When Mrs Ruffin nodded, Barnaby knew that he was beaten. It was ironic now that he came to think about it. He had two children due to be born to two different mothers at around about the same time, and now they would be born in the same area – although of course he would only be able to acknowledge one of them. The thought brought a scowl to his face. It was a week since he had visited Amber in Scarborough but as yet she hadn’t given him an answer to his offer of finding a home for their child. If she chose not to agree to his idea, he would never know what had become of the baby and he found that this concerned him – not that there was much he could do about it but he hoped that she would look favourably on his idea.

For now, however, he had more than enough to organise if his wife persisted in going to the cottage. He would have to go there as soon as possible in order to employ some locals to prepare the house and get some shopping in and then he would have to enquire about having a reliable midwife on standby. Just when he was so busy at the shipyard as well, he thought glumly, but it couldn’t be helped. It occurred to him that if he was going to Scarborough again, he might as well call and see Amber, and although he didn’t relish the welcome he might receive it made sense.

The very next day he rode to Scarborough and went straight to Louisa’s parents’ holiday cottage. They had clearly paid a local to come in and tend the gardens as the lawns were neatly cut and the last of the summer flowers were blooming in the gardens. The cottage had a thatched roof and the sun and salt spray had weathered the outer bricks to a mellow honey colour. Here and there, ivy, honeysuckle and wisteria, no longer in flower, clambered up the walls and across the tiny leaded windows and it reminded Barnaby of a picture he had seen on a large box of chocolates he had once bought for Louisa. It was certainly a pretty place, although the inside looked dusty and tired. It was furnished with rather grand pieces of furniture that Louisa’s parents no longer used in their enormous home. They looked slightly out of place in a cottage but were comfortable and practical all the same so he made enquiries at the houses nearby until he found Mrs Reed, a local woman who, for a generous fee, was prepared to go in and give it a good clean. She also recommended a good midwife who he would go and see as soon as he had Louisa settled in.