As they left the church, Mr and Mrs Jennings showered them in rice and rose petals and Amber couldn’t help but think how wonderful this would have been had she been marrying a man she loved and who loved her. But then she glanced at Charlotte, who was clapping her little hands together in between picking the petals from the flowers in her posy, and she knew she had done the right thing.

Back at The Crow’s Nest, Barnaby insisted that Mr and Mrs Jennings should join them for a celebratory glass of wine while he and Amber cut into the delicious fruit cake Mrs Jennings had made for them. But somehow one glass turned into two then three and by the time the kindly farmer and his wife took their leave in the early afternoon Amber felt quite merry.

‘I’m afraid I ain’t used to drinkin’,’ she told him, her eyes shining, and again he thought how very beautiful she was.

‘Well, it is a very special day, Mrs Greenwood.’

She blinked to hear her new title used, wondering if she would ever get used to it. And then he did something very unexpected when he suddenly leant forward and asked softly , ‘May I kiss you, Mrs Greenwood?’ When she nodded he gently placed his lips on hers for the briefest of times. ‘Just to seal our vows,’ he said quietly, then he turned and left the room.

Amber stood frozen, her heart pounding. She was shocked to realise that she had felt herself responding to the kiss, which was quite ridiculous as she didn’t even like him anymore, did she? But then she pulled herself together. I’m just gettin’ a bit carried away wi’ the occasion, she thought. But as she climbed the stairs to her room, she fingered her lips where he had kissed her.

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-One

‘I’m afraid I may be quite late home this evening,’ Barnaby told Amber one morning late in August. ‘I have a cargo due in on the Sea Serpent today and we shall have to unload it all into the warehouse.’

‘I shall keep something hot for you,’ she promised as she finished feeding Charlotte, who usually managed to get more of her breakfast all over her hair than she did into her mouth.

‘Dada . . .’ The child held her arms out to him and he couldn’t resist slipping over to her and giving her a kiss before leaving. She had only recently uttered her first word – dada – and had also taken her first faltering steps. Both Barnaby and Amber were totally smitten with her and she could wrap them both around her little fingers, not that it was a problem, because she was so happy and good-natured.