After seeing the doctor out, Lottie returned to the kitchen, pausing on the threshold. The scene was mixed, like tepid soup. Two friends together side by side, Kate doing what Lottie had encouraged her to do and supporting her friend, yet Anne looked miserable and fraught.

"My girls." she muttered, loud enough for the girls to hear her. Just sayin' the phrase did her old heart some good. "Kate, Anne'll be staying with us for a while, she'll room with ye. Look after her as ye would a sister."