‘I’m sure you will. I believe you will. My situation is complicated. Oh!’ She put her hands over her face. ‘I do miss you, Silas. I miss our afternoon walks and our talks. Why can’t we go back to the way it was, before the, before you…’ she trailed off.

He relinquished his grip on the box containing the plain gold band he’d finally scraped enough cash together to buy second-hand. It fell back to the bottom of his pocket.

‘Does tha miss this?’ He gently took her hands and tried to kiss her again, wanting only to drown the voice in his head that told him he’d been a fool to think this woman might ever consider marrying him.

Harriet pushed him away. ‘You can’t solve this with kisses, Silas. You’re a child. I have to go. I’ll be missed at home.’ Her mouth was set and he was not allowed to soften it with a kiss. ‘You think we can do whatever we like. We can’t.’

‘Why not?’

‘You see? That response only shows your immaturity.’

‘I know what I want, Harriet. Does tha? I know what I don’t want an’ all. I won’t visit thee at Louisa’s, hidin’ like I’m some sort o’ criminal. I did nowt wrong. It’s not right. It’s not enough.’ He tried to get her to meet his eye. ‘Harriet, I thought I were set on a path wi’ thee. I thought that felt the same way I did. Louisa’s told me about ’im…’

‘About who?’

‘Tha knows. I can’t believe tha’s thick wi’ him.’

She stared at the floor of the gig. ‘It’s foolish to get on the wrong side of influential men. You’ve already learned that, I think.’

Silas took her hand. ‘Look at me,’ and she did, at last, but her gaze was unfocused. He knew he’d lost her.

‘Haven’t you learned that, Silas, even now? Help me down, please.’

‘It were ’is idea, gettin’ me flogged.’ His lip curled, he couldn’t help it. ‘Harriet, I thought tha were better than that. I’ll provide for thee. Don’t go off wi’ that bastard.’

‘Stop it!’

‘We need to have this out.’

‘There’s nothing to have out!’

There were tears on her cheeks and he went to brush them away, but she batted his hand down and there was determination in her eyes. ‘This is no good, for either of us. I am to marry. Please don’t say anything. Just help me down. I have to go. Silas. Do I have to beg?’

He climbed out of the gig and stood on the pavement, and offered his hand. When Harriet was safely down, he tried to keep her hand in his.

‘Tha’s makin’ a mistake,’ he said, and he could hear the desperation in his voice.

‘Let go of me, Silas. Let go.’

Later, he ate his supper listlessly, separating the bones from the flesh of the fish on his plate with a silver fork while the Gunsons conversed over his head. He could tell they were being careful around him, believing he was grieving his dead brother, knowing he had a decision to make, and they left him in peace to slowly chew and swallow food he could not taste and for which he had no appetite.