5
Hannah hadn’t quite forgotten so much of herself that she neglected to run her errands on the way back to her clan’s rented flat. Once she returned, she dutifully dispensed needles and thread, tooth powder and soap, and then retreated to her room.
She supposed she should be glad that she had this space to herself; most of the other rooms were occupied by two or even three or four people, but that was because they all formed their own nuclear families, husband and wife and children. Her brother Ian was bunking with their cousins Alastair and Timothy, for both of them were orphans, their parents lost in the feud with the McDougalls, and so had no one else to travel with them. She, however, was the only unattached female. Her Uncle Joseph had hesitated to bring her on this initial journey
