Rose walked along, arm in arm with the fellow young wife. Pearl's voice was rather quiet and sombre, but from her words it sounded like she had stepped into a world of love, where she was cherished and seen. Rose shamefully noticed her own joy dampening a little. She ought to be happy for her friend. Really she was. Pearl's family, for all their money, weren't worth a farthing as parents and siblings. Pearl deserved to find a loving home at last.

But the other feeling was there. It stirred, undeniably, at the next suggestion. "You're pregnant?! So soon already?"