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takes practice,’ Merry said, smiling reassuringly.
    The girl looked doubtful. ‘You’s is pretty. Them looks just like shells,’ she said, running a grubby finger over the raised pattern. Hastily Merry moved her work away.
    ‘I used to get my stitches all muddled until Mother showed me an easy way of remembering the rib.’
    ‘There’s an easy way?’ Primmy asked, curiosity sparking in her dark eyes.
    ‘Let me show you. You knit two, purl two for the rib, right?’ Primmy nodded. ‘So take your pins and sing: up one, round and through; up two, round and through. Down one, round and through; down two, round and through,’ Merry demonstrated. ‘Now you sing along with me whilst I do it again.’
    ‘Well, me be blowed!’ Primmy exclaimed some moments later. ‘It seems easy when you sing like that.’
    ‘And so it is. Now you try it,’ Merry urged, handing the girl back her work. She watched, singing along with Primmy, until she got the hang of it.
    ‘I done it, miss,’ Primmy shouted, her little face beaming.
    ‘Well done. You’ll never forget now, will you?’
    ‘Primmy? Where are you, girl?’ As a woman’s shrill voice carried on the breeze, Primmy jumped to her feet and ran off.
    ‘You’re a natural with children, Merry,’ Jenna laughed. ‘I can just see you with a brood of your own.’
    ‘A natural honorary auntie’s what I’ll be,’ Merry retorted. ‘Look, the boats are in.’
    They watched as the men jumped onto the shore and began off-loading their catch. It was a heart-lifting sight after the long barren winter. Then Merry spotted her mother and Grozen making their way towards them to witness the first weigh-in of the season.
    ‘We heard the shout go up,’ her mother said.
    ‘And it weren’t your voice, our Merry,’ Grozen muttered, narrowing her eyes accusingly.
    ‘No, I’m afraid someone spotted the shoal before me,’ she admitted.
    ‘Suppose you were daydreaming as usual,’ her grandmother grumbled.
    ‘Never mind, at least the fish have finally arrived so there’ll be the salting and packing to do later,’ her mother said, patting the older woman’s shoulder. ‘That’ll boost the coffers.’
    ‘And Marya can really use the money, Mrs Dyer,’ Jenna pointed out. ‘I’ll see you all later,’ she added, wincing as she got to her feet.
    ‘Are you all right?’ Merry asked her friend.
    ‘Just a twinge, but I can’t tell you how glad I’ll be when I can see my feet again.’
    Karenza nodded sympathetically. ‘Try and get some rest whilst you still can, Jenna.’
    ‘Think I will,’ she replied, rubbing her back. ‘See you up at the pallace later.’
    ‘Don’t think so; there’ll be a birth before the sun sets,’ Grozen muttered under her breath. ‘And I saw three crows on Ma Somers’s roof on the way down. She’ll be going to meet her maker later, so by my reckoning it will have been the usual one in one out come the morn.’
    ‘You don’t know that, Grozen,’ Merry exclaimed, wishing her grandmother wouldn’t make such pronouncements.
    ‘Yes, I do,’ Grozen muttered, turning her attention to the weigh-in. ‘Not a great catch, but it is the first of the season so I suppose we must thank the Lord for small mercies.’
    Karenza caught Merry’s eye and smiled. They both knew the woman’s brusque manner was an act and that she was as relieved as everyone that the pilchards had at last shown up.
    Just then Merry spotted the black-haired Nicco heading their way and her spirits dropped. Her mother was bound to thank him for giving Merry a lift and would be none too pleased if he spilled the beans about her running off. Luckily, however, her mother’s thoughts were on other things.
    ‘By my reckoning that mutton should be cooked so let’s go and eat before it’s time for work. We’ll need some energy for all that salting and laying-up,’ Karenza said, taking her mother’s arm and leading her towards the warren.
    ‘And I’ll need my energy for the