She couldn’t say what bothered her. She and Lucy had a comfortable existence in the home of a man who was generous, and obviously honourable in his intentions, for he’d proposed marriage. Yes, he was more than twice her age, but was that such a bad thing, apart from the fact that he’d expect to bed her and get her with child – and he looked healthy and muscular, as though he might be rather vigorous in that pursuit. It was not that she was afraid of the union between man and woman, but rather that she’d wanted to give that particular favour to a man she loved. The alternative was to leave. But where would they go, and how far would they get before they ran out of money? They’d already experienced what poverty was like, and the danger that came with it. The truth was, their lives had become a comfortable trap, more so for Lucy, who lived for the moment and was being given everything her heart desired. Miranda sensed danger in that, and knew that the longer she avoided making her mind up, the harder it would be for both of them to abandon a life they were rapidly growing used to.
