Alexander laid Nancy on the sofa. She had fallen asleep, probably from exhaustion or maybe from the fever, which seemed to be getting worse.

‘You stay here, Rosie. I’ll go and find Hester.’

‘No need. I’m here.’ Hester walked into the room.

Rosalind sighed, wondering if it was simply a coincidence that Hester appeared suddenly whenever she was alone with Alex, or if she was keeping watch on their every movement.

‘I’ll leave you to it.’ Alexander backed away, leaving Rosalind to explain Nancy’s presence.

With her customary common-sense approach, Hester examined Nancy. ‘I think it’s just a chill, but we’d better put her to bed and keep her warm.’ She shook her head. ‘She needs good food and rest, poor little mite. I’m surprised at the vicar’s wife. You’d think she would know better than to treat a little one like a work horse.’

‘I’ll get Tilly to make up a bed for her.’

‘There’s a truckle bed in my room. We’ll put her in there while she’s in this state, in case what she’s suffering from passes to the other girls.’

‘I knew you’d take care of her, Hester,’ Rosalind said, smiling. ‘I couldn’t leave her at the vicarage. They were going to take her back to the orphanage because she couldn’t cope with the hard work expected of her.’

Hester tut-tutted, shaking her head. ‘And they are supposed to be pillars of the community. Shame on them. Leave the little one to me.’

Rosalind knew better than to argue with Hester and somewhat reluctantly, she left the parlour and went straight to the dining room, where Tilly and Molly had set out cold meats, bread and cheese and a large tureen of leek and potato soup. Alexander was waiting for her and he pulled out a chair.

‘What did Hester say?’

‘She thinks it’s just a chill and she’s going to look after Nancy. I had nothing to do so I thought I’d join you for luncheon.’

He took his seat at table and Rosalind filled two bowls with soup. She handed one to Alexander and he accepted it with a broad grin. ‘How domesticated. We’re getting to be like an old married couple, Rosie.’

‘Don’t say things like that, even in jest. You never know when someone is listening.’

He raised the spoon to his lips. ‘This is very good. I’ll limit my conversation to the trivial things. Does that suit you?’

‘Don’t make fun of me, Alex. It’s all too painful.’ She held up her hand as he was about to rise from his seat. ‘That wasn’t a plea for you to comfort me. I’m doing my best to live a normal life, even under such difficult circumstances.’