Bess had not expected for the mother to admit that she didn’t have the money to buy anything in the store. Most shopkeepers would have thrown her out, but Bess saw no harm in allowing them to peruse the merchandise on display.

She smiled. “You can both look all you want.” Even before she had become a mother herself, she had adored children, which was the main reason she had become a schoolteacher. This little one looked a bit young for school.

Glancing discreetly at the woman’s hand, Bess noticed that she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. So the two of them were on their own. In fact, she couldn’t remember seeing either of them before. “Have you been in Whitby long?” she asked curiously.