[CW: married child]

A cart pulled up in front of the house, and a few moments later there was a knock on the door. After they had left the Ward home that morning, Tobias had said that he wanted to visit Elijah. Perhaps he had hoped that would draw a happy response from Alice, for she had not seen the constable since the wedding, but Alice had merely 'hmm'd and had drawn her woolen shawl tighter around her. Tobias had brought her an elegant lavender coat to match her new dress, but Alice continued to use the old faded checked shawl that many fisherwomen used. The fact that he seemed frustrated about it only made her more determined, and the graceful hat that she had started wearing out in public for a few days was replaced with her old scarf. It was an odd sight, no doubt, everything seeming out of order: A neat, elegant purple skirt and bodice, and new leather boots, combined with old woolen shawls and a cheerless pale face. But that probably looked as disordered as the grown up man and the young girl standing together in front of Elijah's door.