‘You do not understand, Will. I cannot tell him my fears, for they are shameful. There is a cowardly part of me that wishes he was already gone, because I cannot face what lies ahead.’

Tears came once more, and again she sought solace in Raven’s embrace. She felt the warmth of him, an easy familiarity about his touch, his smell, and something stirred in her: something that had not been forgotten. She had a glimpse of comfort, of a companion who would help her carry the burden of her coming pain, and of a future that might lie beyond it. Then it vanished when she remembered the reason such a future could not happen: a burden she would have to carry alone. Quite literally.

The last time they spoke, Mrs Glassford had expressed her fear that she was being punished for wanting more. For her defiance. Sarah had assured her otherwise, but now she feared that she was being punished too. She would be left on her own, not merely a widow, but a widow with a child on the way.

It had been easy to fall for Archie, because it felt like there would be no risk in doing so, and that was the danger. She had told herself that it was a noble friendship, offering him comfort while she enjoyed his company. Looking back, it was impossible to trace the point when friendship no longer felt enough. No single increment had seemed like a step too far, and with each little step she had fallen a little further in, still believing it was something transient, something temporary. By the time she saw how far she had come, it was too late to turn back.

With Raven, it had not been tiny increments. It had been giant leaps into the void. He had made her reckless in a way she could not bring herself to regret. He had made so many things seem possible, but then he had withdrawn it all, retreating behind his studies as an excuse. A man who had seemed so dangerous, so unlike other medical men, had suddenly become fearful, acquiescent of all their rules and strictures; reeled in by convention, by concern for what others might think of him.

With Archie, there was no fear of it all being withdrawn because, paradoxically, that was a certainty. She had thought that knowing it was temporary would make it easier. In practice, the opposite was true. Every day she saw the life they might have had together; how good they were for one another (though all the while there hung the question of whether they would have been together had Archie not known what was approaching).