A thud against the porch boards woke Lillian with a start. Had the constable returned? She felt the softness of the children’s sleeping bodies pressing up against her. No further noise came so she extricated herself from their arms and legs and crept toward the window. It was a relief to find dusk had not yet settled. She peeped from behind the curtain but nobody appeared to be on the porch waiting to be welcomed.
She stole out to the front door and carefully turned the key. Counting to three and chiding herself for being spooked, she swung it open and thrust her head outside.
Alfred slumped against her skirt from where he had propped himself against the frame. She pulled her feet out from under him and stepped back with disgust.
‘Lillian, I’m sorry,’ he slurred, reaching for her ankle
