Her hands clenched when the woman challenged her idea of her fate. She knew; was that not enough? Did Cathy not die of a broken heart? Had Sallie not died of a broken spirit? If she could not even succumb to her misery, what protest was left for her to offer?

"I know," she said. Her eyes turned to the woman suspiciously. Then they looked down at her baby and filled with angry tears again. It wasn't fair that this straner could love the baby she knew she should love.

Her eyes shot up at the woman's face. "You're with him," she accused, "so 'e'll be glad to 'ave ye." Maybe the woman could remind Tobias of what he had missed out on for marrying Alice.