The light in the room was comforting, and for a moment Alice half-dreamed that she was back on some childhood day on the beach, the bright sunlight and mild sea breeze caressing her skin, as if inviting her to come and play and explore the beauty around her in childish carelessness. A peaceful smile came over her face and she forgot the pain, and her father and the woman talking. But when the wheelchair stopped and the doctor addressed her, the comforting fantasy was over. She was aware of cramp in her abdomen again and of the threat of losing her child. Would Tobias be even more disappointed in her?

She nodded in reply to the woman's announcement, and felt her father take hold of her from the other side. She let them help her on to the bed, turning her eyes back to the window for comfort as she lay back.

Her father, meanwhile, took her hand in his. "You're going to be alright, lassie." Then he turned his head sharply to look at the doctor. "There's something else!" he remembered. "A couple of weeks... almost two months ago... she and her sister got lost on the moors and ended up spending the night out in the rain before they were found. Almost froze to death. The doctor examined her, and the bairn was still alive, she ended up bein' sick for a few days but she recovered. But perhaps..." he had to stop and gain control over his voice. "Perhaps it did more harm than we knew?"