’t feel confident enough to take it out on her own as yet. ‘Thanks, but no. It’s a nice day so the walk will do us good. I thought I might take the little hand cart on wheels you found in the stables. I can drag that back wi’ the shoppin’ easier than carryin’ it, an’ Charlotte can sit in it an’ all to save me havin’ to carry her.’

‘It’ll be hard work dragging it up the hill,’ he pointed out, but Amber sniffed.

‘I ain’t a weaklin’, I’ll be fine. An’ as for the money, I won’t need that much.’

‘Please take it anyway,’ he encouraged. ‘Better to have too much than not enough. Get whatever you think we may need.’