Anne had stayed in the room, anxiously listening to Mr. and Mrs. Blacke arguing downstairs. Her heart was bleeding for Kate. There had been enough rows in her own family for her to know how much it hurt when two loved ones fought and all you could do was watch and pray for it to stop. She didn't follow her friend downstairs to support her, however. She was not a Blacke and it felt wrong to intrude on private family matters. And so she stayed in the bedroom, where she could listen at the door without anyone being aware.

When Mr. Blacke stomped off upstairs, she realized the coast was clear to go and comfort Kate and possibly Mrs. Blacke. With a familiar pain in her stomach, she quickly got dressed and braided her hair into a messy braid.

By the time she was done, there was a knock, then her father's deep voice. Anne jumped. After the violence and aggression yesterday afternoon - and directed against a gentleman too! - Anne had fully expected her father to stay in jail for longer, maybe until he could be led before the magistrate, and she had worried not only about him, but also of what would become of her father's contract on the boat. They had talked about it extensively yesterday before she came here. Even if her father didn't go to prison, if he lost his place on the boat, that could set them up for a difficult winter. She felt some degree of relief therefore to know he had been released already.

But she was also scared. She had talked Rose into letting her stay with the Blackes in the hopes that once her father did get out, he'd be too occupied with everything else to mind the fact that she had disobeyed his orders. But here he was, first thing. Was he very angry? As angry as he had been last time. She still felt the shame of when he had struck her in front of Lottie and Kate, and now there was John too.

As soon as Lottie entered, Anne threw her arms around the woman and hugged her tight, closing her eyes and burying her face into the woman’s chest. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Blacke,” she whispered. She remembered the offer Mrs. Blacke had made last night and how disappointed she had seemed with the fact that Anne had not accepted. It was one of the things that had been eating away at her all night. Would Mrs. Blacke not love her as much in the future because Anne could not become her real daughter? Anne truly wished it was as simple as to agree to live with the Blackes and all would be well. But it wouldn’t be. She could not abandon her family. They needed her for the flither picking and preparing the lines and the housework. And Anne felt that if she was there, she could watch out for them. She could smooth things over when her father’s temper got out of control. She could anticipate to external threats. She could make sure Bram stayed out of trouble. And she’d have a more direct line to Alice.

Alice alone was reason enough for her to want to go home at this moment. She needed to know what had happened to her sister. Had they let Tobias bring her back to the middle of nowhere, Castleton, where he could treat her however he liked? If Alice was still with Rose and Anne went home now, she could perhaps still prevent it.

Aye, she had to go, but she felt like she was disappointing Mrs. Blacke all over, and she dreaded what awaited her downstairs. “I’m sorry,” she whispered again, still not letting go. “I’ll come again soon. I’ll find a way.” Still, she clung on to the motherly woman she so missed in the Crag.

Anne tugged at Lottie's heartstrings again. The poor girl had such an effect on Lottie as a living, breathing reminder of her best friend Hannah. The matriarch's inability to do anything concrete for the girl was an old hurt that nonetheless still ached. Gently patting her frizzy hair clung to her waist, Lottie lowered herself to the girl's level and looked at her. She wanted to see those eyes.

"Anne, don't fret. I do wish ye were my real daughter, but it was not to be. However, ye are a member of this family. Remember that," The older woman placed her hand over the girl's heart. Maybe she could absorb some love into her bones "I will love ye always. No matter where ye 'ave ta live."

Anne was reluctant to let go, but had to when Lottie lowered herself to look her in the eye. Anne's eyes had filled with tears and one rolled down as she blinked. In that moment, she wanted to shout out that she wanted to stay here, that she wanted to be Mrs. Blacke's daughter. But fear of what would happen after froze her tongue.

She quickly wiped her eyes and nodded. "Thank ye, Mrs. Blacke," she managed to say. "Ye're like a mother to me and I think me mam would be very grateful if she knew all ye did fer me. Ye'll always be like me own mam, even if me dad forbids me seein' ye."

Then she wiped her eyes again, took a deep breath, and opened the door. She walked down the stairs slowly, her knees weak, her face red.

As soon as she could see her father, she looked at his face. He didn't look angry. She decided to appeal to his affectionate side, ran the last few steps, and flung her arms around him, hugging him. "I'm so glad they released ye, dad."

Kate had hidden in the kitchen, gesturing at her brother to keep quiet. She felt like anything she might do might make the situation worse. If she interacted with Mr. Ward, she might end up insulting him again, and she didn't want her friend to lose permission to talk to her all over. And as for John, he wasn't as bad as he used to be, but he still had a tendency to blurt out what was on his mind and it could rub people the wrong way. Especially people like Benjamin Ward.

She held her breath when she finally heard Anne come down the stairs. She moved closer to the door to be able to see her friend, while staying hidden from Ben. She wanted to be able to be close enough to do something if he raised his hand at her again. Poor Anne looked terrified.

Then her friend suddenly flung herself at her father and spoke affectionately. Kate's jaw dropped in angry surprise.

He had meant to talk to Lottie, to try and reconcile. But she turned around quickly to fetch Anne, and Ben didn't stop her because he didn't actually know what to say to her if they did talk.

Anne walked down the stairs slowly and Ben felt guilty. Was she afraid? He wasn't proud of how he had behaved last time he had been here. Luckily, she suddenly rushed down the stairs and hugged him. Ben hugged her back and caressed her head. "All's well now, lassie. They let me go last night, but it was late then."

He looked up at Lottie. "Thank you, Lottie, fer lookin' after 'er. I appreciate it." Perhaps pretending nothing had happened was the best approach. He kind of wanted to apologise for having been an ass, but he couldn't bring himself to do so in front of Anne.