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nation.”
    “Thank you for that.” He exhaled very slowly. “You really are a remarkable woman, Mrs. Smith.”
    “I am merely a pragmatist.”
    “Which I appreciate greatly in my current unanchored state.”
    She hesitated. “You will come back, won’t you?”
    “Tomorrow?” At her nod he smiled. “Yes, of course. After that?” He shrugged. “Well that depends on what I discover, doesn’t it?”
    “It is rather small, Jonathan, my love.” Mrs. Smith’s voice rose higher as the tour of Dove Cottage she had requested after the solicitor left was concluded.
    Aunt Betty made a stifled sound into her handkerchief and looked despairingly at Amelia.
    “We can always add to the house, dear. There is plenty of space around it.” Jonathan tapped one of the beams in a proprietary manner.
    “Would you care for some tea, Mrs. Smith?” Amelia asked.
    “That would be lovely, wouldn’t it, Jonathan.”
    “Yes, my dear.”
    Amelia’s brother-in-law smiled and sat down beside his wife, his gaze assessing the size of the room and the quality of the furnishings. Or that was how it felt to Amelia. He looked nothing like her deceased husband, being a foot shorter, dark haired and of a much less sunny disposition. He’d chosen to stay in England with his father when his older brother had followed their mother back to Pennsylvania. As a result, Matthew hadn’t known him very well, but he’d never had anything bad to say about him.
    With a stifled sound, Betty disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Amelia in the silence. Jonathan cleared his throat.
    “I’m surprised to find you still here, Amelia. I assumed you would have returned to your own family by now.”
    “My family doesn’t speak to me, Jonathan, and Betty begged me to stay and keep her company. Her pension and mine just about pay the bills.”
    “Surely if your family knew of Matthew’s death they would be willing to offer you a home?”
    Jonathan’s shrewd gaze settled on her, and she raised her chin.
    “I thought I had a home here with Aunt Betty.”
    He sighed, “Amelia, my dear, the cottage was supposedly left to you and Betty in rather peculiar circumstances which were misinterpreted by the family solicitor. I don’t wish to drag the matter through the courts, but the ownership of Dove Cottage was actually split between Matthew and myself. Matthew never altered his will and left his share to Betty, not to you, so legally half the cottage now belongs to me and half to Betty.”
    “And we have a large family, Amelia.” Muriel Smith placed her hand on her stomach. “And another on the way.”
    “So you wish to turn me and Betty out?”
    “Oh no! We wish Betty to stay here with us.”
    “But not me.” Amelia felt a sinking sensation in the region of her stomach.
    Jonathan held her gaze, his voice kind. “You do have other options, Amelia.”
    “And what guarantee do I have that if I leave you won’t abandon Betty?”
    “I will formalize the agreement with my solicitor that Betty may reside here until she dies. My father’s will states that when Betty passes, the ownership of the cottage will revert back to me.” He sat back. “There is no need to make the decision today, my dear. The rent on our cottage in Greenwood is paid until the next quarter day, so we will not be able to move until then.”
    That gave her about four weeks to find somewhere else to live… She nodded as if she was grateful. “Thank you.” She rose from her seat. “If you will excuse me, I’ll go and see what has happened to that tea.”
    “I’ll need you again at four.” Jem slapped Marco on the back and handed him a coin. “Go and get yourself a pint and something to eat.”
    “I’ll do that.” Marco hesitated as he surveyed the crowded streets. “Do you by any chance know how I would get to Clifford Street?”
    Five minutes later, he was walking through the streets toward his destination. As he got closer, the roads widened and became paved again and the