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have come to real harm.’ Eliza was woken by Duncan’s angry whispering.
    ‘Seemed like the perfect solution. Jed
mentioned that he was looking for help around the home and …’
    ‘But she’s only a child, Fay,’
Duncan interrupted.
    ‘Apparently she’ll be fifteen in a
few weeks. That’s hardly a child, Duncan.’
    ‘Fifteen, you say? You’d never think
to look at her, she’s so tiny. Still, that’s hardly the point, Fay. She’s
malnourished, exhausted …’
    ‘Stop going on, Duncan. Like I said, it
would have solved all our problems. She’d have had a job and a roof over her head and
I’d have got my space back.’
    ‘But you should have seen the way he was
leering at her,’ he protested.
    ‘So I’m a nursemaid now, am I?’ Fay’s
voice became querulous and Eliza bit her lip to stop herself from crying out. Yet again people
were arguing over her. Well, she wasn’t going to stay where she wasn’t wanted. But
before she could move, the wrangling started again.
    ‘Being by yourself has made you selfish and
self-centred, Fay. If, as you maintain, you live by the moorland ways, you’ve certainly
got a funny way of showing it.’
    ‘How dare you? Get out, you
whippersnapper!’
    ‘Don’t worry, I’m going. Think
on what I said, though. You’ve got a heart of gold hidden beneath that prickly exterior,
Fay, and that girl’s crying out for a bit of love and attention. Is it too much to ask
that you give her a little compassion?’
    Eliza heard his footsteps crossing the room and
the door closing. Then there was a thud as something hit the wood after him.
    ‘Good riddance,’ Fay muttered. Eliza
heard her poking the fire vigorously. ‘Can’t even sit in my own chair,’ she
added. Feeling the woman staring at her, Eliza could stay quiet no longer. Struggling to her
feet, she reached for her shawl.
    ‘I’m sorry, Fay,’ she said.
‘I’ll leave right away.’
    ‘It’s dark outside. Can’t be
responsible for you getting sucked into a bog so you’d better stay another night,’
the woman grunted. Then she turned and held a spill to the flame before lighting an unused
candle that was stuck in a bottle beside her. ‘There, as it’s been an eventful day
we’ll treat ourselves to a bit of comfort,’ she said, snuffing out the spill between
her finger and thumb. ‘Bring over one of those chairs so we can both have a seat.’
Eliza
hesitated. ‘For goodness’ sake,
hurry up, girl. It’s not often I light a candle at suppertime, or any other time, come to
that. Cost money, they do. Now, we need sustenance; can’t think on an empty
stomach.’ She nodded towards the chairs by the table, then swung the crook from over the
fire and began ladling stew into two mismatched platters.
    As the savoury aroma wafted her way, Eliza was
surprised to find she was hungry. They ate in silence then sat staring into the fire. Fay seemed
lost in her own thoughts and Eliza didn’t like to disturb her. How she wished Duncan had
stayed. His calm presence gave her confidence and Fay’s moods were unpredictable. At this
very moment she might be hatching another plan to get rid of her. She clutched the edge of her
chair, hardly daring to move in case she upset the woman.
    After a while, she sensed Fay glancing at her.
Fay opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something then thought better of it. Finally she
looked directly at Eliza.
    ‘Duncan says I’m prickly. Would you
agree?’ she asked, her voice sounding loud after the silence.
    Eliza took in the woman’s unkempt
appearance. With her hair sticking out at odd angles, bright button eyes and the shadows cast by
the candle making her nose look wrinkled she certainly didn’t give the impression of being
approachable. Eliza swallowed, not sure how to answer. If she said what she was thinking she
would offend, yet she’d been brought up to be truthful.
    ‘I guess if you were an animal, you’d
be a hedgehog,’ she finally ventured.
    Fay stared at her in