"Boys will be boys.. I know, I have four of 'em. Always thinkin' with their trousers. I wish ye young'uns made better choices." Lottie answered as the cleaning vapors stung her nostrils

Four boys? That didn't sound right. But Anne wouldn't tell Kate that her mother had spoken of her as a boys. "With their trousers? What do ye mean?" she asked innocently.

"Oh, I'm sorry Anne dear. That was uncouth of me. I meant that some young men only think of pleasure for themselves, relations as the Bible says. Not that yeu'd do that sort of thing."

A slight blush appeared on Anne's cheeks. "Oh no, never. Especially not after what happened to Alice." There was a painful pit in her stomach, of worry that had grown and grown over the past few weeks. "It's always the girls that pay."

"Aye, we do." Lottie answered with a nod. "So my dear, are there any young men in yer life?"

Anne frowned and scrunched her nose. "No. I don't want to have owt to do with any of them. I don't think our own boys are any better than the likes of Noah Longbottom. And I don't want to marry for a long time. It doesn't seem to bring much joy, except maybe for children. Anyway, I wouldn't be able marry for a long time, because I'm needed at home." Though plans had been forming in her mind. She was needed in Castleton as well. Could she abandon her family if the worst of her fears turned out true?