Rosie stepped into the warmth of the water in the tin bath, which she had filled from the nearby boiler. The waters were soothing. Her ribs and stomach ached with a dull, nagging pain where the tup had butted her, and she lay back in the quietness of the scullery. Her mother had scowled at her and told her to get changed and washed while she put Georgina to bed. Rosie washed herself with the flannel. She knew that the rest of the house was awaiting the stew that had been cooking in the oven next to the fire that afternoon, so she couldn’t be long. Mutton stew, it was all they ever seemed to eat, along with home cured bacon and rabbits that were caught on the land. But that was part of being self-sufficient and Rosie knew that, even though she had protested about the marketing of her favourite spring lamb.

She leaned back in the bath and sighed. She felt tired and sickly of a morning. She rubbed her hands over her stomach and thought about the baby she was nearly certain she was carrying, and the fact that Ethan had deserted her in her hour of need. How could he? She was on her own and frightened, trying hard to block out any thoughts about having to tell both her parents the news that she thought she was with child by Ethan. A tear trickled down her cheek and she breathed in deeply, trying to control herself. She knew all too well that her mother could walk into the scullery at any moment and she would have to explain her misery. She quickly washed herself down with the carbolic soap and then pulled herself out of the bath, realizing just how hard she had fallen when the tup had butted her. She ached all over and winced as she dried herself, pulling on her garments, before emptying the water down the main drain of the scullery and hanging the tin bath back on the wall and then rejoining her family in the kitchen.

‘You smell a bit fresher, but you look a bit pale. Are you alright, lass?’ Her grandfather reached out for Rosie’s hand as she walked past him. ‘That tup didn’t half give you a belt. It’s best that he’s off – you’ve spoilt him too much.’

‘I’m fine, Grandfather. Just a bit bruised, but I feel better for a hot bath.’ Rosie looked at the half-laid table and decided to help her mother out by finishing the job and getting the bread from the pantry. She didn’t like the attention her grandfather was giving her, so she deliberately made herself busy.