‘He won’t have anything to do with Alice and he never talks to me or wants to be in the house.’

Her thin mouth tightened. She could just imagine how that would go down. She could actually hear her mam saying that most men took little interest in their bairns when they were as young as Alice, and as for talking, he was likely too tired after a day at the pit for conversation. Regarding his treks, she ought to count herself lucky. Some men were forever down the pub with their pals drinking the rent money away or spending it on the dockside dollies; what was a passion for walking compared to that? And she ought to be thankful not to have him under her feet in the house when he wasn’t working; there was many a wife round these parts who would be only too pleased to see the back of their man. Oh, aye, her mam would say all that and then change the subject if she tried to discuss the state of her marriage. Her mam wanted to bury her head in the sand and pretend all was well; she’d actually heard her say to one of her sisters that everything had turned out all right in the end for her and Adam. It had been Boxing Day when they’d gone to her mam’s for tea and Adam had set off for a walk as soon as they’d eaten. Her aunties and their families had been there and she could tell they had thought it strange that Adam hadn’t entered into any jollity and then disappeared as soon as he was able.

The sunshine was warm on her face and as Alice played Olive found herself relaxing, her mind beginning to wander. How much longer could they go on like this before something snapped? She had only been Adam’s wife for a little while when there had been an accident at the pit and a miner had been killed, and since then she had realized it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Gas explosions that brought the roof down were the cause of nearly all the big pit disasters, but accidents involving the machines down the mine were frequent and could cause horrible injuries. Adam’s brother, Walt, had been terribly shook up when they were at his mam’s on Christmas Day due to his best friend being killed that same week. He hadn’t gone into details but it had been something to do with one of the steel ropes and a saw. She’d heard him talking to Adam’s father and his words had stuck in her mind.