EstherWhen Esther awoke, she did so with a jerk. Her belly ached in such a way that she thought she had fallen. Her insides felt bruised and sore, and she felt the quick throb of panic—was she back on the ship during a storm? She braced herself and instinctively wrapped her arms around her stomach. But the baby was quiet and still, and the bed did not sway with the sea. Esther sat up and saw she was in Isobel’s bed. Beside her was Brendan’s pillow, a soft divot from the weight of his head.
Esther got up hurriedly, wanting to be away from a place Brendan had laid his body. Outside it had grown dark but, just as she stood against the window and looked out, a gas light was switched on. The street became a box of shadows. Black and white shapes dotted the pathways.
The light woke Isobel, res
