Suddenly the door opened and Alice stood in the doorway.
"Alice!" said Ben, surprised.
"I tried to kill t' bairn. Twice!" she said. There were tears on her face, but she looked defiant.
"Alice, go back into your room!" Ben said.
But Alice lifted her chin and continued. "T' first time I stole money to buy some medicine and alcohol and I mixed it. It made me sick, but it didn't kill t' bairn. T' second time, I stole money. I went to a brothel, and I gave it to a prostitute to tell me how to get rid of the bairn. She couldn't give me any advice that I hadn't tried already. Otherwise I would. You can arrest me now. I hope you do. And I don't care for it even if they hang me."